News Release

JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation (President: Murayama Seiichi; “the Company”) has provided teaching materials, in the form of operations data, to Shiga University (President: Ida Ryuichi) for use in a seminar taught by Professor Kawamoto Kaoru of the Faculty of Data Science. The Company earlier began working with Professor Kawamoto on use of data science to improve our analysis methods. From next spring, an employee from the Company will be assigned to the Graduate School of Data Science at Shiga University, as we continue actively promoting collaboration through personnel exchanges and other initiatives.

 

The Company was early to apply data science to the production floor to improve operations and raise efficiency. Along the way, we have established internal training program with the help of data scientists, and employed people with knowledge of data science, actively working to strengthen human resource development in this area. Shiga University is a pioneering university in Japan in data science. It established Japan’s first Faculty of Data Science in 2017, followed by the first data science Master’s program in 2019 and the first Doctoral program in 2020. The Company began collaborating with Professor Kawamoto in 2019 after learning of his aim to train practical data scientists based on analysis of real data. We have now provided operations data from a combustion facility at our Group company JX Nippon Tomakomai Chemical Co., Ltd. for Professor Kawamoto’s seminar starting in the winter term. This data will be used as teaching material for determining optimal operating conditions using Causal Chain Analysis. * The Causal Chain Analysis method identifies optimal operating conditions more readily than conventional approaches, providing the Company with hints to intensify development of environmental technology based on data science.

 

The Company intends to further strengthen ties with Shiga University, including additional personnel exchanges and collaborative research, contributing to the development of a broad range of next-generation data scientists. Through data science-based technology development and operational improvements, the Group is also working to create a circular economy and reduce CO₂ emissions, helping to realize a sustainable society.

 

*  Causal Chain Analysis is an analysis method advocated by Yoshiyuki Ono of AGC Inc. See the following AGC news release for details.

(https://www.agc.com/en/news/detail/1200079_2814.html)

 

Inquiries:

Public Relations Office, Planning & Coordination Department, JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation
TEL: +81-3-6433-6056

 

 

 

Discussion during Professor Kawamoto’s seminar (photo courtesy of Shiga University)

 

 

 

Combustion facility at JX Nippon Tomakomai Chemical