The Open Group Publishes First Global Reference Model for Natural Resources Industry

SAN FRANCISCO and JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Group today published the Exploration and Mining Business Reference Model (EM Model), the first deliverable developed by the Exploration, Mining, Metals and Minerals Vertical (EMMMv™) Forum. Member organizations from Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom created the standard to be an industry business process model that defines the common activities for organizations in the exploration and mining sectors.  The EM Model establishes an operational blueprint for organizations that impacts the definition of business activities across the industry and provides standard operating practices and support for vendors in their delivery of technical and business solutions to the industry.  

"The EM Model is the result of a truly global, collaborative effort to provide the exploration and mining industries with a common language and a common definition of business activities so organizations are confident their operations are understood. This will enable them to focus their ongoing efforts on differentiating activities that will provide competitive advantage," said Sarina Viljoen, EMMMv Forum Director, Real IRM. "We're confident that the model caters to business activities of exploration and mining organizations focused on all types of metals and minerals and believe the model is the first step towards aligning the conversations around topics such as shared services, health, safety and the environment. As the first vertical industry standard produced by The Open Group, the EM model defines the business processes that span both business and technology in a way that we like to call 'from the boardroom to the rock face.'"

The EM Model, as the first deliverable of a proposed set of reference models for EMMMv™, is focused on the business processes of the industry. Although the model spans all of the processes within the scope of exploration and mining, organizations that focus on a subset of the processes will still find the model useful. These types of organizations will concentrate only on the activities defined in the standard that are applicable to their core business.

By classifying and defining the business activities applicable to exploration and mining for metals and minerals, organizations and their suppliers and partners using the EM model are able to speak a common language when discussing business activities, solutions and services. The standard and the subsequent associated reference models facilitate an improved information exchange within organizations, giving different organizational stakeholders a shared understanding of the information required to execute business activities and the roles required to support them.

The EMMMv Forum is a global collaborative that was formed in 2008 under the auspices of The Open Group to set enterprise architecture standards for the exploration, mining, metals and minerals industries.  As the first initiative of its kind worldwide it oversees the creation of reference models specific to the industry.  Founding members include Real IRM, the official representative of The Open Group in South Africa, Datamine, Lonmin, Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration and The Open Group itself. Today, nine organizations have joined EMMMV.

To download the new EM Model, and for further information on the EMMMv, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/emmmv/ or contact Sarina Viljoen, +27 82 8253496, email: [email protected].

About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow™ that will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry's premier certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at www.opengroup.org.

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SOURCE The Open Group