The key is reframing the narrative and aligning your value proposition with their bottom-line interests, not just the novelty or brilliance of your research.

Here’s a breakdown of a practical approach:

🎯 1. Understand Their Core Motivations

Most mining companies care about:

  • Profit margins

  • Operational safety

  • Regulatory compliance

  • Sustainability reputation

  • Avoiding disruption

If they see your research as a threat (to jobs, status, or operations), they’ll reject it on emotional grounds before technical ones. So:

➤ Reframe the value as:

  • Not "new tech to replace people" but:

    • "Tools to help your best people make better decisions"

    • "Ways to reduce waste, downtime, and fines"

    • "Tech that extends the life of your assets"

🧠 2. Speak Their Language (Not Academia’s)

If you're coming from a research or academic background, be aware that:

  • Academic jargon alienates operators and decision-makers.

  • Case studies and ROI projections win minds.

Instead of saying:

"Our autonomous sensing algorithm optimizes predictive maintenance through neural learning..."

Say:

"This system helped another mining operation cut equipment downtime by 40% and saved $2M/year—with no job cuts."

🤝 3. Position It as Augmentation, Not Replacement

They fear job losses because:

  • Some managers see new tech as threatening their authority or relevance.

  • Workers fear layoffs or skill obsolescence.

Key message:

“This technology doesn’t replace teams—it empowers them. It helps them see risks earlier, plan smarter, and hit targets more reliably.”

📊 4. Show Clear ROI, Not Just Potential

Executives care about numbers. Provide:

  • Benchmarks (from pilots or competitors)

  • Before vs. after metrics (productivity, costs, downtime)

  • Simple payback periods (e.g. "pays for itself in 12 months")

If you don’t have this data yet, offer low-risk pilots or free trials.

📣 5. Create Internal Champions

You won’t convince the whole company at once.

Strategy:

  • Identify tech-forward managers or engineers within the company who are open to innovation.

  • Get them on your side through demos or prototypes.

  • Let them become your internal advocates—they can make the internal business case better than you can.

🧩 6. Address Status Quo Bias Directly

Many companies think:

"We've been doing this for 30 years. We know what we’re doing."

Use “Trojan horse” framing:

  • Show how their competitors are evolving.

  • Emphasize regulatory or market pressures that will soon force them to adapt (e.g., environmental targets, automation mandates).

  • Make it less about changing them and more about future-proofing.

🔁 7. Offer a Step-by-Step Adoption Path

Make the transition feel manageable, not overwhelming.

Break it down:

  1. Start with one department, site, or workflow.

  2. Show measurable wins.

  3. Build internal momentum.

💬 8. Real-World Pitch Example

“We’re not trying to tell your team how to mine—we’re helping you mine smarter. Our tech has helped companies reduce haul truck failures by 30%, without layoffs. It’s about doing more with what you already have—your people, your machines, and your data.”

Final Thought

They don’t buy the research—they buy the outcome.

So don’t sell tech. Sell:

  • Lower costs.

  • Fewer shutdowns.

  • Better safety records.

  • Easier compliance.

  • Staying competitive.

If you'd like, I can help you tailor a pitch deck, demo script, or value prop for a specific company or type of mining operation. Just say the word.