Digital Pillars: Unlocking Sustainability and Operational Excellence in African Mining

We chat with Johan Coetzee, Strategy and Consulting Lead for Resources at Accenture in South Africa. Johan has extensive experience advising mining companies across the continent on how to drive digital transformation, sustainability, and operational excellence in increasingly complex environments. We’ll explore how digital innovation is redefining mining in Africa, from automation and AI to sustainability, cybersecurity, and workforce development. We’ll also look at what’s holding the industry back from wider adoption, and what Accenture’s experience reveals about how to unlock real value from technology investments. KEY TAKEAWAYS A major misconception is that digital transformation requires an immediate, costly overhaul; in reality, a phased implementation focusing on high-value use cases and incremental upgrades is more realistic The industry is responsible for balancing rising international demand for critical minerals with local imperatives for inclusive growth and social development Digital innovation and advanced analytics are key to transforming sustainability from a compliance exercise into a driver of profitability by enabling measurable progress Practical first steps for miners include defining a clear end-state vision for the digitally transformed organisation, prioritising high-value projects, and focusing on capability building BEST MOMENTS "The industry needs to grab hold of that opportunity, and then do this as a phased implementation over time." "The keyword here is transparency... and one of the benefits of technology transformation is it enables mines to make sustainability measurable and then ultimately profitable." "We see technology following the money, so where major equipment manufacturers or major mining companies have invested in a country, we see technology providers follow." "It's not only about size, it's about having the focus of where you want to get to, but then finding the right partners." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail: ⁠[e-mail]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X: ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠ Web: ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST SOCIALS LinkedIn: Accenture in South Africa Instagram: accenturesouthafrica Web address: https://www.accenture.com/za-en Email: [e-mail] CONTACT METHOD ⁠[e-mail]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/