COVER STORY
WEATHER THE STORM Platform Resilience will ultimately comprise a hybrid constellation of 30 satellites
A satellite-backed AI solution promises to help mining operators navigate extreme weather. Nicola Brittain reports
C
limate change means much of the world is suffering from more erratic weather than it once did. This might include
increased rainfall, higher winds than expected or extreme drought. Such unpredictable weather is causing safety and other problems for a variety of industries. In fact, the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks Report paints a harrowing picture, with these changes meaning potential financial losses to the global economy of $350bn with profound implications for safety and continuity. This landscape demands not just awareness but action.
THE MINING INDUSTRY’S VULNERABILITY Themining industry is particularly exposed to such weather. For example, extreme rainfall can cause polluted rainwater to run from a mine into a nearby village if precautions are not taken; high winds can blow debris onto nearby farmland; and drought or very hot temperatures might impact machinery for example. That mines are often situated
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in parts of the world with a less developed infrastructure than might exist in the US or Europe, for example, makes mining operators and communities around mines particularly vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather. It is clear then how mining
operators will benefit from accurate weather-related information to help with operational planning.
TOMORROW.OI’S TECHNOLOGY EXPLAINED In 2016 a Boston-based group of technology entrepreneurs recognised that the business need for weather information was acute and becoming more so and therefore launched
Tomorrow.io - a proprietary software and AI weather company to help businesses manage these issues. The company has since been featured in TIME magazine as one of its 100 most influential companies. Chief marketing officer for the
company, Dan Slagan, explained how the company came about: “We realised that changes in weather were
significantly impacting business but that most weather companies were repackaging publically available information, and that meteorologists were acting as account managers for these companies. The business element was missing. We therefore decided to automate weather information for businesses and build software as an API that included all a company’s operating protocols. We then calculated this against their risk threshold. This has basically delivered a system that manages weather 24/7.” Tomorrow.oi’s automated system
therefore provides a mining company with a level of foresight that allows for the adjustment of work schedules, maintenance, and transportation plans, ensuring that operations run smoothly, regardless of the weather. More specifically it will provide a
company with information detailing when it can and can’t blast for example using the information provided. Slagan explained: “Blasting at the
right time is absolutely critical for mine operators. One of our customers had previously been shut down for blasting during high winds and
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