Disruptions and technological innovation are fundamentally changing the face of the mining industry, reshaping competitive dynamics, and disrupting business and operating models. While technological evolution in mining is nothing new, the coming wave of changes—incorporating such technologies as digitization, big data, automation, ubiquitous sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence—is faster and stronger than anything ever seen before.
In carrying out the New Tech, New Deal project, the IGF and partners started by identifying the specific mining technologies on the horizon and how they might change the sector. For example, new technologies will mean fewer jobs overall but will also provide new, high-paying positions. Operators may enjoy increased productivity, while key variables will determine how these changes play out for women in mining and the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. And some new technologies may provide benefits extending beyond the mining sector.
Webinar and Report Launch
This webinar marked the launch of our new report, New Tech, New Deal: Mining Policy Options in the Face of New Technology. The report examines and highlights the policies and collaborations available to governments to address coming technology changes in ways that promote sustainable development through mining. The session shares the report’s findings and explores the discrete areas of interest identified as promising for future work and collaboration.
Webinar Agenda
Welcome and Introduction
- Isabelle Ramdoo, Deputy Director, IGF
- Lisa Stellner, Advisor, Extractives for Development, GIZ
Summary of the New Tech, New Deal final report
- Isabelle Ramdoo, Deputy Director, IGF
- Aaron Cosbey, Senior Associate, IGF
The Future of Work
- Nicky Black, Director, Social and Economic Development Programme, ICMM
- In discussion with Aaron Cosbey, Senior Associate, IGF
New Technology and ASM
- Moïse Ouedraogo, Director-General of Sectoral Studies and Statistics at the Ministry of Mines and Quarries of Burkina Faso
- In discussion with Isabelle Ramdoo, Deputy Director, IGF
Data for Community Resilience
- Ángela Oblasser, Sustainability Director, Fundación Chile
- In discussion with Jaqueline Taquiri, Policy Advisor, IGF
The New Tech, New Deal project is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project is a partnership between the IGF and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), and Mining Shared Value/Engineers Without Borders Canada.