The world has endured through and excelled at many technological innovations over the past 40 years that have drastically changed people’s way of life, and the speed of adoption is constantly getting faster. It took 122 years since the first telephone call in 1876 for there to be one phone for every person in the US, but it took only 14 years since the release of Apple’s revolutionary iPhone in 2007 for 85% of American adults to use a smartphone. The US$1.84 trillion (2021) global mining industry is dominated by companies wanting to achieve optimal efficiency, and is constantly in desperate need of new innovations. One sector that has not changed in almost half a century is the estimated $4.4 billion connector industry, which is forecast to grow at a CAGR of over 5% to reach $7.58 billion in 2030. The urgent problem with existing connectors is that they are bulky, heavy and made using highly conductive metals. They require extensive manpower, are expensive to maintain and dangerous to handle – especially in explosive atmospheres with high cable failure rates potentially leading to significant mine downtime. Connec, who has developed and commercialised the most economical and safest high voltage connector systems (HVCS) in the world that also incorporates fiber optic data transmission, has bolstered their North American consortium, and secured a $6 million letter of intent in Australia. The deal has been done with one of the five largest mining conglomerates in the world, which will form the base of a joint technology development and implementation initiative. With Connec’s technology, a new cable can be connected in less than 4 hours, instead of up to 24 hours with conventional systems. The added bonus of real-time fault detection allows for precision identification of any connectivity issues, meaning the isolated incident can be handled quickly without needing a whole mine shutdown. Connec is now becoming the industry standard for HVCS after a robust few years working with the majors. A global shift towards autonomous mining has highlighted the critical need to ensure all this HVCS technology is powered safely and economically – and there is only one company in the world who has developed a market-ready solution. The use of real-time data in underground resource extraction is now an essential part of any operation looking to improve production efficiency and implement top notch health and safety procedures. The crucial aspects of operations that Connec’s HVCS can facilitate include not only monitoring the atmosphere for harmful gas or particles, but also the transfer of data that allows the assessment and control of machinery, health and vital signs of workers and the structural integrity of mine areas and entry points. The global mining automation market was worth US$3.3 billion in 2021 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of almost 8% to reach US$6.4 billion by 2030. Most of this demand for innovation is being driven by global mining companies looking to optimise their operations, sparking tech companies like Connec to facilitate this transition. Another key consideration is the energy transmission requirements of underground and open-cut mines, and the extreme conditions these power systems must operate under. They are required to power mining equipment, provide lighting and ventilation. Any disruptions to these capabilities can prove both immensely costly and present unacceptable risks to workers, so it is of crucial importance that these systems are protected with Connec’s innovative product. These power systems are only going to become more prevalent as the entire resources industry goes through the decarbonisation transition. It is responsible for anywhere between 4-7% of global greenhouse gas emissions – a large part of which comes from diesel trucks. Technologies such as electric trolley lines are rapidly being taken up by the industry, and need to be powered by cable that is safely connected. Connec has 70,000 cable hours in customer sites with zero faults and use of its connectors has reduced the risk of cable faults by more than 26%, as well as decreasing the likelihood of joint failures, termination failures and installation defects by 67%. The technology is safeguarded against competition due to the complexity of polymer composition that cannot be reverse engineered and years of regulatory approval testing that cannot be fast tracked. The company has world-first underlying IP, protected by eight patent families across 124 key jurisdictions. If you are interested in future investment opportunities in the mining industry, please register your interest and we will keep you updated.

Reach Markets have been engaged by Connec Limited and may receive fees for its services.