"The future mining industry should be reliable, efficient and sustainable." On June 29, at the Bauma talk series webinar officially held by Bauma, experts from the fields of basic scientific research, standard formulation, engineering machinery and mining machinery expounded this important point of view and actively discussed the feasible scheme to achieve this goal.
Climate protection requires a lot of renewable raw materials
The theory and research results of Professor Elisabeth Clausen, director of the Institute of advanced mining technology at RWTH Aachen University, have opened the door to the new world for the future mining industry, She said: "in order to realize the transition to a greener, net zero emission social and economic form, a large number of metal and mineral raw materials are needed. Because in the foreseeable future, recycling alone cannot meet this demand, and sustainable and efficient mining industry plays a key role." Talking about the design of future mines, she summarized three major trends: automation, digitization and electrification. "Only by working together can we give full play to our respective potential."
Professor Clausen emphasized in his speech that close cooperation between basic scientific research and industry colleagues is crucial to development and innovation. At the same time, she also mentioned the European h2020 plan and the carbon neutralization pilot project of a new generation of intelligent mining system. This is a demonstration project of the advanced mining technology institute of Aachen University of technology. Their institute is cooperating with many mining equipment suppliers, operators and other researchers to study topics such as carbon neutralization and smart mines.
Develop practical mining standards
In the future, an important factor for the mining of metal raw materials is their social acceptance. Christophe Didier, director of geological resources of the French geological and mineral survey (BRGM) and chairman of the Technical Committee for mine reclamation management standards (iso/tc 82/sc 7, established in 2015), said: "we need to formulate relevant standards for the entire life cycle of the mine, from exploration to closure, to ensure the use of the best mining methods, so as to safeguard the interests of mining companies, the local environment and residents."
So far, the technical committee of mine reclamation management standards has begun to formulate relevant international standards for "decommissioned" mine management and reclamation management. "Today, the challenge is to extend this standard to the entire mining industry." Didier said, "this will be related to more agendas and topics, with the goal of minimizing the impact of mining on the environment and maximizing tangible benefits for society and stakeholders." To this end, the Committee has carried out a series of restructuring and will issue corresponding management measures by the end of 2022.
A successful attempt of mining automation
Roy Hill is a mining company that mines open-pit iron ore in Pilbara, Western Australia, and has made great achievements in intelligence and data interconnection. Michael Waller, the human-computer interaction business manager of Roy Hill, said that the company has initially realized the application of automatic blasting drilling machine, and the effect is very good. "With the data interconnection solution, we can easily remotely control the machine 1600 kilometers away from Perth (where the company headquarters is located)."
Roy Hill is currently implementing a smart transportation project similar to the world's largest automated transportation solution (AHS), and is making great strides towards the future of "fully automated smart mines" based on 10 independent dump truck transportation fleets. He said, "we hope to promote the automated mining business, enhance the safety of mining and transportation, improve productivity, and reduce uncertainty. Through automation, we can also create more jobs and provide more comfortable working conditions for employees. More importantly, the comprehensive advantages of automation, data interconnection and energy efficiency can minimize the impact of mining operations on the environment and society."
According to Eduardo Lima, global product manager of digital mining at ABB Swiss Engineering, real-time data can be obtained at many different points in the mining field using advanced sensor and communication technology. The data fed back after inputting these information into higher-level systems for systematic analysis, calculation and integration will in turn become the basis of hierarchical automation.
