The Australian economy has revenue in excess of $50 billion a year from iron ore exports alone, making the economy seem as if it has struck gold. The importance of mining and exploration has gone unchallenged for nearly 21 years, as the industry has continued to dominate Australia’s economy. Speculations over the industry’s future are beginning to surface as some believed it was going to face a sharp decline; however, reports show that there is little to worry about, as the mining remains strong. Confidence in a highly-regulated and often unpredictable industry highlights the importance of gathering its leaders, workers, and investors to meet for the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) Convention to discuss the industry’s future and strategy. This year, it’s held in Perth, Australia from September 3 to September 4.
Dollars and Sense
The favorable profits associated with mining and exploration continue to be a focal point of mining discussions. Investors need to be ensured that the industry shows promise, but let’s not overlook the lasting environmental impact of mining. These impacts are just as much tied to the financial well-being and overall health of the industry, and further demonstrative of the industry’s importance beyond little nuggets of money buried away in dirt. Only days ago, a new mineral called qingsongite was uncovered that will be valuable in developing materials meant for technology. All of the minerals discovered for science, health, and technology not only bolster organizations’ bottom line, but substantially improve our lives.
Of course, the argument goes that without the money to invest in discovery and mining, we can not benefit from these advancements. Economies might be dependent on natural resources, but even the tiniest materials found deep within our Earth are reliant on investments to uncover them.
Data Mining in Mining
As with any industry, and not just in Australia, when companies begin pouring over the numbers, there comes a time when everyone runs back to the drawing board to explore ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Ensuring expenditures are low, as well as operations, optimization keeps a leading industry like mining and exploration alive in Australia and around the world.
At every step in a mining and mineral exploration company’s value chain is a tremendous amount of data produced daily. Data miners become a commodity, almost as valuable as the mining itself. Managing all the data in terms of collecting, analyzing, and prioritizing it all puts an even greater emphasis on effective analytics. Big Data analytics will continue to help the mining industry remain robust by providing real-time feedback on operations.
If you are at the AMEC Convention 2013, we would love to hear other ideas. Just shoot us a tweet at @TIBCO.
Also, to get more information on ways to leverage Big Data, read the latest Gartner magic quadrant on application integration.
