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Snowflake and MaxMine partner for greener and efficient open-pit mining
Tue, 17th Oct 2023

Adelaide-based mining technology startup, MaxMine, has announced a partnership with cloud data giant, Snowflake, to increase efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability at open-pit mine sites. This new collaboration aims to bolster efforts from customers to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Under the partnership, Snowflake's single, integrated platform will manage over 25 Terabytes of MaxMine's operational data derived from mining clients. The details are gathered in near real time, leading to improved equipment lifespan, optimised operations, faster decision-making, and successful operational changes at mining sites, including those in remote regions.

"MaxMine employs data enabling the average open pit mine to improve productivity while also reducing its carbon footprint by approximately 15-20,000 tonnes of CO2," explained Tom Cawley, Executive Chair and Interim CEO of MaxMine. He added, "Huge amounts of data are vital to our mission to get Mining Done Different, so we needed a partner of Snowflake's calibre. With Snowflake, we are able to derive greater value and deliver tangible benefits to our customers, supporting them and accelerating their decarbonisation journey."

MaxMine's Head of Product Development, Ben Chartier, endorsed Snowflake after thorough examination of modern cloud data technologies and careful assessment of the technical and business need for MaxMine's product. "We were impressed with Snowflake's approach to decoupling compute and storage from the underlying data technology...We were able to get a technical proof of concept up and running in a week," he enthused.

As the world advances towards 2050's net zero goals, the International Energy Agency states that the mining industry will need to mine six times more metals than today to back cleaner energy solutions like solar, wind, and water. At the same time, the industry is adapting to new sustainability requirements.

"Data plays an ever-increasing and pivotal role in delivering a sustainable future... All businesses can take concrete action against climate change, and we're proud to see the Snowflake Data Cloud play a key role," stated Theo Hourmouzis, Regional Vice President at Snowflake Australia and New Zealand.

MaxMine's innovative technology and data analytics capabilities use custom-built smart algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and intuitive software to support mining companies in developing a pathway to lower carbon emissions while maintaining or even increasing production. With MaxMine and Snowflake’s collaboration, mining's carbon footprint is now achievable through the use of data analytics.

About MaxMine: MaxMine is a next-generation technology solution for open-pit mine sites. Using smart algorithms, artificial intelligence and intuitive software, MaxMine's products capture, process and analyse mining operational data in near real time. They optimise performance, improve productivity and safety, boost profitability, and enable environmentally sustainable mining operation practices, accelerating the industry to achieve net zero by 2050.