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A New Vision for the Mining Company of the Future

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A New Vision for the Mining Company of the Future

A New Vision for the Mining Company of the Future

In 2012, a diverse group of global leaders met at the KIN Catalyst conference in Brazil. With representation from business, academia, nonprofits and government, the group convened and collaborated to discuss the look of the Mining Company of the Future.

Participation in the discussions came from a range of stakeholders. Mark Cutifani (CEO of Anglo American), Ray Offenheiser (President of Oxfam America), and Peter Bryant (Senior Fellow, Kellogg Innovation Network) all co-chaired the discussions. There was also representation from organizations such as Vale, AngloGold Ashanti, The Ford Foundation, Harvard University, Global Indigenous Solutions, and many other organizations.

Together, these different parties identified a set of priorities that could help shift the industry. The consensus was that mining needs to change proactively in order to design their own destiny – or someone or something else will.

Mining companies today face a complexity of problems: spiraling costs, government intervention, deepening pits, lower ore grades, and declining productivity are just some of the issues. Communities are not trusting mining, and this creates additional uncertainty. It is harder to find and start a mine than ever before. Combine this with today’s capital environment and struggling commodity prices, and it creates a very difficult picture.

Since the KIN Catalyst conference in 2012, the working group has developed a much more extensive framework for mining companies, called the Development Partner Framework (DPF). This framework is outlined in the above infographic. If you are looking to get involved, the organization can be contacted at [email protected]

For more information on the KIN Catalyst: Mining Company of the Future at the Kellogg Innovation Network, visit the website: https://www.kinglobal.org/catalyst.php

What do you think? Is this vision possible – and what are the biggest challenges facing the industry?

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Copper

Brass Rods: The Secure Choice

This graphic shows why brass rods are the secure choice for precision-machined and forged parts.

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Teaser of bar chart and pie chart highlighting three ways brass rods empower manufacturers in the competitive market for precision-machined and forged products.

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The following content is sponsored by Copper Development Association

Brass Rods: The Secure Choice

The unique combination of machinability and recyclability makes brass rods the secure choice for manufacturers seeking future-proof raw material solutions.

This infographic, from the Copper Development Association, shows three ways brass rods give manufacturers greater control and a license to grow in the competitive market for precision-machined and forged products.

Future-Proof Investments in New Machine Tools

A material’s machinability directly impacts machine throughput, which typically has the largest impact on machine shop profitability.

The high-speed machining capabilities of brass rods maximize machine tool performance, allowing manufacturers to run the material faster and longer without sacrificing tool life, chip formation, or surface quality.

The high machining efficiency of brass leads to reduced per-part costs, quicker return on investment (ROI) for new machine tools, and expanded production capacity for new projects.

Supply Security Through Closed Loop Recycling

Brass, like its parent element copper, can be infinitely recycled. 

In 2022, brass- and wire-rod mills accounted for the majority of the 830,000 tonnes of copper recycled from scrap in the United States.

Given that scrap ratios for machined parts typically range from 60-70% by weight, producing mills benefit from a secure and steady supply of clean scrap returned directly from customers, which is recycled to create new brass rods.

The high residual value of brass scrap creates a strong recycling incentive. Scrap buy back programs give manufacturers greater control over raw material net costs as scrap value is often factored into supplier purchase agreements.

Next Generation Alloys for a Lead-Free Future

Increasingly stringent global regulations continue to pressure manufacturers to minimize the use of materials containing trace amounts of lead and other harmful impurities.

The latest generation of brass-rod alloys is engineered to meet the most demanding criteria for lead leaching in drinking water and other sensitive applications.

Seven brass-rod alloys passed rigorous testing to become the only ‘Acceptable Materials’ against lower lead leaching criteria recently adopted in the national U.S. drinking water quality standard, NSF 61.

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Learn more about the advantages of brass rods solutions.

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