Sandvik
Big interview Digging deep
Few industries move faster than mining. The lifeblood of economies the world over, the industry is rapidly adopting a range of digital technologies. And if this is true on the coalface, the sector’s fi nance function is proving equally fl exible. That’s clear enough at Sandvik, with the global mining engineering company in the midst of an ambitious fi nance transformation programme. Andrea Valentino catches up with Cecilia Felton, Sandvik’s CFO, to learn more, along the way exploring how physical and fi nancial infrastructure are increasingly marching in lockstep for the good of the planet.
F
or most of human history, mining was an intensely physical profession. Rugged men in hats ventured deep beneath the earth, then used the sweat off their brow to hew what they found. But if you visit the LaRonde gold mine, nestled among the pine forests of western Quebec, you’ll find something quite different. To be sure, the miners themselves are as tough as ever – how could you not be when you have to work some 2,250m below the earth, and when the outside temperature in winter can drop to -44°C? Yet alongside the courage and the muscle and the brawn, the workers at LaRonde also rely on something else: AutoMine. Developed by the Sandvik Group, this flexible, modular system uses LTE wireless to automate much of the mining process, from resource mapping to the trucks that carry ore up from the depths. As the deepest single-lift shaft in the Western Hemisphere, LaRonde gains much by such clever use of technology. Yet examine AutoMine, and its creator, and it soon becomes obvious that the Canadian operation is far from alone. Boasting some 40,000 employees, Sandvik straddles global mining from Australia to Mali, digitalising and automating in fields as varied as rock processing and machinery. Not that these operations are scattershot. Rather, Cecilia Felton emphasises that, whatever the innovation, her company strives to “enhance productivity, sustainability and profitability for our customers”. Examine any of the firm’s 20 business divisions and it’s hard to gainsay the Sandvik CFO. According to company statistics, for instance, Sandvik’s drilling tools can cut diesel use by 20%, saving users both time and money.
Of course, Felton and her team are hardly immune to these changes. Much of Sandvik’s work may be done at the literal coalface, indeed, but the finance function is equally eager to sharpen its own operations, exploiting analysis tools and forging outside partnerships to better understand this sprawling, decentralised business. That’s shadowed by other improvements too, with Felton pushing ahead with KPIs and scorecards, even as she meets colleagues and investors to understand the future of her firm. And just as technology in the field can improve the sustainability of mining – through lower diesel emissions to give just one example – so too is Felton crucial to her employer’s environmental
World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com 13
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