African mines are under growing pressure to improve productivity, contain energy costs and reduce emissions while maintaining safe and reliable operations. Against that backdrop, ABB is advancing a more integrated approach in which electrification, automation and digitalisation work as connected parts of the same operating system. ABB South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa's Senior Vice President and Motion Leader, Graham Abrahams, explained that the case for integration has become increasingly compelling as mining operations grow more electrified and complex. “Mining does not need to look at electrification, automation and digitalisation as separate investments. When these technologies are connected, they can help mines improve the performance, reliability and efficiency of the operation as a whole,” said Abrahams. That proposition was central to ABB's presence at Electra Mining Africa, where the company showcased technologies spanning electrical distribution, power management, automation and digitalisation. Its stand featured the Compact Secondary Substation, LeanGear Panel, SCADA Panel and SafePlus Air, alongside a Digital Product Display Kiosk with Relays and low voltage and medium voltage demonstration vehicles that gave visitors a practical view of how the technologies can be applied in mining environments. The focus reflects a wider shift in demand from African mining companies, particularly around electrical safety, power reliability and energy efficiency. As operations become increasingly electrified, mines are looking for electrical systems that do more than distribute power. They need greater visibility and control across their infrastructure while improving safety and resilience. ABB South Africa's Industry Specialist for Mining, John Pereira, pointed to advances in electrical protection as one area attracting strong interest. “The new air circuit breaker EMAX 3 with integrated arc protection allows for faster extinguishing of electric arcs and therefore increased safety,” noted Pereira. For mines, the significance extends beyond equipment protection. Faster arc protection can reduce the severity of an electrical event, helping to protect personnel and critical infrastructure while supporting more resilient operations. Abrahams sees electrification as the foundation for a broader efficiency and decarbonisation strategy. High efficiency motors and variable speed drives can work alongside automation to align energy consumption with actual process requirements, while reliable power distribution, protection and power management provide the electrical infrastructure needed to support increasingly sophisticated operations. The next layer is operational data and analytics. By connecting electrification, automation and digitalisation, mines can gain greater insight into asset performance and process conditions, helping them reduce energy intensity, improve asset utilisation and support their decarbonisation objectives without compromising production. Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of that capability. Through ABB Ability™, operational data from equipment and processes can be used to identify changes in asset condition and support earlier intervention. Changes in temperature, vibration, load or other operating parameters can indicate that an asset is moving away from its normal operating condition, allowing maintenance teams to investigate before a potential failure develops. “AI is therefore not about replacing the engineer or operator. It gives them better information, earlier, so they can make better operational decisions,” said Abrahams. This is helping shift maintenance towards condition based and predictive approaches, where decisions are informed by the actual condition of an asset rather than simply the number of hours it has operated. At process level, the same data can help identify variability and optimise operating conditions. Across its African mining projects, ABB applies its technologies to critical processes including grinding, hoisting, conveying, pumping, ventilation and electrical distribution, where equipment performance and availability have a direct impact on production. Although Abrahams does not disclose customer names where projects remain commercially confidential, he described an evolution in ABB's role beyond the initial installation of technology. Lifecycle services, remote diagnostics, condition monitoring and optimisation are increasingly being used to support customers as their operations develop. That approach is particularly relevant to African mining, where operations can face constrained or unreliable power, remote locations, ageing infrastructure and shortages of specialised technical skills. Technology therefore has to work with what mines already have rather than assume ideal starting conditions. For brownfield operations, Abrahams believes modernisation can be introduced progressively. He noted, “For a brownfield operation, you do not necessarily need to replace the entire electrical or automation system. You can identify critical assets, improve monitoring and control, and then build from there.” Digital connectivity also creates opportunities to bring specialist expertise closer to remote mine sites. Remote diagnostics can allow technical teams to assess equipment and support troubleshooting without requiring specialists to be physically present for every intervention, complementing the capabilities of teams based at the operation. Safety is similarly becoming a more integrated consideration. Automation and remote operation can reduce the need for people to work in hazardous areas, while electrical protection, proximity detection and condition monitoring provide additional layers of protection around personnel and critical assets. The emphasis on technology is matched by a focus on the people required to operate and maintain it. Abrahams noted that ABB works with customers and local channel and service partners through structured technical training, certification and ongoing support. The objective is to develop capability that extends beyond installation, ensuring local teams can safely maintain and service specialised technologies to the required technical and quality standards. For remote operations, that local capability can be complemented by digital monitoring and remote support, creating a model in which technical expertise is available closer to the mine while more complex requirements can draw on ABB's broader engineering organisation. Looking across the continent, Abrahams sees the greatest opportunity in connecting systems that have traditionally been managed in isolation. Electrical distribution, motors, drives, automation and process control may operate across different layers of a mine, yet their performance is closely interconnected. “The opportunity is to connect those systems so that the mine can understand how electrical performance is affecting production and vice versa,” concluded Abrahams. That opportunity is particularly significant for brownfield mines with substantial existing infrastructure. Intelligent drives, monitoring, automation and digital technologies can be introduced around critical assets and scaled over time, allowing operators to target areas where technology can deliver the greatest operational return. For ABB, the next phase of mining technology is therefore less about adding technology for its own sake and more about creating connections between the systems that already keep a mine running. By bringing power, equipment, automation and operational intelligence into a more integrated environment, mines can pursue greater efficiency, reliability and safety while making better use of existing assets and progressing towards their longer term energy and decarbonisation goals.