This whitepaper explores how mining companies can move from manual, scattered compliance to engineered assurance through the strategic implementation and ongoing support of risk and compliance software platforms. It draws on realistic scenarios, industry needs, and emerging practices to guide transformation.
1. The Risk and Compliance Burden in Mining
The mining industry faces a uniquely complex risk landscape:
- Health, Safety and Environment (HSE): From fatality risks to water contamination and tailings management
- Regulatory Compliance: Local licensing, environmental approvals, reporting under global ESG and carbon schemes
- Community and Social Risk: Indigenous land rights, social license to operate, and grievance mechanisms
- Supply Chain Risk: Conflict minerals, ethical sourcing, and contractor safety
- Cyber and Information Security: Protection of SCADA/OT systems and production data
- Financial and Operational Risk: Market volatility, geopolitical exposure, and project execution
2. The Technology Gap: Fragmented Systems, Manual Workarounds
Most mining firms still rely on:
- Disparate spreadsheets, emails, and locally stored reports for compliance monitoring
- HSE systems that are siloed from risk registers and decision-making
- Underutilised ERP risk modules (SAP, Oracle, etc.) lacking industry-specific workflows
- Reactive, audit-triggered compliance actions, not embedded controls
This creates blind spots, slows reporting, limits assurance, and exposes companies to cumulative non-compliance.
3. The Transformation Approach: Strategic Implementation of Risk and Compliance Software
- Platform Selection Considerations
While large ERPs offer foundational modules, mining firms increasingly look to specialised software with capabilities such as:
- Real-time risk analytics and incident reporting
- Customisable risk frameworks (e.g. ISO 31000, ICMM principles)
- Environmental and social compliance workflows
- Integrated GRC dashboards
- Automation of document management and control attestations
Key platforms being used or evaluated include:
- IsoMetrix (mining-specific risk and compliance management)
- Intelex (environmental and safety compliance)
- SAP GRC with mining extensions
- Enablon, SHEQX, and Libryo for regulatory libraries and ESG reporting
- Custom XGRC systems for full-suite GRC
- Implementation Methodology: From Framework to Functionality
Success depends on not just installing software, but engineering the implementation:
- Stage 1: Risk and compliance framework mapping (business-aligned, standards-based)
- Stage 2: Process and role alignment – map operational realities into digital workflows
- Stage 3: Platform configuration, integration with ERP, SCADA, HSE systems
- Stage 4: Piloting with real risk scenarios, training, and change management
- Stage 5: Continuous improvement and automation roadmap
4. Case Scenario (Fictionalised but Realistic)
Client: A mid-tier African gold mining company with operations in three jurisdictions
Challenge: Facing repeated non-compliance on water discharge, community complaints over tailings safety, and slow incident reporting despite using a generic compliance module in SAP
Approach:
- Replaced spreadsheets and email-based incident logs with IsoMetrix
- Integrated risk registers with operational controls and environmental monitoring systems
- Implemented automated alerting and mobile-enabled field incident capture
- Aligned reporting to local mining authorities and global sustainability standards (GRI, ICMM)
Result:
- 68% reduction in reportable compliance incidents within 12 months
- All ESG and HSE audits passed with clean findings
- Near real-time visibility of operational risk across all sites
5. Long-Term Support: Where Many Fail
Software fails when it is not supported, updated, or adapted to evolving requirements. Tidus and firms like it must focus on:
- Embedded GRC support models tied to mining operations
- Risk method engineering to adapt software to new frameworks
- KPI and assurance dashboards to prove control effectiveness to executives and boards
- Training and change management to sustain culture and usage
6. Strategic Implications for the Mining Sector
Digitally embedded risk and compliance is not just a technology choice — it is a strategic imperative for mining companies looking to:
- Win and retain licenses to operate
- Reduce ESG exposure and investor pressure
- Lower insurance premiums and cost of capital
- Improve operational discipline and prevent catastrophic loss events
Conclusion: Engineering Assurance for Mining’s Future
The mining sector’s future depends not just on resources pulled from the ground, but on the trust it builds above ground. Implementing and sustaining risk and compliance software — with the right partners, frameworks, and support — is how that trust is engineered, embedded, and scaled.
