The mining industry is shifting towards greater Environmental, Social, and Governance compliance. Coupled with new technologies that are driving data analysis in mines, the mining industry looks very different today. Read on to learn about how hiring millennial and Gen-Z employees can help ensure your mine is ready for the future.
From greater ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) requirements to new technologies, the mining industry is changing faster than ever. There’s a shift in the mining industry towards greater collaboration and accountability with stakeholders, which means making sure you have people on your team that are able to innovate and change with the times.
Gen-Z and Millennial employees are valuable additions to your team if you want to maximize efficiency and stay compliant with ESG requirements.
The Millennial generation is generally defined as people born between 1981-1996. Although we generally picture college-aged students as millennials, in reality they can be well into their 30s. The Gen-Z generation is quite a bit younger – defined as anyone born between 1997-2012.
While these generations are younger in age, they don’t necessarily lack experience or relevant skill sets. As the years have gone by, the skills needed to enter the workforce have increased, as have the amount of degrees and certifications needed to be competitive. This means that younger generations – especially millennials who have had a few years in the workforce already – are highly skilled.
Younger generations were raised with messaging that centers environmental and social concerns, which makes them invaluable in understanding the changes that need to be made to keep up with current guidelines and best practices.
As digital natives, these employees also tend to adapt well to new technologies, and bring with them a plethora of computer skills.
Read on to learn more about the value that Gen-Z and Millennial employees can bring to your mine.
Millennials, Gen-Z and ESG guidelines
Governments, communities, and other stakeholders are requiring more and more ESG compliance to approve mining operations.
If you find yourself constantly needing to redraft proposals, rewrite reports, and justify your mine’s actions, it may be time to rethink the role that ESG has in your mine.
It’s becoming increasingly evident that ESG guidelines aren’t something that you can just tack on to the end of a report, or pay lip service to. Kicking the ESG can down the road can have the effect of leading to more friction between stakeholders, and delays in operations.
Conversely, if you design your mine’s operations with ESG as a central concern, you’ll experience faster permissions, and less delays.
Younger generations take environmental and social issues to heart, and can offer a fresh perspective on how to not only keep up with the times, but be at the forefront of innovation in mining.
By investing in the time to rethink your mine’s operations, you’ll avoid having to do double work afterwards to keep up with regulations, and eliminate any resentment you might feel at ESG being “just another thing to keep up with.”
This kind of top level reorganization can be difficult to conceptualize and implement, especially when you’ve been doing things the same way for years. That’s where having fresh perspectives can really take your mine to the next level and ensure a more sustainable mine for years to come.
Mining, Data, and AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools have transformed countless industries, mining included. These new technologies are being developed for data generation, risk assessment, and ESG compliance.
With so many choices around, it can be difficult to determine which platforms are best for your mine to use. Adding to the complexity is understanding which platforms “play nice” and integrate with each other, and which ones will cause more problems than they solve.
Technological advancements are a full-circle development for mines. The shift to a more sustainable future will produce a major increase in mining for certain base metals that are used to create green technologies. These technologies are then used to power solutions that ensure proper sustainable monitoring of nearby mine ecosystems through the full life of the mine.
Some of the new tech that has been developed to help drive insights and improve sustainability, operations and decision making for mining organizations include AI and ML, autonomous solutions, and green/sustainable tech.
As digital natives, younger generations not only know how to best implement these new technologies, but they likely have valuable insight as to what platforms will serve your mine best.
Switching to any new software or platform and integrating it with what you already have can be a frustrating process, but it’s worth it to bring your mine up to date and ensure that your mine’s data is working for you.
The SourceOne® Enterprise Knowledge Performance System and The Future of Mining
What role does the SourceOne® Enterprise Knowledge Performance System (EKPS) play in the sustainable tech game and shaping the future of mining?
SourceOne positions your mining organization for the future, without challenging integrations and costly equipment.
SourceOne EKPS is the single source of truth for your mine. It’s a powerful platform capable of collecting and organizing data from multiple sources in your mine, as well as facilitating remote collaboration. SourceOne digitizes and automates your processes, plans, reports, and forms, as well as offering seamless integration with your current software.
Is SourceOne EKPS a solution that you feel could help your mine?
Learn more about how the SourceOne system can help your mine be at the forefront of future change while optimizing data management, collaboration, analytics strategies, data insights, and operational efficiency all with one system.