WORLD PROSPECTS
“We originally had inclined apron feeders.
They were unreliable in every way. These are the
first conveyors that are completely horizontal.
And they look great.” The feed system was
designed by Metso in the US, and is a proven
design with many systems already in use
around the world. Metso Minerals adapted the
system to suit the particular needs of the Aitik
mine. This work was done in close collaboration
with Bosch Rexroth, which supplied four CBM
hydraulic Hägglunds motors.
In addition to improved availability, Boliden
set high demands on the performance of the
equipment. Metso then drew up a specification
of requirements based on two motors that share
the load on each feed unit, with a capacity of
8,000 t/h, a variable speed of 0-7.46 rpm and a
starting torque of around 1,000,000 Nm.
The solution offered by the Hägglunds
specialists at Bosch Rexroth was two CBM 2000-
1400 motors per apron feeder. It was a welcome
solution that easily met the requirements.
“We wanted to have some power in reserve,
so that’s good. It gives us a maximum capacity
of 9,000 t/h. It also gives us redundancy for all
the main components, so we can drive with one
motor if needed,” says Larsson. The new KiD2
plant was commissioned in June and the Aitik
mine is now running at full production capacity.
ABB envisages the mine of the future
D
igitalisation and automation are set to be
the defining mining industry trends of the
21st century. With ABB already
participating in implementation of autonomous
systems projects, Jan Nyqvist, ABB Product
Manager, Automation Underground Mining,
outlines five potential levels of automation, from
those that are currently present in industry, to
those that are feasible moving forward.
On Level 1, systems provide operational
assistance by decision support or remote
assistance. Examples include software that helps
localise underground mine vehicles.
Level 2 edges into occasional autonomy in
certain situations. Here, the automation system
takes control in specific circumstances when and
as requested by a human operator, for limited
periods of time. People are still heavily involved,
monitoring the state of operation and specifying
the targets for limited control situations.
On Level 3, automated systems take control in
certain situations. This can also be called “limited
autonomy.” People “sign off,” so to speak,
confirming proposed solutions or acting as
fallbacks. A prerequisite is a complete and
automated monitoring of the environment. An
example would be autonomous drilling followed
by autonomous charging of explosives in an
6 International Mining | APRIL 2019
underground mine. In such a setup, the (remote)
operator can still be alerted in exceptional
situations and can take over or confirm a
suggested resolution strategy.
On Level 4, the system is in full control in
certain situations and learns from its past
actions, for example, to be able to better predict
and resolve issues by itself.
At the top level of this taxonomy is Level 5
where full autonomous operation occurs in all
situations. No user interaction is required and
humans may be completely absent. Today, this is
aspirational, but for instance an electric self-
driving mining vehicle for full autonomous
loading of the ore would carry major advantages
of safety and productivity.
“With deep domain expertise, integrated
solutions and the ABB Ability™ digital offering,
ABB is driving the development of increasingly
sophisticated autonomous technologies. These
are intended to change industry by enabling high
levels of visibility and control over machines,
plants and systems. Able to adapt and even learn
in changing situations, new autonomous systems
can help improve productivity, energy efficiency
and safety.”
As autonomous technologies move forward,
ABB says it is taking mining to the next level with
“After a few weeks of testing, we went on
summer vacation. I was away for five weeks and
everything worked perfectly! The plant has now
processed more than 6 Mt of ore and there has
not been a single incident. The fact that
production is running so smoothly at this early
stage is an excellent result. Especially when the
plant was custom-built specifically for our
needs.”
The drive systems take up minimal space and
allow fast replacement of components, thanks
to the splined couplings. Larsson reckons they
make installation incredibly easy.
“The main benefits are that we have improved
availability while reducing maintenance costs.
The hydraulic drives provide better access from
the sides and make the plant easier to maintain.
The way things are looking now, we won’t need
to work on them, but if we do have to replace
anything we have really good access. Another
big advantage is that we can reverse the
hydraulic drives during maintenance.”
www.boschrexroth.com
the ambition of increasingly advanced
automation for real-time process optimisation.
ABB Ability™ Operation Management system
combines AI, digital twin simulations and
industry expertise to facilitate autonomous
decision making in real time. The system helps
with process optimisation and fleet management
solutions and contributes to reduced downtime.
Research and testing into robotic measurements
and task performance is also ongoing, in order to
harmonise the relationship between
autonomously generated solutions and operated
machinery.
Across all industries, the ABB Ability™ digital
offering is well positioned for taking autonomous
technologies further. ABB Ability™ solutions
draw upon data from smart sensors and apply
sophisticated software to continually assess the
state of systems and to provide predictive
warnings. These capabilities will be a key enabler
of autonomous industrial mines.
The growing global network of ABB Ability™
Collaborative Operations Centres points the way
to the future by providing data-driven decision
support – making action recommendations for
people to sign off – which is considered the first
step towards fully autonomous operations. Smart
sensors and operation-critical systems located on
site transmit data on the health and performance
of equipment to the Collaborative Operations
Centre. There, software performs advanced data
analytics. The results are assessed by ABB
domain experts in collaboration with customers,
resulting in recommendations that uncover
potential problems, advise on preventive
maintenance, and determine ways to improve
performance. The information gleaned from these
global operations will help ABB's researchers
better understand the dynamics and nuances of
automated decision making. This will provide
valuable input towards the development of
systems capable of ever-greater autonomy.
www.new.abb.com/mining