MINING IN FOCUS
A
few years after this century's commodity boom,
which was primarily driven by China's resource-
intensive manufacturing and infrastructure
sectors, many segments within the global
mining industry are facing challenges that have caused
severe price declines, increased volatility and low
utilisation levels.
Conventional mining requires extortionate fixed-asset
operations and machinery, the maintenance and depreciable
life of which can substantially impact production output,
operating costs and ongoing capital expenditure. In order
to move beyond stagnant growth and deliver exceptional
shareholder, customer and safety value, mining companies
are increasing the utilisation of automation, robots and
operational software.
Previously, automated hardware was restricted to carrying
out specific tasks it had been programmed to do. In recent
years, robots and machinery have been modified to perform
tasks with a high degree of autonomy, working for extended
periods without human intervention.
The Kibali gold mine in the DRC has been progressing towards
automation.
An increase in strategic partnerships
In addition, the adoption of mining automation in various
mineral ore sites has increased the number of strategic
partnerships between mining automation equipment
vendors and other communication systems providers. For
instance, in June 2016, BHP Billiton awarded a contract to
Atlas Copco AB (Sweden) for the autonomous upgrade of
18 drill rigs. Similarly, Calibre Group has completed the
first autonomous train deliveries across Rio Tinto's Pilbara
mining operations, establishing the world's first automated
heavy locomotives that haul ore hundreds of miles to port
According to a recent report by Markets and Markets
Research, the technology trends in autonomous operations
and robotics technology are expected to provide a
substantial value to the mining industry and its stakeholders,
and ultimately, create a mining automation market worth
over USD3.29-billion by 2023.
To add to this, the current value-chain is being challenged by
macroeconomic conditions and increasingly pervasive new
technology. The digital transformation of mining companies
is expected to persist indefinitely and as a result, define the
mining industry's ‘new normal’.
In a strategic partnership, Sandvik and Resolute Mining have automated the Syama gold mine in Mali.
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African Mining Publication
African Mining
African Mining October 2019
43