AI & MACHINE LEARNING
BESPOKE DATA VISUALISATIONS
CUSTOM SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
CLOUD & OPERATIONS
DATA & ANALYTICS
EMBEDDED & ENGINEERING
IOT & CLOUD
CASE STUDY
Boliden builds a sustainable future for mining with automation, AI & Azure
Swedish mining company Boliden produces the high-quality metals, including zinc and copper, needed to make modern life work. As part of a long-term goal to introduce more digitisation and automation into its processes, Boliden used a wide range of Microsoft Azure resources—such as Azure Stack Edge, Azure IoT Edge, and Computer Vision (part of Azure Cognitive Services)—to monitor its mining sites around the clock. This has helped Boliden’s people refocus on the high-value, innovative work that drives more sustainable, environmentally friendly mining operations.
By working with a flexible, fully featured cloud infrastructure, we can bring more productivity, sustainability, and safety to all our sites, without needing to invent everything all over again.
Forging a Sustainable Future
Metals are crucial to a sustainable future. Wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles all rely on materials like copper, aluminium, and zinc. Boliden operates some of Europe’s largest mines and is committed to becoming the world’s most climate-friendly metals provider.
“We aim to reduce environmental impacts across all our sites by embracing digital technology and sustainable practices,” says Andreas Stenlund, IT Manager for Mining Operations at Boliden.
Boliden had several in-house solutions but lacked a unified view and automation. Working with Nexer Insight, the company built a platform on Microsoft Azure to centralise data and improve operations.
“We wanted to innovate, not just maintain platforms,” says Fredrik Hases, IT Manager at the Garpenberg mine.
Automation & Innovation
Mining sites often lack the high-demand computing needed for advanced analytics. Boliden deployed Azure Stack Edge Pro with GPU at Garpenberg to connect onsite systems to Azure’s cloud resources.
To track productivity and safety, Boliden monitors the site with 500 cameras and thousands of sensors. Previously, human operators monitored camera feeds, but now, AI processes the data to assess dam stability and environmental impact.
“We needed automation,” says Hases. “Human eyes were better, but now we’ve freed up time for more productive tasks.”
With Azure Cognitive Services and Machine Learning, Boliden uses AI to analyse video streams, providing automated, 24/7 monitoring. Azure Time Series Insights lets the team visualise and analyse vast real-time data.
Insight into Real-time Events, Trends, and the Long Term
By using Azure, Boliden combines the cloud’s scalability with local flexibility. This approach has simplified operations and improved system deployment.
“We’ve saved two hours a day and gained deeper insights into site performance,” says Hases.
The platform tracks trends continuously, offering valuable insights for Boliden’s long-term environmental goals. “We’re not just improving operations short-term; we’re generating insights to guide future strategies,” says Stenlund.
Analysis at the Edge—Across Every Site
Following the success at Garpenberg, Boliden plans to expand Azure’s use to other sites across Europe.
“We want to incorporate more sensors and data to make better decisions,” says Stenlund.
Boliden is leading the mining industry into a sustainable and profitable future. “Azure helps Boliden reduce environmental impacts while staying profitable,” says David Österlindh, CEO of Nexer Insight.
“Expanding our Azure environment will bring more productivity, sustainability, and safety to all our sites,” says Hases.
We’re not just using the cloud to make short-term improvements in operations. We’re using its capacity, scalability, and dedicated tools to generate new operational insights, focus on innovation and development, and inform our long-term strategies, so we can continue building a better future through sustainable mining.
