digital twin
As mining companies increasingly operate from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of kilometres away from the pit or plant, one challenge has remained constant – how to give remote teams the same operational context, detail, and situational awareness they’d have if they were standing on site.
From the outside, the conversation around digital mining often gets framed in broad terms - automation, Information of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) but for those working underground or in control rooms, the real question is more practical: how do these tools actually solve the daily challenges?
For Stewart Johnston, Account Manager - Mine Electrification and Automation at ABB Australia, the key lies in making information usable, timely, and connected across the mining value chain.
At the 2025 AusIMM Mineral Resource Estimation Conference in Perth, a standout panel of industry leaders took the stage to discuss a question at the core of the discipline: where is resource modelling heading, and how should practitioners prepare? The answers revealed a field in transition—balancing powerful new tools with enduring geological fundamentals.
