INSIGHT
NEW APPROACHES
TO AUTOMATION
As mining companies increasingly look to new technologies to improve their
productivity, they are starting to think differently about how they approach
digitisation and automation, writes Christiaan Liebenberg.
T
he prolonged slump in commodity prices – along with no
significant increase in productivity gains – has meant that
mines have re-calibrated their cost structures, with technology
now a key driver of enterprise sustainability. The development
of new technologies and related software has been crucial in optimising
equipment efficiency as well as process and system streamlining of
material flow. They are also vital in containing costs on mines where
costs are rising due to the growing complexity in their deposits or
increasing distances between the mine face and processing facilities.
The rapid evolution of autonomous haulage trucks, for instance, has been
able to achieve improvements in performance and safety. Assisted-control
equipment is becoming more common, and deployment of fully autonomous
equipment is rapidly gaining ground in haulage, drilling and other processes.
More advanced techniques for monitoring, assessing and controlling
processes has also led to improved anticipation of potential failure – saving
significantly on unscheduled stoppages and costly downtime.
Great strides have been taken in mines’ ability to monitor
performance in real time, allowing better and quicker
decision-making based on the data being received.
More sensors are being added to mining
equipment to provide critical data for daily
operational decision-making. High-accuracy
global positioning system (GPS) technology
brings much greater precision to mining
operations – assisting with various tasks
from precision drilling and blast hole
identification to truck navigation.
For the growing volumes of data to be usefully harnessed, mining companies
have to transition into data ecosystems that cater for data velocity, variety,
volume and veracity (data quality). This has led to continuous development in
the field of ‘big data’, upon which advanced analytical algorithms can be built
– including machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict
future outcomes. These systems are capable of bringing historical and real-
time data together, again facilitating better data-driven decision-making.
As the mining sector enters the Fourth Industrial Age through these
technologies, it is also experiencing changes to the traditional ways that
mines and suppliers relate. Gone are the days when the customer tells the
service provider exactly how they want their solution to be delivered. The
breadth and depth of the challenges and opportunities presented by the
digital age now require more intensive collaboration.
The more likely scenario is that a mining company will have to outline their
needs and challenges upfront – so that a software provider can explore a
range of solutions before reporting back. As a result, many mines are starting
to look for longer-term partnerships to solve their digital and
automation challenges. Moreover, due to the relative
complexity of fields like software development, mines
may find that a single service provider is not
sufficient to address all their needs. Here, mines
could expect to work with multiple software
providers or contractors – all working
together to deliver a solution.
"A mining company will have to
outline their needs and challenges
upfront – so that a software provider
can explore a range of solutions
before reporting back.
The growing sophistication of mining
software – and the need for strategic
decisions at a corporate level – means
that mining companies will no longer
be looking for solutions that serve only
one mining site. Rather, they will want
solutions that can be implemented
across their portfolio of mining
operations – irrespective of where these
sites are geographically located. Digital
communication and internet linkages
makes all of this possible, placing further
expectation on technology and software
developers to generate wide-ranging and
integrated solutions.
The sheer scale and complexity of these systems puts
technological collaboration at the top of the mining agenda.
To be successful, however, this process means the building of closer
relationships – not just between mines and their suppliers, but between
the various suppliers who must now work together to deliver these digital
solutions to mines. Greater trust and mutual confidence between all these
parties is going to be vital going forward.
The author, Christiaan Liebenberg, software product manager at BME.
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African Mining September 2019
Christiaan Liebenberg is the software product manager at BME
www. africanmining.co.za