Rio Tinto and iGATE Patni today opened a state-of-the-art innovation centre in Pune, India to support global growth and development of Rio Tinto’s industry-leading Mine of the Future™ programme.
In the first partnership of its kind in the mining industry, over the next five years iGATE Patni will provide Rio Tinto with engineering research and development services, including industrial automation and control, software and embedded design and development, and general engineering services.
The Rio Tinto Innovation Centre (RTIC) will build on the work of Rio Tinto’s established Centres of Excellence in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom to deliver the technologies they have developed to Rio Tinto operations across the globe.
Rio Tinto head of Innovation John McGagh, Rio Tinto India managing director Nik Senapati, iGATE Patni chief executive officer Phaneesh Murthy and iGATE Patni executive vice president and head of Product Engineering Services Satish Joshi, formally opened the RTIC today at an inauguration ceremony in Pune.
RTIC will provide engineering skills to help drive innovation through to implementation at an operational level. It will take innovation ideas that have been developed by the Rio Tinto centres and trialled in a specific mine or business unit, and modify the technology for use with other products, or in different regions.
Mr Murthy said “We are truly delighted that Rio Tinto has chosen iGATE Patni as its exclusive partner for this landmark innovation engagement.
“I am particularly pleased that our capabilities in product engineering services have gained increased acceptance among global companies to bring about innovation in their business and this partnership is an important step in our journey to deliver high-impact business outcomes.
“We have geared to partnering with Rio Tinto in achieving its vision of providing unprecedented automation in mining.”
Mr McGagh said “Launching this centre with iGATE Patni marks an important step in the rollout of our Mine of the Future™ programme and will help create business value in the mining industry. This partnership will enable us to move our innovations from concept stage to reality more efficiently through the work of a dedicated team of specialised engineers. iGATE Patni’s credentials and business capability fit our need for a strong outcomes-driven innovation partner.
“RTIC will allow us to take a specific technology developed at one of our Centres of Excellence, such as the mine automation system currently in use at our Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia, and adapt it for broader application across our network of mines.”
Mr Joshi said “We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with the development of the next generation mining technology. Technology being the key to realise Rio Tinto's vision of enabling safe, productive and environment-friendly mining, we are eager to cross-leverage our experience in engineering and technology deployment across diverse fields such as industrial automation, logistics, imaging and human factors designs.”
Dr Senapati said “Rio Tinto’s relationship with India extends back to the 1930s and will be increasingly important to our business. Our enduring relationship with India will be strengthened through our collaboration with iGATE Patni. This partnership is further demonstration of our long-term commitment to India and represents a great opportunity to provide world-class intellectual and technological capacity for the mining sector in India.”
Rio Tinto’s commitment to research and development plays a key role in the Mine of the Future™ programme. Rio Tinto has five Centres of Excellence, with each research centre working in partnership with leading universities, specialising in addressing key challenges facing the industry.
RTIC will help bring on next-generation automated technologies for mining operations, creating greater operational efficiency, lower production costs and improved health, safety and environmental performance. It will have some 300 employees, mainly skilled engineers, addressing the diverse and changing technological demands from across Rio Tinto operations and will focus on disciplines such as image processing, advanced data mining and analytics, automation and control systems, design and logistics.
About Mine of the FutureTM
Launched in 2008, Rio Tinto’s Mine of the Future™ programme introduces next-generation technologies for mining operations that aim to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve health, safety and environmental outcomes. The programme is run in conjunction with leading universities and organisations around the world, through Rio Tinto’s Centres of Excellence.
Recent milestones in the Mine of the Future™ programme include the US$518 million investment in autonomous trains for the Pilbara iron ore rail network in Western Australia; and the testing and developing of new technologies in underground tunnelling and mineral recovery.
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and New York Stock Exchange listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, thermal and metallurgical coal, uranium, gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide and salt) and iron ore. Activities span the world and are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and New York Stock Exchange listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, thermal and metallurgical coal, uranium, gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide and salt) and iron ore. Activities span the world and are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.
About iGATE Patni
'iGATE Patni' is the common brand identity of two organisations — iGATE Corporation and Patni Computer Systems Limited (Patni). With iGATE having acquired a majority stake in Patni, the two companies, under the common brand iGATE Patni, jointly provide full-spectrum consulting, technology and business process outsourcing, and product engineering services on a business outcomes-based model. Armed with over three decades of IT Services experience and powered by the iTOPS (Integrated Technology and Operations) platform, iGATE Patni’s multi-location global organization with a talent pool of more than 26,000 people, consistently delivers effective solutions to over 360 Fortune 1000 clients spanning across verticals like: banking and financial services; insurance and healthcare; life sciences; manufacturing, retail, distribution and logistics; media, entertainment leisure and travel; communication, energy and utilities; public sector; and independent software vendors.
iGATE Corporation is listed on NASDAQ (IGTE), and Patni Computer Systems Limited on the Bombay Stock Exchange (532517), the National Stock Exchange of India (PATNI) and NYSE (PTI).
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