Electricity + Control September 2018

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION + SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Chris Calam, ThermoFisher Scientific The future of mining is automated

As global demand increases for resources locked deep within the earth, the mining industry must adopt processes and technologies that streamline every step of the process. Automation holds the key to a more efficient mining industry.

Take Note!

The principles of sen- sor-based ore sorting were first developed in the 1920s. The use of sensor-based technology greatly increas- es the efficiency of sepa- rating valuable minerals from waste rock. The first sensor-based sorting machine was in- troduced in 1972 at the Doornfontein mine.

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D uring the past decade, demand has in- creased for technologies such as industrial automation and control systems, simu- lator-training, equipment control and guidance, advanced mine-surveying technologies, under- ground mining and surface drilling technologies, and machine guidance and control systems. This article predicts that demand for cloud-based ser- vices, mining’s industrial “Internet of Things,” and new visualisation, simulation and optimisation software will influence the mining industry over the next five to 10 years, and that the increasing use of remotely-controlled automated equipment will be the most important development. Remote monitoring and control of equipment al- lows miners to automate industrial processes like blasting, drilling, and transportation. The new, au- tomated equipment used to perform these tasks is faster, more accurate, and can cover more area in less time. Efficiencies are gained through con- tinuous, consistent operations, improved commu- nications, and reduced infrastructure. Mine site safety can be improved by removing personnel from dangerous environments and placing them Remote monitoring and control of equipment

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in remote control rooms where they can operate equipment from a safe distance.

Laboratory information management systems (LIMS) Laboratory information management systems (LIMS) are also key to automation. A LIMS is an essential part of mining and metals laboratories, and today serves as the foundation for a complete- ly automated lab by integrating with instruments and other laboratory tools, as well as enterprise systems like PIMS, MES and ERP solutions. And because a lot of the revenue of the mining com- pany can be generated at the downstream oper- ations level delivering processed materials to end users and other manufacturers, a LIMS is critical to determining a clear picture of the work-in-pro- gress status of the lab at any point in time, iden- tifying potential process bottlenecks and produc- ing real-time analysis of large amounts of data for quality control purposes. Driverless vehicles Around the world, automated vehicles are current- ly being developed and utilised for a wide variety of functions. Driverless mine trucks operate above ground at many operations, especially in Australia,

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6 Electricity + Control

SEPTEMBER 2018