Dowling shared his thoughts on transformation in the industry for the "Mining Journal Global Leadership Report: Preparing for transformation" report being released later this month.

In the wide-ranging interview, Dowling used the example of driverless trucks and autonomous vehicles as one area of development.

"My personal view of this is that we can't imagine what's coming at us," he said.

"I think the shape and face of this industry is going to change unbelievably over the next decade and, again, I think it's more than we can imagine at this point in terms of what's possible."

He referred to Polyus' "rags to riches" story and shared some of the strategies the company was using as part of its transformation journey.

Dowling, 62, is also chairman of Alacer Gold and on the boards of Teck Resources and Detour Gold.

This is based on an interview with Polyus chairman Edward Dowling as part of the ‘Mining Journal Global Leadership Report: Preparing for transformation', which will be published in late June. The report features around 20 in-depth interviews with the industry's leading mining executives and the results of our industry-wide survey focused on transformational influences (technology, stakeholder engagement etc) and the readiness of mining leaders to meet these challenges.