MINING NETWORKS
The digitalisation of mining is well underway
Jaime Laguna , Head of Mining and Oil and Gas practice for Nokia tells IM that private wireless is accelerating in mining
“ Only a short while ago , any discussion of the digital transformation of mining would likely have begun with a recognition that mining has been slow to come to the digital party and has a lot of catching up to do . From Nokia ’ s vantage point , providing high-performance 4.9G / LTE private wireless networks to mines , the industry is definitely getting on the digital track . The adoption of digital still has a way to go in many mines , but it is well integrated into daily mining operations at the world ’ s biggest mines . As well , it is starting to be integrated within younger miners with relatively small operations but with the same requirements for cost optimisation and productivity . Digital innovations around automation and teleremote and autonomous operations have proven themselves to be more productive , safe and sustainable , and the industry now recognises that it is the future .
“ Nokia currently has digitalisation projects running with four out of the top five global mining operators as well as with early users of 5G technology . Our push over the last few years has been to introduce mining IT and OT teams to the potential of industrial-strength private wireless to make new use cases and applications possible . Today , more than 35 of our mining customers have trialled and / or deployed 4.9G / LTE private wireless networks to support their operations in 60 of their mines . Autonomous drilling and haulage is still the most common use case for our private wireless solution . Komatsu , which is a pioneer in mining automation , is now running more than half of its AHS production sites in Australia and the Americas on our private wireless networks .
“ As 5G standards reach completion , many countries are moving to release 5G wireless spectrum for industrial use . The Australian spectrum regulator was an early pioneer in releasing 4G / LTE spectrum for mining , which in part explains the country ’ s leadership around autonomous haulage . They are again showing leadership on 5G . In some countries , we are also seeing mobile operators leading the way , building 5G-ready networks for the mining industry , such as Vivo for Vale , in Brazil , Claro for Minera Gold Fields , in Chile , and Shaw for Teck , in Canada . Some of the use cases that are possible today with 4G will have an evolution / enhancement with 5G like real-time V2V and V2X communication where connectivity will be substantially improved .
“ The underground mining industry is also moving quickly to embrace digital . To advance digital underground mining solutions , we are working closely with Sandvik to develop innovative applications for the industry ’ s first 5G SA ( standalone ) network at its underground test facility in Tampere , Finland , as well as with Norcat and its ecosystem partners at their Underground Center in Sudbury , Canada . We have also successfully tested our solution at Nornickel ’ s Skalisty mining complex in Russia – Nornickel ' s first autonomous mine .
“ Along with supporting mission-critical communications such as push-to-talk and push-tovideo , the focus for underground is for now less on autonomous and more on tele-remote control , which requires video and fast response times . These requirements demand the low latencies and high bandwidths that will be the key to driving 5G adoption . 5G will also support massive numbers of sensors relaying critical data on structural integrity , water leaks , air quality , gas levels , dust , noise and vibration to provide near-real time visibility into mine safety .
“ As we look forward to the innovation work being carried out with our partners , there are multiple ways in which the digital transformation of mining is now looking beyond haulage and remote-control of vehicles . Digital twins are being used to map the locations of assets and personnel . Geo-location data can be used in conjunction with mapping software for safety applications , such as the geo-fencing of blast areas or unsafe zones , alerting and mustering personnel and even controlling vehicle movements .
“ Geo-tracking data can also be used to analyse end-to-end processes using machine learning and AI for process optimisation . These advanced analytics capabilities have enormous potential for increasing mine safety and productivity . They can process data on everything from the health of workers to the maintenance profile of assets , enabling more precise predictive capabilities and ensuring maximum performance and safety . They can analyse sensor data and video information from drones to monitor environmental conditions and track the condition of everything from stockpiles and tailings dams to the performance of ventilation systems and wastewater management .
“ The processing of the enormous amounts of sensor and device data will be done on the same edge cloud that supports the deployment of 5G . In this way , the data will be kept confidential to the mining operation and allow for split-second processing and decision-making for automated operations with the necessary local breakout .
“ Some of the most futuristic applications that 5G will enable are augmented reality ( AR ) applications for personnel . These applications will combine environmental sensor information , health monitoring , geotracking of machines and other information that can be presented to workers using heads-up displays . Aided by remote experts over AR , workers can be trained in equipment operation and maintenance and guided in everything from the performance of complex tasks to mine evacuation during emergency events .
“ Nokia is working closely with its innovation partners to bring these and many other applications to reality as well as offering different and flexible business models which include Network as a Service ( NaaS ) for options of OPEX vs CAPEX . With the adoption of robust and predictable wireless technologies for mine-wide critical connectivity , the digitalisation of mining is being unleashed . The case for digitalisation has been made with 4.9 / LTE wireless . Now , with the release of 5G , we fully expect that next decade will see the digital transformation of the mining industry only accelerate .”
84 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2021