Let's not lose sight of the bigger picture

I was torn this month; should I write about automation, robotics and AI as I had planned or, do I acknowledge the elephant in the socially distanced room and discuss COVID-19?

I decided upon the latter. I’ve written very little about the virus, the lockdown and their impacts thus far. If I’m honest, I’ve reached my capacity for stories detailing both the good and bad. I don’t want to add to the barrage. 

My instinctive reaction to this, very difficult, situation is to get on with business as far as is practical. Despite the horrors and heroic efforts we're seeing in our day-to-day lives, the other challenges and projects that we’ve been handling haven’t gone away. In fact, if we want to push through the economic dip that is looming then it’s more important than ever that we keep up the momentum where possible (and in accordance with health and safety guidelines). 

Engineering & Mining Journal carried a good leader in its April issue. 
Editor-in-chief, Steve Fiscor, put the matter into perspective with the phrase “this too shall pass”. And he’s right. While we’ve not faced a pandemic like this before, the mining industry is no stranger to adversity - Global Financial Crisis, 2008, ring a bell? The aftermath of that was… well, it was shit wasn’t it? But the industry came through with renewed vigour, stronger leaders and a laser-like focus on making operational and business practices better. 

We’ll do the same again. I have no doubt about it. Until then, we need to keep morale up and our noses to the grindstone.

I’ve included some articles below which I think will be useful when considering COVID-19 and how it is changing our industry. Some are specific to mining and some are not. All are thoughtful and interesting. 

Until next month, take care of yourselves

Carly

P.S. I sense there may be backlash to this 'let's get on with things' attitude.
I'm not being dismissive; I am a realist and it's my way of coping. Do email me if you want a chat