Is mining a high-tech industry? Investigations into innovation and productivity advance

The fundamental nature of the mining industry with respect to innovation is often questioned. Is it the conservative, stodgy industry commonly depicted by its critics or is it instead a sophisticated, high-tech industry as championed by many of proponents? Using productivity statistics, it can be shown that the innovation rate of metal mining companies directly compares with the rates associated with general manufacturing. This relationship has held true for the last 50 years. A significant difference lies in the high-tech manufacturing sector, which for the last approximately dozen years has held productivity increases of 9.5% per year, in contrast to general manufacturing and metal mining rates of 2.5% and 2.3% per year, respectively. The number of revolutionary technologies developed in various sectors of the mining industry over the last century equate to a rate of one to three per century; a rate comparable to other "mature" industries such as cement and glass-making. In contrast, the micro-computing sector has had a revolutionary technology development rate roughly four times this. With respect to innovation, mining thus appears to have far more in common with mature manufacturing industries than it does with the high-tech sector. Investment in basic research and development within the industry has been low relative to other industries and appears to be decreasing. Much of the industry's present productivity advances appear to have originated from outside the industry, with equipment manufacturers and suppliers to the industry. Given decreases in basic R and D investment by this sector and as well by government programs, it remains to be seen if the mining industry can maintain its productivity advances at comparable rates. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.