Modern Mining August 2024

SUPPLIERS TO MINING INDUSTRY

Smart solutions Moreover, with the mining sector, in particular coal mining, finding less favour with youngsters, the industry is facing a severe skills attrition, including in countries such as Australia, North America and India. The skills gap is further impacted by staff retirements. It is against this backdrop that the equipment supplier’s smart solutions offering is fast gaining traction. According to Leon Papenfus: Manager – Smart Service, appetite for Komatsu’s smart service solutions has been phenomenal. “We customise our smart solutions capabilities to meet customer requirements. For instance, in a training scenario, we engage with our customers about their training needs and limitations and follow

up with an assessment of their skills set in the underground environment. We then customise a training programme for that specific company. Once we have upskilled the staff on aspects such as operating their equipment, we task our field service teams to address further shortcomings. Given that each mining operation has different requirements, operational challenges, needs and strategies, we offer each client a bespoke service.” Further to this, Komatsu’s smart solutions offering integrates with its equipment to unlock opportunities related to the Internet of Things and big data to improve production efficiencies and ensure equipment operates at its peak. “We use big data analytics to extract data from our underground machines

Joy Field Service at 12HM37 Continuous Miner underground.

(collated on the global analytical platform) for insight into real time activities and functioning of the equipment, including technical reliability of the machines and service considerations, amongst others. Our field service support and asset management teams use the information gleaned to advise customers on how to maximise aspects related to efficiencies and equipment health,” explains Papenfus. Aligned with Komatsu’s smart solutions offering is its Good to Excellent offering, initiated last year, which sees KMT partnering with clients to increase their production targets and unlock efficiencies in their process to achieve a lower cost per tonne. “We work closely with our customers to understand their mining operations, their limitations and the production targets they wish to achieve. An intensive due diligence is undertaken on their operation in line with the stated objectives of production and efficiency targets. In fact, last year we had four customers who took up our offering – the million-milestone production programme – which helped miners achieve a target of a million tonnes per annum from a particular section of their operation.” Following these phenomenal achievements, existing customers and several new customers have signalled their eagerness to improve their current production capabilities and have partnered with Komatsu to identify sections of their operations they wish to ramp up. “It is important to note that not all

Hard Rock Continuous Miner MC51.

Joy Smart Services Monitoring Centre.

62  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | AUGUST 2024