TECHNOLOGY
of drones is the relatively short turn-around time, accuracy
and reduction of labour cost. Drone data is only collected in
the active areas of the mine and the metadata is incorporated
into the live plans. There are, however, still limitations on the
operational flight time, on-board storage and data download
requirements, as well as the influence of weather.
Earth observation
The range of satellite applications available to the mining
industry, from large commercial to new cube satellite entrants
is increasing. The next decade will see several satellite
constellations being launched. Optical satellite imagery will
increasingly be used for change monitoring throughout the life-
of-mine and generation of digital elevation models. Secondary
applications for vegetation and housing encroachment is set to
increase in parallel. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) applications
are becoming increasingly popular for tailing storage facility and
mining induced subsidence monitoring.
Environment
Monitoring of extreme weather conditions is now also included
in risk assessments. It is expected that the frequency and
intensity of weather phenomena will continue to increase in the
coming decade. An age-old problem in mining has been access
to sufficient water for mining and processing applications,
that is bound to increase as mines and communities become
increasingly dependent on the same source. Several mining
operations have also been forced to suspend operations due to
flooding or hurricanes, in areas that were not previously affected
by such events.
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African Mining March 2020
Emission control
The move towards green energy and minimising the
environmental impact of mining has become more of a
priority in the last couple of years. Electrical mining vehicles
have been in operation at open pit mines for years. Now
hydrogen fuel cell powered mining vehicles are being
introduced to underground mines in an effort to reduce
emissions. There has also been a marked increase in the
number of photovoltaic solar installations at mines and the
introduction of greywater systems.
Microgrids
In developing countries mines have been self-sufficient
in terms of power supply for decades, with infrastructure
in most cases better than that of the host country. Mines
operating a grid independently are becoming more
popular due to the increase in the cost of being supplied
with electricity from the grid. The supply of electricity
has become unreliable in some countries due to lack of
maintenance of infrastructure and the phenomenon of load
shedding has had a negative impact on the industry, in
particular smelters.
Circular economy
Metallic scrap, such as iron and copper, previously dominated
recycling. Recycling of electronic consumer goods is
becoming more effective and economical. Historically,
recycling was not considered to have a major impact on
mining operations but is now considered a potential factor.
Changes in the geopolitical arena also have an influence,
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