26th International Association for Management of Technology Conference - IAMOT 2017

Introduction and Purpose: the fourth industrial revolution presents both opportunities and uncertainties to various industries. Mining is among such industries in which there is a race towards autonomous mining that make use of technologies such as remote laser cutting of rocks, insitu processing of minerals, real-time excavations imaging, autonomous load-haul-dump (LHD) vehicles, etc. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the sociotechnical transition technology roadmap for mining automation. Methodology: the sociotechnical transition technology roadmapping framework is used as a basis to map the mining digital revolution complexity. A global mining company based in South Africa is used as a case study. The qualitative interviews are complemented by document analysis for data collection purposes. Findings: in transitioning a mine from a labour-intensive to a capital intensive one, the innovation landscape needs to provide a conducive environment in terms of skilled labour, technology readiness, explicit desired labour and capital ratio as well as availability of funding and mineral deposits. The vendors for relevant mining equipment need to be involved at an onset as their various niche innovations can contribute positively to the roadmap. Continuous monitoring is necessary to decide on whether to accelerate, decelerate or discontinue certain technology development efforts. Conclusion: this paper integrates the sociotechnical transition technology roadmapping framework with the concept of a fourth industrial revolution. The digital evolution of the mining industry presents itself in the form of niche innovations, promising niche innovations and finally the emergent niche innovations that have potential for transition into new mining business models. The findings are useful to mining companies who are seeking to adopt automation as a competitive route but also to the policymakers for an appropriate framework condition in support of this revolution. Keywords: Technology Roadmap, Mining Automation, Digital Evolution, Sociotechnical Transition; Niche Innovation