The way forward: Key learnings from PDAC 2024

The world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), has left behind a buzz of excitement and anticipation for the future of the mining and mineral exploration industry. With nearly 27,000 attendees and 1100 exhibitors, this year’s event stood as one of the largest in PDAC’s history, showcasing the industry’s resilience and commitment to progress.  

On the tradeshow floor, acQuire was proud to sit among leading technology companies helping the mineral exploration and mining industry innovate and grow sustainably. Throughout the four-day conference, the acQuire booth was bustling with activity, providing a platform for meaningful discussions, presentations from industry leaders, and networking opportunities.  

At the heart of the discussions at the acQuire booth, and across the wider program, were three key themes shaping the industry’s trajectory: exploration and development of critical minerals, the imperative of decarbonisation and net-zero technologies, and the ever-increasing role of technology in meeting industry objectives.

Here were our key learnings: 

The future of critical minerals  

With substantial support from Canadian federal and provincial initiatives, the outlook for critical minerals appears promising. 

PDAC President, Ray Goldie, highlighted the significant commitment from the Canadian federal government towards the mining sector sharing, “There’s more continued excitement that the government in Canada is much in favour of critical minerals.”  

Coinciding with PDAC, was the release of a joint statement from Canada and Australia, promoting their shared priorities and cooperation on the sustainable development of their critical minerals supply chains. This commitment not only underscores the potential for growth and innovation but also signals a shift towards a more sustainable and diversified resource landscape. 

A long road to net zero and partnering for success 

Decarbonisation and the road to net zero remained at the forefront of discussions on how companies can improve operational efficiency while minimising their carbon footprints. 

Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive, Jakob Stausholm, gave the commodity outlook keynote, emphasising decarbonisation as a core component of the company’s 2024 strategy. When discussing how Rio Tinto is tackling their decarbonisation roadmap across various operations, taking steps from strategy to action, he highlighted industry challenges, including that some of “the technology needed to achieve net zero does not exist yet.”  

While the technology needed to achieve some net zero goals may still be in development, there was a clear consensus on the importance of partnerships and collaboration across the mining industry to drive progress. To future-proof their iron ore business, Rio Tinto is working with approximately 40 partners across 50 projects in 10 countries, according to their 10+ year roadmap. 

Back at the acQuire booth, the Nova Network panel discussion, “Partnering for success with the acQuire Nova Network”, with guest speakers, Joe Makori from KamLak Inc., Al Turner from Fortitude Gold and Niti Gupta from ERM, further highlighted the necessity of partnerships in addressing the skills shortage, growing ESG obligations and surge in data management challenges in the mineral exploration and mining industry. 

The rise of technology to meet industry needs 

In parallel with discussions on sustainability, technology took center stage at PDAC, reflecting the industry’s ongoing digital transformation. From artificial intelligence (AI) to data capture devices, vendors showcased a myriad of solutions to enhance efficiency and productivity. 

Currently, we’re seeing AI applications become more prevalent in the areas of Machine Learning and predictive AI. Vendors are exploring ways to streamline manual tasks in mining, like core logging and scanning, to enhance decision-making confidence, with data serving as a crucial asset. 

Our panel discussion, “Mining for Tomorrow: A data-first approach to sustainable mining”, featuring industry experts, Jeremy Vincent, Director of Geology at Wheaton Precious Metals, Alexis Eapen, Senior Mine Geologist at Centerra Gold Inc., and Peter Lauder, Exploration Manager at Max Power Mining Corp, underscored the importance of data in ensuring confident decisions and shared their experiences leveraging digital technologies to optimise efficiencies. You can listen to the full panel discussion here. 

Additionally, there’s now a rising number of devices used for capturing subsurface data, generating vast amounts of information, but limited awareness of how this data flows through to mine planning. Now more than ever, companies must understand their technological ecosystems and how data moves between third-party systems. Steve Mundell, Director of Product at acQuire, addressed these challenges in his presentation, “Embracing software connectivity and collaborative ventures”, emphasising the need for integration and interoperability across vendors to drive technological advancements across the industry. Further, Joanne Scott, Geologist turned Database Administrator at Centerra Gold, also highlighted the importance of data management in improving operational efficiencies in her presentation at the acQuire booth. 

Paving the way forward with acQuire  

As we look to the future, it’s clear that collaboration, innovation, and sustainability will be the cornerstones of success in the mining and mineral exploration industry.  

At acQuire, we’re focused on delivering quality and sustainable software solutions that empower confident decision-making.