Causes and Effects of a Lack of Innovation in Mining Projects

This study aimed to critically examine how mining projects are impacted by a lack of innovation. The advent and increase in global technological breakthroughs have resulted in the need for businesses to adopt technological advancement to improve production processes. Consequently, projects in the mining sector are not spared as their finite nature increases their pressure to maintain a going concern in mining operations whilst remaining profitable and sustainable. A quantitative study was conducted using a pre-developed questionnaire to establish the causes and effects of the lack of innovation in mining projects of a South African platinum mine. A sample of 107 respondents was selected using stratified sampling of low, middle and top management. The collected quantitative data was analysed using SPSS 20 to generate descriptive statistics.The results show that the shortage of financial resources, technical skills and resistance to change are key reasons associated with the lack of innovation in mining projects. The lack of financial resources is a major reason for mining projects’ struggle to up-taking innovation. Mining projects innovative drive is mostly underfunded and under-resourced due to financial return uncertainty that surrounds the uptake of new ideas. Consequently, the absence of innovation results in a lack of new products, a lack of competitiveness, low profitability, and a lack of growth in the mining business. This study contributes to the body of knowledge as it explores the causes and effects of innovation and lack thereof within the mining sector and also advances the theory regarding mining innovation. The study gives suggestions for researchers and management on how to improve innovation in mining projects