Digitalisation in Mining Europe Conference 2023 Workshop on the topic: How BIM can benefit the mining industry by reducing operating costs and increasing efficiency across the mine lifecycle

Abstract

Digitalisation in Mining Europe Conference 2023
Workshop on the topic: How BIM can benefit the mining industry by reducing operating
costs and increasing efficiency across the mine lifecycle.
Workshop report

Full text

Digitalisation in Mining Europe Conference 2023
Workshop on the topic:
How BIM can benefit the mining industry by reducing operating
costs and increasing efficiency across the mine lifecycle.
Workshop report
Jyrki Salmi
Civil Engineering Unit (CIV)
Oulu 30.8.2023
PUBLIC
Version 1.0

2
Table of contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Target
1.3 Arrangements
2. Workshop implementation
3. Results
3.1 Conference participants
3.2 Webropol survey results during the conference presentation
3.3 Workshop participants
3.4 Webropol survey results during the workshop
3.5 Mentimeter survey results during the workshop
3.6 Feedback survey results at the end of the workshop
4. Conclusions of the workshop
4.1 Evaluation of the coverage of workgroup participants
4.2 Evaluation of workshop results
4.3 Key findings of the workshop summarised
4.4 Proposals for further action
ANNEXES
Version history
Version 1.0 published 11.9.2023.

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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The Digitalisation in Mining Conference series, with previous stops in Australia, North America, and Latin
America, brought its brand to Stockholm, Sweden on 29-30 August at Bygget Fest & Konferens. The
Digitalisation in Mining Europe conference in Stockholm was the first of its kind in Europe. The undersigned
voluntarily signed up to present his own research topic MiningBIM and his latest research results at the
conference.
In addition to the agreed conference presentation, the conference organizer later asked the undersigned if
there would be a workshop on the topic for the conference participants. Based on this, it was agreed that
the University of Oulu will organise a two-hour workshop as part of the conference on the current state of
the MiningBIM (Mining Information Modelling) concept and mapping further development needs.
Globally, the mining industry lacks a uniform BIM approach. Information and information still do not flow
completely unhindered, for example, from ore exploration to the feed of the concentrator plant. In tunnel
construction and geotechnical modelling, there is already strong evidence of this.
1.2 Target
The aim of the workshop series was to create a consensus-based starting point for the MiningBIM concept
and its further development for the workshop participants. In addition, the objectives were:
• Familiarise operators in the mining and tunnelling industry with BIM and its possibilities.
• Gather already accumulated experiences and best practices in BIM and evaluate benefits and
challenges from other sectors.
• Stimulate discussion on the needs and objectives of BIM in the mining and tunnelling industry.
• Lay the foundation for a new, open Tunnelling & Mining Information Modelling concept and its
further development.
• Investigate the possibilities, readiness and will to start drafting common BIM guidelines for the
mining sector.
The potential for creating a unified BIM-based digital operating environment for the mining and quarrying
industry clearly already exists. The success of the implementation is enabled by a sufficiently wide and
innovative group of representatives and developers from the most important identified parties related to
the mining and quarrying industry and building information modelling.
On this basis, the possibility of creating a completely new information ecosystem in the mining and
quarrying sector is based on the increasing number of automated and autonomous machines that are
currently developing at a rapid pace and on building the digital infrastructure required for their efficient
utilisation throughout the life cycle of mining and quarrying operations.
1.3 Arrangements
One hour and 45 minute afternoon event was chosen for the workshop, which was held at the end of the
conference at 2:00 pm-3:45 pm. The target group of the workshop series was all conference participants
who are able to bring their valuable expertise and experience to the discussion and development work to
be launched on the topic.
The University of Oulu, the Civil Engineering Research Unit, and the Digital Construction and Mining
Research Area were responsible for the implementation, processing and reporting of the workshop series.

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The material in the workshop series is anonymised in research work at the University of Oulu and it is also
used as research material for research articles and doctoral dissertation.
2. WORKSHOP IMPLEMENTATION
The workshop event was held live in the conference hall. The event was recorded using Teams for
workshop documentation and research purposes. The spoken language of the event was English. The
workshop is led by both Research Director and Doctoral Researcher Jyrki Salmi from the University of Oulu
and Professor Rauno Heikkilä.
The workshop took place on Wednesday 30.8.2023 at 2:00 pm-3:45 pm according to the program below:
• 14:00-14:10 Opening the workshop
• 14:10-14:30 Pitch presentations
o Rauno Heikkilä, University of Oulu, Finland
▪ Live presentation; InfraBIM success story
o Jelena Ninic, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
▪ Recorded presentation; BIM in tunnelling
o Glenn Barlow, Dassault Systemes, United Kingdom
▪ Recorded presentation; Parametric mine design
• 14:30-14:50 1st part of the workshop
• 14:50-14:55 Short break
• 14:55-15:10 Introductory presentation
o Jyrki Salmi, University of Oulu, Finland
▪ Live presentation; Adding value for the mine data management and machine
automation
• 15:10-15:30 2nd part of the workshop
• 15:30-15:40 Closing comments
o Mining Operator
o Equipment Manufacturer
o Software Developer
• 15.40-15:45 Closing the workshop
All presentations and other materials presented to workshop participants were projected on the front wall
of the conference hall as shown in Figure 1. The picture was taken already during a pre-workshop
conference presentation.
All presentations discussed both in the during a pre-workshop conference presentation and in the
workshop were collected in Annex 1.
Before the start of the workshop, the online Webropol survey program was utilized, which activated
participants to comment and share their feedback on the workshop with four questions. To do this, the
participants logged in to the survey at the web address with QR code on the front page of the workshop
agenda projected on the big screen. The link was left open even after the workshop, so that the
participants could answer questions even later, if necessary.
During the actual workshop, the online Mentimeter survey program was utilized, which effectively
activated participants throughout the event and collected and presented the opinions of all participants. To
do this, the participants logged in to the survey at the web address www.menti.com with the code

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provided . The workshop questions were reviewed individually and collectively at the same pace so that the
answers given by each participant first from their own cell phones were immediately visible to all
participants through a screen shared by the workshop instructor.
Figure 1. The presentation space of the workshop and the presentation of the material to be shown to the participants.
Due to lack of time, free discussion was limited, and it was desirable to write questions and comments in
the reserved sections of the primarily used digital platforms Webropol and Mentimeter, when there was a
need for it.
The presentation materials were not handed over to the participants afterwards; So the request was to
take my own pictures of the performances if necessary.
The workshop report and its appendices were prepared less than a couple of weeks after the workshop
ended. If necessary, the report can be sent by e-mail to those who are interested.

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3. RESULTS
3.1 Conference participants
According to the conference organiser, the conference was organised with the following target groups in
mind:
• Mining Companies
• Machinery and Equipment OEMs
• Government
• Academia
• Technology Providers
• Financial Sector
• Professional Services (including mining service providers, consultants, and law firms)
• Others (including Media, Associations, and Investors)
According to preliminary information received from the conference organizer, more than 100 people would
have registered for the conference, of which more than 70 people would have turned up. All conference
participants were free to attend the workshop.
3.2 Webropol survey results during the conference presentation
During the conference a survey was carried out among the listeners. The survey was carried out using the
Webropol web program. Annex 2 presents the results of the conference survey in Webropol's own
presentation format.

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Question 1.
Question 2.
Question 3.
Question 4.
3.3 Workshop participants
At the start of the workshop, there were 12 participants in the hall and a maximum of 14 people during the
workshop. The reasons for the low number of participants are assessed in more detail in section 4.1.

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The participants present at the beginning of the workshop were asked which field of technology they
represented. The answers can be seen in Figure 2. They are also presented in Annex 3 where the results of
the workshop survey are presented in Mentimeter's own presentation format.
Figure 2. Fields of technology represented by workshop participants.
Figure 3 shows the participants' answers to a question asked about their affiliation with key players in
digital mining. The question was also asked in order to find out the willingness of representatives of the
three key areas to discuss the workshop at the end of the workshop.
Figure 3. That the workshop participants belong to the key parties involved in digital mining.

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3.4 Webropol survey results during the workshop
During the workshop a survey was carried out among the listeners. The survey was carried out using the
Webropol web program. Annex 2 presents the results of the workshop survey in Webropol's own
presentation format.
Question 1.
Question 2.
Question 3.
Question 4.

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3.5 Mentimeter survey results during the workshop
Both parts of the workshop were carried out in the form of surveys. The surveys were carried out using the
Mentimeter web program.
During the workshop, a total of 14 people were registered in the Mentimeter survey, of which at best a
maximum of 11 people participated in giving individual answers. The participants used a common web link
to log in to the Mentimeter survey question and answer pages, which were reviewed simultaneously with
the respondents, one question at a time. There was a total of 21 actual workshop questions.
The following is a selected sample of the survey's key questions and answers in tabular form. The questions
omitted from the report have not been related to the topic being studied. Annex 3 presents the results of
the workshop survey in Mentimeter's own presentation form.
Workshop surveys; Query 1
Question 1. Write down what comes to your mind during the pitch presentations! 4 respondents and 5
responses.
Too much text, and hard to follow. I liked the slide on Infrakit cloud services, but it still didn’t describe
what it actually does. Time saving was 20-22 weeks out of how many weeks?
Clear delivery of content. There is an obvious need for data management tools like this, but I’m having a
hard time envisioning how to apply it specifically to exploration/excavation/processing.
BIM to Shadow to Digital Twin.
"Transparency”.
Automation.
Integration.
Question 2. Does BIM matter to the mining industry? 9 respondents and 9 responses.
It does
1
Maybe to some extent
3
Very little
1
No it doesn't
1
I don't know
3

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Question 3. Will MineBIM be needed in future mines? 9 respondents and 9 responses.
Yes, it is very widely utilized
1
Maybe in some dedicated use cases
4
It is used marginally
1
There will be no need for it
1
I don't know
2
Question 4. At what stage of mining would MineBIM be most useful? 11 respondents and 11 responses.
1st
place
2nd
place
3rd
place
4th
place
5th
place
6th
place
7th
place
8th
place
9th
place
Exploration
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Planning
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Construction
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Production/Operation
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Maintenance
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Closure
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Aftercare
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
All
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
I don't know
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

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Question 5. What benefits would MineBIM bring to the mining industry? 8 respondents and 13
responses.
Reducing investment risk.
Standardisation.
Interoperability, information sharing and integration.
Data management and storage/analysis is needed particularly at smaller/junior production mines.
Open and vendor independent concept solutions.
Better integration.
Transparency on supply chain.
Layer of information to be easily accessible and georeferenced in right place.
Organization.
Mine records and decommissioning/work reuse for hydro energy projects.
Information storage.
Tracking, fix assets and related info about them in the mine sites for care and maintenance purposes.
Better cooperation with construction industry.
Question 6. Where should BIM be used in mining? 10 respondents and 10 responses.
Weighted
average
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Design and planning
6,8
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
4
Integration with numerical modelling
6
2
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
2
2
Machine automation
6,8
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
2
2
2
Machine learning for prediction
6,3
2
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
3
2
Computer vision for inspection
4,3
4
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
Sustainability assessment
5,9
2
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
1
3
Something else
2,7
5
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
I don't know
2,1
6
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0

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Question 7. What would be the biggest benefits of MineBIM for mining operators? 7 respondents and 7
responses.
Real time updates to mine plan.
Knowing potential points of failure and risk.
Consistency.
Cross assets community benchmarking.
Better real-time information available for all the humans and machines.
Accessing all data at the same time, no chance of missing critical info.
Optimization of operation, real-time information.
Question 8. What stakeholders other than mining operators would benefit from the MineBIM concept in
their own work? 9 respondents and 9 responses.
Regulators.
Sub soil government departments.
Partnering companies that want easy access to mine data.
Maintenance, electricians, safety officers, rescue crew.
Risk assessment in investing and sharing.
Technology providers, especially software and surveying system developers.
Entrepreneurs.
Society, municipalities.
Question 9. How would MineBIM be relevant to other stakeholders? 4 respondents and 4 responses.
Reconciliation.
Better and automatic updates.
Transparency.
Taking initiatives to solve new issues.
Question 10. What kind of goals should be set for MineBIM development? 7 respondents and 7
responses.
I didn’t get the question, there is currently available systems who would be classified as BIM as long as
right data would be fed into.
Clearer use case development of how to apply BIM to specific mining challenges.
Provide degree of risk and uncertainty.
Easy to use and apply otherwise won’t be successful.
User requirements (end use cases).
Access controls.
Lower costs, faster production, less accidents, ...

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Question 11. What kind of vision should be set for MineBIM? 7 respondents and 7 responses.
Understanding what is available today, and how this can be built on / improved.
Lots of companies already exist in the exploration and planning stage, but they don’t communicate with
each other.
MineBIM should be a first standard method to come to mind in mining.
In 2050(?) the whole(?) mining sector uses MineBIM in their business activities.
Enable for the user to forecast fluctuation in supply chain.
Should be kept simple for the purpose with over complicating things. Creating a monster is easy with
technology but hard to maintain.
Vision of being either unique or the most trusted product. Otherwise it's an attempt to invent a wheel.
Workshop surveys; Query 2
Question 12. Write down what comes to your mind during the introductionary presentation! 1
respondent and 1 response.
During the investigation of mining industry, some current technology seems to be missed/skipped.
Question 13. What would be the ultimate goal of MineBIM development? 4 respondents and 4
responses.
Integrate all possible information to make decisions reliable
Create an industry standard method
Simple integration, delivering real world benefits (e.g. efficiency)
To jump to common and open model based working
Question 14. What are our current chances of succeeding in the further development of MineBIM? 8
respondents and 8 responses.
Good
1
Moderate
5
Weak
0
Bad
0
I don't know
2

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Question 15. Is now the right time to move forward in the development of MineBIM? 7 respondents and
7 responses.
Yes, now is exactly the right time to move forward
5
Yes, but it is still worth postponing the start
0
No, better maybe wait for better times
0
Now is not the time to start something like this
1
I don't know
1
Question 16. Has anyone else already done MineBIM development for the mining industry elsewhere? 8
respondents and 8 responses.
Yes
3
Maybe
0
No
0
I don't know
5

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Question 17. How should the further development of MineBIM be taken forward in the first place? 6
respondents and 6 responses.
Start collaborating with stockholders.
Define the level of details we are going through.
Focus on data management first, before getting fancy with modelling.
Develop existing tools / processes - don’t reinvent the wheel.
1) cooperation with construction BIM, 2) detect the core of Mine BIM i.e. ore information.
With academic peer approved papers.
Question 18. If a working group was founded for development of MineBIM - How to select/get the right
people involved? 5 respondents and 5 responses.
End users and current suppliers.
Gatherings like this.
Need to work across the whole spectrum of mines. Some will be more advanced and developed in this
space, others far behind (but could benefit more).
Getting any people in mining is problematic.
All of the interested people and companies should be able to join.
Question 19. Who/which parties should be involved in the MineBIM development working group? 3
respondents and 3 responses.
All three
Stakeholders
Investment development and operations
Question 20. Can you suggest good contacts with the MineBIM development working group? 6
respondents and 6 responses.
Yes, I can
4
Maybe
0
No
0
I don't know
2

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Question 21. Would you or your company be interested if there was a proposal for a joint research or
innovation project regarding MineBIM? 7 respondents and 7 responses.
Yes
3
Maybe
1
No
1
I don't know
2

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3.6 Feedback survey results at the end of the workshop
At the very end of the workshop, the participants were asked with two questions about their main feelings
about the success of the workshop. The questions and answering to them was carried out using the
Mentimeter tool. The results obtained were as follows.
Tell me how we did this time? 7 respondents and 22 responses.
Weighted
average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Arrangements; Organisation of the workshop
6,9
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
3
0
0
Expectations; Meeting your expectations
5,7
1
0
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
Meaning; The importance of the topic covered
6,7
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
1
Progress; Moving forward in overall development
6,7
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
0
Overall assessment; Overall rating for this
workshop
6,5
0
0
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
0
Author’s note:
If the ones in the table above (which in this case are assumed to be abstentions, i.e. not skipped during
voting) are disregarded, the leaderboard will look as follows.
Tell me how we did this time? 7 respondents and 19 responses.
Choices
Weighted
average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Arrangements; Organisation of the workshop
6,9
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
3
0
0
Expectations; Meeting your expectations
6,5
0
0
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
Meaning; The importance of the topic covered
7,8
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
1
Progress; Moving forward in overall development
7,8
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
0
Overall assessment; Overall rating for this
workshop
6,5
0
0
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
0
Is there anything else you want to say? Free word! 1 respondent and 1 response.
Nope.

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4. CONCLUSIONS OF THE WORKSHOP
The following conclusions have been drawn by the workshop supervisor Jyrki Salmi based on the
background and starting points of the workshop, the participants and the results of the workshop.
4.1 Evaluation of the coverage of workshop participants
The creation of an open BIM concept suitable for the mining sector and its utilisation process interested the
convened target audience reasonably in the workshop. The low number of participants (14 people) is
certainly due to the low level of public knowledge of BIM technology in the mining sector and consequently
to the low level of interest in applying BIM technology in the sector. On the other hand, at least sixty
people attended the conference presentation preceding the workshop. The workshop was also held at the
very end of the two-day conference, when many participants were probably already in a hurry to travel
home, which certainly also taxed their interest in staying and participating in the workshop.
However, from the earlier figures 2 and 3 you can see which field of technology they represented, and it
was very extensive but clearly mining-oriented. In addition, when asked about their emphasis on three key
areas, at least half represented mining operators, hardware manufacturers or software developers.
4.2 Evaluation of workshop results
Based on the Mentimeter login, a total of 14 people participated in the workshop work. The total number
of questions during the entire workshop was 21 and the total number of answers given was 301. Based on
the responses to the questionnaire, the following can be concluded.
• BIM matters at least to some extent to the mining industry (5 respondents out of 9). MineBIM will
be needed at least in some use cases in future mines (5 respondents out of 9). Most useful
MineBIM would be in planning, construction and exploration stages of mining. In mining, BIM
should be used mostly in Design and planning, Machine automation and Machine learning for
prediction.
• To the mining industry MineBIM would bring benefits like Reducing investment risk,
Standardisation, Interoperability, Information sharing and integration, Data management and
storage/analysis, Open and vendor independent concept solutions, Better integration,
Transparency on supply chain, Layer of information to be easily accessible and georeferenced in
right place, Organization, Mine records and decommissioning/work reuse, Information storage,
Tracking, Fix assets and related info about them in the mine sites for care and maintenance
purposes and Better cooperation with construction industry. Biggest benefits of MineBIM for
mining operators would be better real-time information updates to plans humans and machines.
Also beneficial is Knowing potential points of failure and risk, Consistency, Cross asset community
benchmarking, Accessing all data at the same time with no chance of missing critical info and
Optimization of operation.
• Other stakeholders than mining operators that would benefit from the MineBIM concept in their
own work are Regulators, Sub soil government departments, Partnering companies that want easy
access to mine data, Maintenance, Electricians, Safety officers, Rescue crew, Risk assessment in
investing and sharing, Technology providers like especially software and surveying system
developers, Entrepreneurs, Society and Municipalities. To other stakeholders MineBIM would be
relevant because of Reconciliation, Better and automatic updates, Transparency and Taking
initiatives to solve new issues.

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• Goals for MineBIM development should be set like Clearer use case development of how to apply
BIM to specific mining challenges, Provide degree of risk and uncertainty, Easy to use and apply,
User requirements (end use cases), Access controls, Lower costs, Faster production, Less accidents.
• The ultimate goal for MineBIM development would be like Integrate all possible information to
make decisions reliable, Create an industry standard method, Simple integration, delivering real
world benefits (e.g. efficiency) and To jump to common and open model based working. Vision for
MineBIM should be set like MineBIM should be a first standard method to come to mind in mining,
In 2050(?) the whole(?) mining sector uses MineBIM in their business activities, Enable for the user
to forecast fluctuation in supply chain, Should be kept simple for the purpose with over
complicating things, Being either unique or the most trusted product.
• Current chances to succeed in the further development of MineBIM are moderate or good (6
respondents out of 8). Now it is the right time to move forward in the development of MineBIM (5
respondents out of 7). In the first place further development of MineBIM should be taken forward
like Start collaborating with stockholders, Define the level of details we are going through, Focus on
data management first, before getting fancy with modelling, Develop existing tools / processes -
don’t reinvent the wheel, First cooperation with construction BIM and then detect the core of Mine
BIM i.e. ore information, and With academic peer approved papers. It is mostly unknown whether
anyone else has already done MineBIM development for the mining industry elsewhere (5
respondents out of 8). Three respondents answered Yes to the question.
• Means to select and get the right people involved, if a working group was founded for development
of MineBIM, are like End users and current suppliers, Gatherings like this, Need to work across the
whole spectrum of mines, and All of the interested people and companies should be able to join.
Parties that should be involved in the MineBIM development working group are like Mine
operators, machine suppliers and software developers, Stakeholders and Investment development.
Participants of the workshop can suggest good contacts for the MineBIM development working
group (4 respondents out of 6).
• Companies that are represented by the participants might be interested in joining a joint research
or innovation project regarding MineBIM (4 respondents out of 7).
4.3 Key findings of the workshop
BIM matters to the mining industry and MineBIM will be needed in future mines in planning, construction
and exploration stages. MineBIM would bring benefits to mining industry and its stakeholders.
The ultimate goal for MineBIM development would be to integrate all possible information to make
decisions reliable, Create an industry standard method, and To jump to common and open model based
working.
Vision for MineBIM should be A first standard method to come to mind in mining, In 2050 the whole mining
sector uses MineBIM in their business activities and/or Being either unique or the most trusted product.
There are good chances to succeed in the further development of MineBIM and now it is the right time to
move forward by starting to collaborate with stockholders, Defining the level of details we are going
through, focusing on data management, developing existing tools, cooperating with construction BIM and
then detecting the core of Mine BIM i.e. ore information, and writing academic peer approved papers.
There are good contacts for the MineBIM development working group.
There is interest in joining a joint research or innovation project regarding MineBIM.

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4.4 Proposals for further action
In the mining industry, BIM is a new topic, and it requires a lot of research, understanding the big picture
and developing understanding by all parties in order to find and outline a common goal and possible
implementation plan. It is now important to highlight existing expertise in BIM by as many different parties
as possible in order to create a realistic situational picture of the industry's starting points. This means
broad and open discussion, presentations and interaction within the framework of measures aimed at
further development.
The active participation of companies and communities in the planning and implementation of further
development measures after the workshop plays a key role in creating a comprehensive and sufficiently
multidimensional basis for the development of a unified and open BIM concept that benefits the entire
industry and also improves the productivity of each company that uses it.
Further development of MineBIM should be taken forward in the first place, such as: Start collaborating
with shareholders, Determine the level of detail we go through, Focus on data management first before
getting familiar with modeling, Develop existing tools/processes - don't reinvent the wheel, First
collaborate with building information modeling and then identify the core of Mine BIM, i.e. ore data, and
with academic peer-approved papers.
Organizing a working group (WG) for MineBIM development and getting the right people involved should
be evaluated in detail.
Possibilities for getting companies interested in joining a joint research or innovation project regarding
MineBIM should be considered.
ANNEXES
Annex 1. Presentations during a pre-workshop conference presentation and presentations in the workshop
Annex 2. Results of the conference and workshop surveys in Webropol program's own presentation format
Annex 3. Results of the workshop survey in Mentimeter program's own presentation format