With costs rising and commodity prices declining, more efficient ways of mining are needed. Companies like Anglo American, with its FutureSmart technology, are working toward making it happen. “At the moment, more than 50 FutureSmart initiatives are under way to find safer, more efficient, environmentally-friendly and, ultimately, more sustainable ways to mine. Some of the innovations will be on a small scale, while others will be more ‘disruptive,’ creating a step-change worth more than new projects,” said Donovan Waller, group head of Anglo American’s technology development.