How and why Crowdsourcing works in the Resources Industry

Crowdsourcing Solutions

Chris SchmidAccount Manager,

Unearthed

WHY?

Less credible, not experts

Risky, UnknownDifficult to collaborate

PastSuccess came from better information Only experts had access Protect information

NowInformation is abundant, ability to process is bottle neck!Diversity and breadth of ideas winsOpen Information up to extract value

What’s changed?

Less credible, not experts

Collective insightsRisky, Unknown

Immediate feedback loop

Difficult to collaborate

Technology enabled

Mining was leading the way

In 2000, GoldCorp opened up all geological data

$575,000 CAD won by Fractal Graphics in West

Perth

Over 110 targets ($6bn) identified, 50% unknown

GoldCorp now top 5 gold producer

Ore-X Challenge with GoldFields

Automatically classify underground rock face into high, medium, low grade and waste

$10,000 for 1st Prize, one month

ORE-X Challenge

Ore-X Challenge

Ore-X Challenge

Ore-X Results

Algorithm with 80% accuracy in secondsRemoves subjective bias270 ParticipantsWinner: Brian Lynch, CanadaPayback in less than two month

Phase-X Challenge with BHP Billiton

Create the best algorithm for open pit mining phases based on block model dataOpen and hidden data sets$50,000 prize money & $10,000 travel prizeSix month competitionSupport forum and webinar sessions

Phase-X Challenge with BHP Billiton

Inputs and Constraints

Maximum mining rate

Process plant capacity

Annual discount rate

Benchmark NPV

Maximum Slope Angle

Phase Design Constraints

1 1 11

1111

1 22

2 1 1 11

1111 1 22

2

x1 2 2

111

11 2 22

1

x

Participation across the globe

284 Sign Ups53 Cities from 6 ContinentsParticipants from ETH Zurich, University of Southampton, University of KU Leuven, Colorado School of Mines and many more

And the first prize goes to …

Alan Bye, VP Technology BHP Billiton & Thomas Li

Thomas LiPhD in Applied MathematicsAustralian National University Canberra“Optimising open pit mining phases using multi grid search”$35,000 for winning algorithm

When do online challenges work?

Data driven challenges

When you know what you are looking for, and want the best

When you want to connect with talent globally

Thank you

Up NextPanel Discussion:

Resourcing the Future