Closing the Technological Gap: End-to-End Integration in Mining

Q: What success stories showcase how Hexagon’s smart monitoring and survey systems improve decision-making for Mexican mining operations?
A: Our Smart Center empowers mine personnel to make timely, data-driven decisions. For example, one Mexican mine with over 700 equipped vehicles generates thousands of collision avoidance alerts daily. Smart Center filters these alerts based on KPIs set with the mine, ensuring only critical notifications reach operations, improving both safety and efficiency.

For fatigue monitoring, our Operator Alert System (OAS) continuously tracks operator alertness. Alerts are monitored 24/7 by our remote control center in Hermosillo, Sonora, where specialists interpret the data and communicate with the mine according to established protocols. This enables corrective actions, such as temporarily pausing operations for fatigued operators, and provides insights on alert frequency by zone, time, or individual operator.

Finally, Smart Center’s fleet management solutions optimize operational KPIs, including equipment availability, utilization, and routing. This enhances productivity, reduces downtime, and ensures the safe and efficient use of resources.

Q: Beyond safety and productivity, how does Hexagon support environmental impact mitigation and ecological rehabilitation in mining?
A: Hexagon is the only provider in Mexico and Latin America offering a comprehensive ecological reclamation solution: Green Cubes. This technology enables mines to perform detailed environmental assessments before operations begin. Green Cubes combines aerial drone scans, on-ground sensors to map vegetation, hidden cameras to monitor wildlife, and subsurface sensors to measure root structures, water content, and groundwater levels. All data is integrated into a biomass model within our planning software, helping restore mined areas as close as possible to their original state and preserving biodiversity. While perfection is impossible, recovery of up to 90% is achievable.

Green Cubes has been successfully applied by Vale in Brazil, and several Mexican mines are exploring its adoption. Additionally, our fleet management technology indirectly reduces the carbon footprint by optimizing transport routes, decreasing fuel use, truck numbers, and tire wear, supporting both productivity and sustainability.

Q: What growth opportunities will the Mexican mining sector see over the next five to 10 years, and how will Hexagon capitalize on them? 
A: Mexico is the world’s top producer of several key minerals, but mining has become increasingly complex and costly. Ore grades have declined, some by 40% since the early 1990s, requiring more rock to produce the same output and raising operational costs. Deposits are deeper, exploration can consume up to 50% of a mine’s budget, and horizontal expansion increases haul distances, reducing productivity and often requiring more trucks.

Rising global demand has pushed mineral prices to historic highs. By 2050, metals demand, driven by electrification, AI, EVs, electronics, and solar energy, is expected to exceed supply, with silver and copper potentially facing a 60% shortfall. This is an opportunity that underscores the essential role of technology. Mines are increasingly adopting digital solutions, autonomous equipment, and AI. Autonomous trucks reduce labor costs and improve operational efficiency, while AI platforms like Hexagon’s Smart Center process thousands of sensor alerts in real time, applying KPIs and operational rules to identify risks and support proactive decision making.

Q: What is the largest technological gap in Mexican mining today, and how can Hexagon help close it?
A: The biggest challenge in mining today is adapting to change. Introducing new technology is difficult, and people want proof: Who else is using it? Where can I see it in action? That is why we invite clients to visit mines in Chile, Brazil, or Peru, or connect them with current users. We also provide tailored on-site demonstrations so clients can see tangible benefits in their own operations.

The main technological gap and opportunity is integration. Mining operations often have multiple systems that are not connected. Aligning this information creates a complete workflow, enabling timely decisions and operational optimization. Hexagon addresses this through end-to-end integration, or “mine to mill.” Our planning tools link blasting design, precision drilling, loading, hauling, and processing. Post-blast analysis feeds back into planning, optimizing rock fragmentation and efficiency, capabilities that are not available elsewhere.

Integration also enhances safety. Our collision avoidance system connects with slope monitoring. If a radar detects seismic activity, all vehicles in the area are automatically alerted, removing delays and errors from manual notifications. In short, integration is the key technological gap in mining, and Hexagon’s solutions close it, improving both productivity and safety.