Technology and Innovation
The Mine of the Future: Automated
Automated mines, controlled remotely, are the mines of the future. There are multiple benefits: the fewer people in the mine itself, the less risk of accidents and safety issues; the ability to control mines remotely allows the workforce to be based in cities rather than the wilderness, improving workforce retention; and operating machinery remotely allows for one person to handle multiple machines, improving productivity.
The recent push for automation in Chile is demonstrative of a renewed interest in innovation following the slow period of the pandemic. Cristophe Boinelle, director of MC System, a company that offers sensors and automation technology that can be incorporated in pre-existing machinery, said of the pandemic period: “Compared to Europe, Chile’s local mindset tends to avoid investing in technology during times of crisis. We anticipate this mentality will change in the next few years, particularly as investors and mines face a new workforce crisis.”
Zauschkevich Domeyko, president of the Cámara Minera, highlighted the industry’s role in advancing automated technologies: “The mining industry has been a pioneer in automation, particularly in fluid flow regulation processes. There is also a trend in large-scale mining to automate conveying and crushing equipment. Although these investments are more likely to be considered for large-scale mining, the technology will become cheaper over time.”
Handling the wide variety of new automation technologies and equipment offerings is a complex endeavor. Alicia Domínguez, mining and energy leader at Ernst & Young, explained: “One of the digital services we provide consists of implementing integrated centers of operations, from which the client can remotely operate the complete chain of mining operations. Control rooms significantly reduce costs, not only by urbanizing control but also by reducing losses through operations integration.”
Highlighting the importance of fiber optics for real-time communication in the future of mining, César Ortega, CEO of Telemining, said: “Remote operation is gaining importance due to the movement underground. The mining of the future will be almost completely automated, with no personnel underground. We need communications networks that can report in real-time to operators outside the mine, 100 km away.”
Automation is transforming the industry at all points along the value chain. MJ Gerüst, a scaffolding manufacturer, is actively investing in automating its offerings. “Our integrated technological system allows us to run an operation with less labor. The process is automated, which reduces costs,” explained Christian Abt, area sales manager South America at the company. “This cost reduction is passed on to our clients while they still receive a product that meets the highest industry standards.”
“Enabling the making of better-informed decisions on ore and waste ensures that a mine’s operation is more profitable and sustainable.”
Ignacio Torresi, Executive Vice President - Latin America, Seequent
Desalination plants are another area where Chilean mining companies expend a significant amount of Capex. Therefore, the cost savings enabled by automation are in high demand. Felipe Cabrera, country manager at Emerson, stated: “In recent months, demand has been driven primarily by desalination plant automation and the need to optimize copper mining productivity in the face of declining ore grades, particularly in older mines.”
Emerson was contracted to automate the desalination plant and aqueduct for water transport for Minera Los Pelambres’ Inco project and has also worked on the automation of Collahuasi’s desalination plant. The company is currently working on a desalination plant with Codelco. Desalination is an area of opportunity for automation.
In the perception of some companies, the dial has swung too far towards automating everything at the expense of recognizing the need for on-site service. Roberto Montiglio, director of the Andean region at Haver & Boecker, said: “Covid convinced people that everything can be done remotely; unfortunately, that is untrue. Many customers resist on-site visits, making returning to normal an issue.”
Haver & Boecker offers a no-cable, wi-fi enabled conditioning monitoring system that operates 24 hours daily, but still utilizes skilled technicians on-site to ensure continued operations.
Technology for increased efficiency
Improved efficiency is not just an issue of reducing the carbon footprint of mines. It is also, and equally importantly, a matter of maintaining profits at a moment of declining ore grades. When Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, started production in 1990, it had a grade of approximately 2.5% to 3% copper. The reserve grade today is around 0.5%. These declining grades are mirrored at mines across Chile and are leading to a shift underground, forcing an intense investment in improving efficiencies throughout the process to maintain profits.
How companies go about improving efficiencies has changed. “Historically, there has been significant investment in enlarging machinery and processes to improve efficiency: bigger mills, bigger conveyor belts, and so on. We have reached the limit of growing the size of equipment and mills because, at a certain point, the mechanical components will generate more failure points than benefits,” stated Óscar San Román, country manager at Yokogawa.
“In recent years, we have seen an increased demand for our products in the mining production segment. We have focused on collecting data through sensors and then analyzing them to increase productivity.”
Eduardo Coloma, CEO, Maptek
Now, increases in efficiency will come out of optimizing processes and reducing downtime. For companies that provide products directly oriented at improving efficiency, this is a moment of opportunity. Rodrigo Diáz, CEO of High-Res, a company that provides advanced coating products utilizing plasma technology to reduce wear and tear on machinery, explained: “For many companies in the copper industry, when the price of copper falls, they lose business. However, when it is low, we have higher sales rates because mining companies are more focused on improving efficiencies and maximizing their use of resources.”
To fill the niche for extraction technology, MineSense provides a service that measures ore grade at the extraction point, giving mining companies visibility to understand their deposit better and redirect haul trucks at the beginning of the process. This ensures that the maximum ore reaches the plant. Claudio Toro, executive vice president said of negotiations with a customer: “Based on our calculations, our technology can create the equivalent of a new mine for this client – around 85,000 t/y of metal – if ShovelSense is implemented in about 50% of the fleet.”
New technology must focus not just on greater extraction, but on maximizing the recuperation of ore from the beginning of the extraction process to the plant. Indeed, increased productivity requires a dramatic investment in technology oriented at the point of extraction. All the efficiencies along the value chain are useful, but the core of mining is obtaining mineral out of rock. For that, a digital and geoscientific approach to geological modeling is vital. At the forefront of this push is Seequent, a company that offers advanced software for geological modeling. Ignacio Torresi, executive vice president of Latin America, explained that its geological modeling data enables mining companies to make better informed decisions about ore and waste, ensuring that the operation is more profitable and sustainable. The incorporation of a wide variety of software products requires a holistic approach to data management. “Not just one solution but workflows allow companies to break informational silos, integrating teams and provide a holistic view of the analysis and creation of geological modeling, which allows mining companies to be more efficient,” said Torresi.
As important as technology solutions are at the point of extraction, increased efficiencies along the value chain shave off costs. Jonathan Vergara, general manager of Solentec, a company that offers digital surveys and 3D models to support engineering companies, noted the immense resources required to process data after the data collection stage. However, that focus on data processing allows for noticeable savings. Vergara said of their topographic surveys utilizing laser scanners: “We can carry out survey work in just two weeks. This results in a reduction of exposure risk for our field staff, time savings, and cost reductions, both for us and our clients.”
“When we talk about modernizing a system, it’s not just about making it more efficient in terms of costs but also preventing the loss of oil or other losses.”
Marcelo Celis, General Manager, Robert Bosch Chile and Rexroth Chile
Water is an area of high expense for the mining industry. Jairo Sarmiento Bugueño, CEO of Sattel, which offers innovative technologies for the mining sector including the SCIC solution, a wireless control system for water tankers that automates the process of loading water, explained: “The system controls the water flow, ensuring that the truck is filled to 100% of its capacity with no water overflow.”
As the pressure to optimize increases, equipment will be a major area of growth. RCF is investing heavily downstream in response utilizing its recent Jolimont Innovation Fund. Those technologies, however, were often introduced by entrepreneurs without the market knowledge to capitalize on their technologies. Disruptive technologies, particularly in the data collection and processing area, enable mines to counteract the major challenges of low ore grades. With more information, business leaders can make better decisions. This approach to informed innovation guides the industry on a path to profitability.
Article header image courtesy of ABB