The centre will assess massive volumes of data captured by the array of sensors attached to Rio Tinto’s fixed and mobile equipment, and will enable experts to predict and prevent engine breakdowns and other downtime events. This will significantly boost productivity and safety.

Using predictive mathematics, machine learning and advanced modelling, data scientists in the Analytics Excellence Centre in Pune, India will be working to identify a range of problems before they occur. This analysis will reduce maintenance costs and production losses from unplanned breakdowns.

Greg Lilleyman, group executive, technology and innovation at Rio Tinto, said: “The Analytics Excellence Centre will allow us to extract maximum value from the data we are capturing around the performance of our equipment, making our operations more predictable, efficient and safer. This is a world-first for the mining industry and is all part of Rio Tinto’s relentless pursuit of productivity gains across our businesses.

“The centre will help us predict the future through the use of advanced data analytic techniques to pinpoint with incredible accuracy the operating performance of our equipment. Our aim is to run more efficient, smarter and safer mining operations and provide greater shareholder returns. This is bringing the world of tomorrow to today. We’re combining human experience with machine intelligence and providing more support to our operations.”

Rio Tinto has partnered with IGATE to develop the Analytics Excellence Centre. The centre is the latest phase of Rio Tinto’s Mine of the Future programme, which is dedicated to finding advanced ways of improving safety and productivity. Its Processing Excellence Centre (PEC) was opened in March 2014, and a Mining Excellence Centre (MEC) recently came online.

John McGagh, head of innovation at Rio Tinto, recently told Mining Magazine about the centre in an interview – read the full conversation here.