Anglo American plans to use technology to push its standards to global benchmarks and then take them even further, allowing it to cut costs and improve productivity, Hennie Faul, chief executive officer of the mining company's copper business, has said.
The UK-listed miner is seeking to ensure a continuous step-change in performance at its operations and has been working with what Anglo's chief executive officer, Mark Cutifani, describes as a "burning ambition" for its innovation and technology over the past few years, Faul told Fastmarkets in an interview as part of the annual CESCO industry week in Santiago, Chile.The aftermath of the global financial crisis left miners focusing on cutting costs and improving productivity, but Faul said that Anglo also retained a focus on technology, even during the toughest times."The world was still coming out of very uncertain times but we focused on dedicated technical services and we stuck with it. At the same time, we were fixing our balance sheet. We needed to lower dividends, respond to shareholder demands and fulfil our...