Mining giant BHP joins Oracle, Grab, PwC with AI Hub in Singapore
It will bring together a team of artificial intelligence specialists to develop practical solutions to operational problems
[SINGAPORE] Global mining giant BHP has launched its first Industry AI Hub in Singapore, to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and innovation in the mining and resources sector.
The launch is in partnership with AI Singapore (AISG) and with the support of Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), BHP said in a news release on Tuesday (May 27).
The launch of BHP’s AI Hub comes after a series of AI centres opened in Singapore, including by Grab, PwC and Oracle.
The hub will serve as a centre for applying AI technologies to address complex, enterprise-wide challenges at BHP, with a focus on enhancing safety, boosting productivity, and embedding automation and data-driven decision-making into core operations.
Set to open this month, the hub will bring together a team of AI specialists to lead collaborations between BHP and local partners, developing practical solutions to operational problems.
BHP chose Singapore for its dynamic innovation ecosystem, advanced digital infrastructure, and strong alignment with the company’s goal of scaling technologies that deliver tangible value.
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The partnership with AISG builds on BHP’s existing AI efforts, which have already led to improvements in procurement and financial forecasting, as well as operational efficiencies – such as saving 3 billion litres of water and 118 gigawatt-hours of energy since FY2022 at its Escondida copper mine in Chile, through AI-powered plant controls.
The hub is designed to strengthen BHP’s digital capabilities in the region, and create ongoing opportunities for innovation and capability-building across its global operations.
Johan van Jaarsveld, BHP’s chief technical officer, said the company sees an opportunity to work with AISG and other global leaders to “develop practical, innovative solutions that make our operations safer, more productive and set new standards for the industry”.
He added: “This partnership reflects BHP’s commitment to growing internal AI capabilities.”
Laurence Liew, AI innovation director at AISG, said this collaboration demonstrates that “when organisations commit to becoming AI-ready and invest in developing their AI capabilities, they create tangible business value and competitive advantage”.
“The launch of BHP’s AI Hub in Singapore marks a milestone for Singapore’s metals and minerals trading hub,” said EnterpriseSG assistant managing director Lee Pak Sing. EnterpriseSG has worked with BHP since 2001 to grow Singapore as a metals and minerals trading hub.
This comes as more commodity companies based in Singapore are using AI to solve some of their global problem statements, he added.
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