XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 47
(1999) noted they correlated with a recession in metals
prices, extensive employee layoffs, and an overall decrease
in head grades, but close to the same outputs as previous
years. Bartos (2002 and 2006) further highlighted that at
this time an increase in productivity occurred at existing
mines. Given the decline in head grades, no new mines and
increased productivity, it would seem likely that technology
and innovation contributed to growth in production.
Across Chile, the labor productivity followed a similar
pattern, with an offset in time phase. Productivity increased
22.3% from 1990 to 1997, which correlated with a signifi-
cant increase in foreign mining investments. In both coun-
tries, the increase in productivity further correlated with
the implementation of solvent extraction and electrowin-
ning (SX-EW) across the industry (Bartos 2002, 2006).
Measuring innovation within an industry is complex
and there is no single metric one can review to readily assess
the level of innovation. How then do we assess, and more
importantly re-invigorate innovation in the mining indus-
try…or do we even need to do so?
Implemented first in 1968, SX-EW is viewed to be the
last significant breakthrough innovation across the mining
industry. Certainly, one could surmise from this that the
mining industry is indeed one that lacks innovation how-
ever, how does this rate of innovation compare to the rate
of innovation in other industries?
Anderson and Tushman (1991) compared the rate
of innovation across 200 years in the glass industry, 100
years in the cement industry, and 24 years in the com-
puter industry. They found that while the timing of break-
through innovation differed between industries, the pattern
of innovation was comparable. Technological advancement
followed patterns of major breakthrough followed by incre-
mental advancements. The glass industry had three within
100 years the cement industry had two within the last 40
years and the computer industry had three in 24 years.
Both the cement and glass industries had 50+ year periods
with no major technological breakthroughs. Bartos (2007)
evaluated the mining industry as an integrated value chain
from exploration to extraction to milling to processing
(including smelting and refining) and found the number of
breakthrough innovations over the last century in mining
to be 10 to 12, which placed it ahead of the cement and
glass industries.
Does the rate of innovation and do the differences
between high-tech manufacturing and commodity man-
ufacturing mean the latter are not innovative? Again, we
come back to the challenge that the process, rate, and imple-
mentation of innovation in different industries is a complex
challenge to which there is far more than designing the next
tool or process. Innovation across these industries has been
largely driven by a need to solve a particular challenge and/
or produce a new product whether that is improving glass
formulations to provide shatter resistance, cement formula-
tions to meet new strength specifications, new mineral pro-
cessing techniques to address declining ore grades, or new
Figure 1. Number of patents per year within the mining industry (https://www.wipo.
int/about-ip/en/ip_innovation_economics/innovating-towards-development/evolution-
mining-innovation.html)
(1999) noted they correlated with a recession in metals
prices, extensive employee layoffs, and an overall decrease
in head grades, but close to the same outputs as previous
years. Bartos (2002 and 2006) further highlighted that at
this time an increase in productivity occurred at existing
mines. Given the decline in head grades, no new mines and
increased productivity, it would seem likely that technology
and innovation contributed to growth in production.
Across Chile, the labor productivity followed a similar
pattern, with an offset in time phase. Productivity increased
22.3% from 1990 to 1997, which correlated with a signifi-
cant increase in foreign mining investments. In both coun-
tries, the increase in productivity further correlated with
the implementation of solvent extraction and electrowin-
ning (SX-EW) across the industry (Bartos 2002, 2006).
Measuring innovation within an industry is complex
and there is no single metric one can review to readily assess
the level of innovation. How then do we assess, and more
importantly re-invigorate innovation in the mining indus-
try…or do we even need to do so?
Implemented first in 1968, SX-EW is viewed to be the
last significant breakthrough innovation across the mining
industry. Certainly, one could surmise from this that the
mining industry is indeed one that lacks innovation how-
ever, how does this rate of innovation compare to the rate
of innovation in other industries?
Anderson and Tushman (1991) compared the rate
of innovation across 200 years in the glass industry, 100
years in the cement industry, and 24 years in the com-
puter industry. They found that while the timing of break-
through innovation differed between industries, the pattern
of innovation was comparable. Technological advancement
followed patterns of major breakthrough followed by incre-
mental advancements. The glass industry had three within
100 years the cement industry had two within the last 40
years and the computer industry had three in 24 years.
Both the cement and glass industries had 50+ year periods
with no major technological breakthroughs. Bartos (2007)
evaluated the mining industry as an integrated value chain
from exploration to extraction to milling to processing
(including smelting and refining) and found the number of
breakthrough innovations over the last century in mining
to be 10 to 12, which placed it ahead of the cement and
glass industries.
Does the rate of innovation and do the differences
between high-tech manufacturing and commodity man-
ufacturing mean the latter are not innovative? Again, we
come back to the challenge that the process, rate, and imple-
mentation of innovation in different industries is a complex
challenge to which there is far more than designing the next
tool or process. Innovation across these industries has been
largely driven by a need to solve a particular challenge and/
or produce a new product whether that is improving glass
formulations to provide shatter resistance, cement formula-
tions to meet new strength specifications, new mineral pro-
cessing techniques to address declining ore grades, or new
Figure 1. Number of patents per year within the mining industry (https://www.wipo.
int/about-ip/en/ip_innovation_economics/innovating-towards-development/evolution-
mining-innovation.html)