From Data to Decisions – where Digital Value is Truly Created

Author: Stefan Ebert, Managing Director, Digital Mine GmbH, Aachen/Germany
DOI: 10.66356/mrg.2026.04.06.ENFDDDV

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How a Proof of Concept becomes a Proof of Value

Digital technologies are now widely available in the mining sector. Nevertheless, many digitalisation initiatives fail to deliver the expected economic benefits. The reason often lies not in the technology itself, but in a lack of prioritisation, unclearly defined use cases and disconnects between data, insights, decisions and operational implementation. This paper demonstrates why a use case should always describe a better operational decision, at what point responsibility shifts from the technology provider to the operator, and how breaks in the digital value chain can be systematically identified. Only when insights are translated into changed behaviour does a Proof of Concept become a robust Proof of Value.