Australian mining companies view end-to-end optimisation as being the point in the value chain where innovation will have the greatest value in the next 15 years, according to the Innovation: State of Play mining survey report, which was sponsored by METS Ignited.
This was lower than North America and South Africa, which rated extraction as the greatest value lever.
The majority of respondents from Australia indicated the timeframe for innovation focus was three years or less.
Technological change and disruption, and environmental pressures will have the greatest impact on innovation in the mining sector over the next 15 years, according to the report.
It found that 57% of the respondents believe that mining companies should involve suppliers in their innovation process and 33% of METS companies say that all employees drive innovation, not just the CEO.