Mining is a complex and high-risk business, so it makes sense to harness digitalisation and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve safety and productivity. It is for this reason that the industry continues to be highly innovative in the digital age, even pioneering unchartered territory for the benefit of other heavy industries. In our latest blog, Atlantech Founder and Managing Director Mansour Nasrollahzadeh breaks down how the digital age is assisting miners.

Safety First: IoT Enhancements for Miner Wellbeing

It is essential for miners to have access to clean, non-toxic air. This is ensured by having sufficient oxygen and ventilation in underground mines, and through the provision of personal protective equipment, including ventilated masks. With the addition of IoT sensors in the mining environment, the air can be monitored for potential dangers such as toxicity or convergence, in real-time. Vehicles fitted with such sensors, lasers, map paths and algorithms, can also be deployed to dangerous areas, even when GPS is not available, thus removing workers from harm’s way.

Wearable technology is already being used widely for helping workers detect when they are fatigued, which can help prevent accidents and injuries.

Remote Monitoring: A Window into the Mines

Remote monitoring in the mining sector is helping operators manage risk and improve productivity. When connected to satellite and broadband monitoring systems, it can be used to remotely monitor site weather conditions, water level and stream flows, or control systems remotely. This might include activating solar powered bore pumps to prevent contaminated ground water entering waterways, for example.

Space technology can be utilised to deploy a drone to gain an overhead view of a mine site within minutes, while the operator stays in the safety of his or her vehicle. Drone technology is an exciting space to watch progress in coming years. As more advanced software systems come online, the use of drone technology will expand.

Predictive Maintenance: Anticipating Needs, Reducing Downtime

When internet connectivity and sensors are added to vehicles and machinery, or even people (in their hard hats, watches, or other wearables), mining companies can expect a myriad of safety improvements, improved productivity, and a reduction of costs at the mine site.

Small, cumulative gains in productivity can be achieved with detection sensors. An example of this is when scanners in the sensors identify different grades of ore and feed the information back to miners in the operations room. Or when tilt metres are used on benched slopes in open pit mines to monitor long-term movement and detect sudden failure events.

Predictive maintenance, as opposed to preventative maintenance, aims to predict failures before they happen. IoT technology in the sensors and sophisticated analysis techniques ensure a successful predictive maintenance program. The ideal time for maintenance is predicted and this reduces costs in the longer term if equipment were to break down and parts needed to be ordered.

Information from the asset sensors is fed back to miners via real-time dashboards and reports, for more insightful decisions to be made about scheduled maintenance.

Optimising Resource Management: Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Waste

Put simply, sensors are devices that detect and respond to changes in their surrounding environment, and inputs can come from sources including motion, pressure, temperature, and light. The amount of data being collected and available to mines will increase as IoT initiatives grow, resulting in further improvements to safety and resource management optimisation in the future.

The mining environment is always changing, and the ability to have real-time data helps decision makers know when to scale up or scale down automated equipment based on production requirements. It is already becoming more prevalent in mining to see driverless haul trucks and autonomous drilling, which is leading to huge efficiency gains, but there are examples of how the IoT will also help reduce carbon emissions and waste.

Mining Technology has reported on a Russian diamond mine that has implemented an autonomous wireless monitoring system for its water works division. Sensors measure the tailing dump and storage pond levels, water levels, soil temperature, and hydraulic system status in real-time. By outsourcing these vital checks to technology, time is saved and there is constant tracking of key metrics. Operations and safety at the tailings facility for its processing plant have been significantly improved.

Environmental Responsibility: Monitoring and Minimising Impact

IoT, sensors and drone technology could propel the mining industry to a cleaner future. These solutions support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials across the whole mining value chain.

When miners use IoT, it means they can address potential environmental breaches, without needing to be onsite. Tailing dam failures, for example, cause significant environmental damage, however placing sensors in and around the dam walls can monitor contaminant levels and the integrity of the dam. Data provided to operators ensures the dams are being constantly monitored and breaches can be avoided. Sensors and remotely piloted drones that can fit into smaller spaces than humans also allow for greater management of mine water and dealing with structural, safety and security issues.

Drone imagery is also being used to speed up the process of rehabilitating land, helping experts make decisions about the soils to be used, and what flora and fauna are best used to rehabilitate the land. IoT also assists with the collection of data about wind speed and direction, air quality and pollutants being emitted from equipment or the mining floor.

Smarter Supply Chains: Real-Time Visibility and Efficiency

Digital technologies help miners navigate or overcome supply chain challenges too, and ultimately bolster competitiveness in times of global disruption. Digitalisation can streamline mining supply chain processes, including procurement and payments, allowing contractual obligations to be met automatically. With certain software, mining companies can better predict inefficiencies in the supply chain, and address bottlenecks and pain points.

Data Analytics: Transforming Raw Data into Strategic Insights

A major advantage of digitalisation and IoT is the ability to analyse data in real time, instead of waiting until the end of the day or week to review paper, or human input logs. Miners can respond immediately, or analyse data faster, to address problems.

Having data in real time helps staff and supervisors communicate better. If an incident happened on site, a supervisor may get an immediate notification and staff can be spoken with to see what happened, rather than when they are not working and therefore available.

As well as helping miners make more informed decisions, data enables miners to plan, deliver against key company goals, and ensure compliance more effectively. In the future, AI-based systems, or smart machines will learn from historical data, improving their performance with time, and making decisions on their own with little to no human input. For example, AI algorithms will help miners predict how minerals will behave under different conditions or predict when oxygen levels will change based on humidity and temperature levels.

Do these technologies sound interesting?

At Atlantech, we provide technical and innovative mining and environmental consulting services and can assist you with queries relating to digitisation and the Internet of Things in mining. Contact us today to see how we can help.

Sources and further reading:

• Mining Technology (article 1)
• Northern Territory Government
• Global Data
• McKinsey & Company
• Mining Technology (article 2)