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Transformation and technology driving Anglo American’s metallurgical coal future

08 April 2021 | BBMC Events

“We have to transform in the decades ahead, and we’re starting that journey now.”

That’s what the second sold-out Bowen Basin Mining Club luncheon for 2021 heard from Dan Reynolds, Head of Transformation for Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business.

The 200-strong crowd at Souths Leagues Club in Mackay were treated to an overview of the key strategic initiatives driving change in Anglo American’s operations, as the largest underground metallurgical coal player in Australia.

Mr Reynolds outlined how technology, digitalisation and data analytics are all working hand-in-hand to drive transformation across Anglo American’s operations – which, at its heart, is about improving safety, sustainability and efficiency.

The three key strategic initiatives driving Transformation are the Anglo American Operating Model, FutureSmart Mining and the Sustainable Mine Plan.

“One of the things our new Operating Model does is give real clarity about what’s important in our business, clarifying priorities of what we should be working on and planning for.”

The challenge and the opportunity for Anglo American’s suppliers lies in FutureSmart Mining, namely in working with specialist suppliers to solve problems that can be industry-wide, site-specific or even seam-specific.

Mr Reynolds used the example of Anglo American’s world-first intrinsically safe underground tablet, developed in partnership with a manufacturer to drive underground digitisation. The first iteration of the tablet was a 6kg mammoth, but the process of designing and developing the technology has produced a workable 1kg tablet that has now been rolled out across global underground operations.

He also showcased the new Met Coal Analytics Centre, or MAC, which will become the heartbeat of Anglo American’s data analytics capabilities in Australia. Driven by streams of data gathered from operations, the MAC generates operational insights, predicting and flagging possible issues before they even occur.

“Inputs to the MAC are vendor agnostic – we’re gathering data wherever we can, with the goal of transformational operations capability.”

Across all transformation initiatives, Mr Reynolds had a clear message for suppliers: communicate your capability, and demonstrate how you can align with Anglo American’s priorities to streamline operations.

“The opportunities in data and digital are huge, and when you think about the level of change we’re trying to drive in our business, there’s enormous potential for suppliers to help us create that change.”