Staffas was one of the leading mining executives interviewed for the "Mining Journal Global Leadership Report: Preparing for transformation", which was released last week. 

The head of the Stockholm-based diversified miner said the company might be moving slowly relatively to some peers in terms of transformation but "once we get this train moving, we will see consistent improvements".

He said timing was also a function of local regulation, which had to change to keep up.

"In the Swedish context, it is forbidden to leave a drill," Staffas said.

"For a long time, this didn't matter because you always had someone there but, with remote technologies, that will change."

Staffas also elaborated on Boliden's stakeholder engagement, its relationship with unions and environmental objectives in the wide-ranging interview.

"We have had some difficult times in our history and everyone knows if you don't use technology then you won't be competitive," he said.

This is based on an interview with Boliden president and CEO Mikael Staffas as part of the ‘Mining Journal Global Leadership Report: Preparing for transformation', released last week. 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.