In the last decades, the mining industry has grown significantly; however, the professionals with technical profile have not grown at the same level. This affects strategic decisions on innovation that do not often contemplate all the technical factors to be considered for the development of new projects. Moreover, there is insufficient preparation of the new professionals in the field of innovation and technological development, which results in a workforce that is not yet adapted to meet the new requirements and needs of the industry.
•Hire people with experience and training.
•Integrative work with universities and RDI centers.
In the Chilean mining industry, logistic costs to innovate are high. This is a great difficulty for national providers, who are not able to face these costs —incurred in the realization of new projects— due to lack of resources.
•Develop pilot centers.
•Build alliances with “Mining Training Centers” (Universidad de La Serena y Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez)
The high level of outsourcing different processes to provider companies, does not allow the mining company to accumulate new knowledge. This leads to dependence on providers, which increases costs.
•Training internal personnel.
•Hiring experts.
Over time, mining companies generate knowledge with innovative potential; however, it is lost due to the disinterest of new directors and managers. Thus, the possibility of appropriation passes to transnational companies, which systematize the knowledge developed, and obtain exclusive control over it.
•Improve knowledge management through protocols, manuals, and procedures.
•Collect the information available.
•Hire a company and / or a center with expertise in information and project analysis.
