BUSINESS •
DIGITALISATION IN MINING :
PART 2 - THE DIGITAL TWIN
By Sharyn Macnamara
In the second article of African Mining ’ s series on Digitalisation in Mining , Sharyn Macnamara interviews Willem Daling , executive director of operations at 4Sight Asset Simulation – 4Sight Holdings being a multi-national technology group listed on the JSE . The discussion focuses on a case study at Anglo American Platinum using Digital Twin technology .
Mines are fast becoming modern digital enterprises of the future . The advancement of the digitalisation field has accelerated at a rapid pace to keep up with the demands of the mining sector as it responds to factors such as commodity prices , declining ore grade quality , rising labour costs , the pressure of new markets , depleting reserves in some commodities , and the fact that mines are often located in extreme environments in remote locations . 1
Digitalisation is more than connecting to a network - it works on so many different levels and is transforming the mining industry . Mines are leveraging the technology available to remain profitable and competitive . This technology assists mines in making faster , more precise decisions and streamlines operations by optimising processes and maximising the value of an operation ’ s existing applications and utilisation of assets and equipment while safeguarding the workforce . 2
Ultimately productivity , profitability , safety , and all-around efficiencies are improved using this technology and the Anglo American Platinum Mogalakwena North concentrator study is a case in point . Daling is part of the Operational Technologies cluster and asset simulation team at 4Sight that carried out this study . The company leverages a portfolio of 4IR technologies , people and data-focused solutions to design , develop , deploy and grow turnkey digital transformation solutions for operations , which include information and operational technologies such as machine learning , big data , cloud and business intelligence solutions , digital twin and simulation ,
Process Digital Twin Illustration
Mine Digital Twin Maturity Continuum .
production scheduling , industrial internet of things and robotic process automation solutions .
Daling explained their service offering in this particular case study in laymen ’ s terms , “ We assist mines to make better , faster decisions using digital twin technology – simply put , what we do can be compared to a ‘ strategy game ’ in a digital world .” Basically , a digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system – in this case , a mine – which spans its lifecycle , is updated with real-time data , and uses simulation and reasoning to assist in decision-making . 3 https :// www . smart-energy . com / policy-regulation / digital-twins-maturity-continuum-david-socha / https :// www . smart-energy . com / policy-regulation / digital-twins-maturity-continuum-david-socha /
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African Mining • July 2022 • 19 |