This chapter analyzes the recent evolution of innovation in the mining sector. It characterizes the mining innovation global ecosystem by looking at the technologies, countries and stakeholders contributing to technological change in the sector. It provides a detailed description of private stakeholders, such as mining companies and mining equipment, technology and service firms (METS), and public ones such as universities and governmental institutions. The chapter brings together aggregated innovation data with a novel unit-record database containing comprehensive patent and firm level data for the mining sector from 1900 to 2016.

This chapter aims to broaden the scope of innovation in the mining sector, with a focus on emerging countries, based on Latin American countries. Current innovation can foster growth of many countries endowed with natural resource in new ways that were not considered in the past. Mining cannot become a true engine of growth for the whole economy unless linkages within the sector and beyond – following the logic of a value chain and systems of innovation – are strengthened and deepened. This requires processes of diffusion, adoption and adaptation of innovation and technology. This chapter describes mining global value chains, national innovation systems and their role in the development of the mining sector. It also discusses some policy implications for emerging countries rich in natural resources.

Canada is one of the largest mining nations in the world, ranking among the top five countries in the global production of thirteen major minerals. Despite the economic strength of the sector, R&D, innovation, and commercialization remain challenges for the Canadian mining sector. With increasing environmental standards and regulations, companies operating in this sector are continually searching for technological solutions to advance sustainable mining. Patent data is an excellent starting point for understanding these innovative efforts as the information contained in patents reveals the specific technical knowledge embedded in the invention. This detailed information reveals who is patenting and what they are patenting, allowing for the identification of collaboration opportunities while avoiding costly duplicative research. The chapter provides a lens into the patenting effort in the Canadian mining sector, including trends, landscape maps and collaboration and is the result of a collaborative effort between the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).