Technology
The digital revolution in the Western USA
Today's mining industry bears little resemblance to what it was a decade ago. Terms and concepts like machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have taken center stage in the Western USA mining industry, shaping its present and future. While some players in the mining value chain are tasked with developing these new technologies, others, such as junior exploration companies, producers, or OEMs, are leveraging these technological disruptions to meet the increasing demand for greener solutions.
The mining industry is no longer as reluctant to changes as before. "They are shifting towards a more open approach of conducting pilot and experimentation projects to test technologies," said Ravi Sahu, CEO of Strayos.
In the Western USA, Strayos works directly with blasting contractors, drilling companies and copper producers providing automation and AI solutions. Recently, Strayos has been incorporating greater intelligence into the ore extraction process with its Ore Dilution Control solution. "One area where significant costs are incurred is in drilling and blasting, and many mining operations believe that they can optimize their resource through better dilution control. We introduced our Ore Dilution Control solution as a generative digital twin to address this challenge," explained Sahu. “This virtual replica mimics the behavior of the process, considers various blasting parameters, and accurately predicts the distribution of waste and ore, reducing waste and maximizing recovery, mitigating the common issue of dilution.”
However, according to Sahu, in the Western USA adopting AI is not easy since it requires a structured amount of data to build an adequate model, which many companies lack.
Another challenge in implementing new technological disruptions or software is unfamiliarity with new tools. Guido Pérez, general manager of Americas of Micromine, commented that miners need guidance with these. "We have enhanced our onboarding process for new clients, providing dedicated support to improve the user experience when transitioning to Micromine products," explained Pérez.
Micromine has a strong relationship with Nevada Gold Mines. According to Pérez, they have standardized the mine solutions across all Nevada Gold Mines' underground projects, including Gold Rush and Turquoise Ridge: "Micromine Pitram has been the most successful and proven solution we supply to them. This mine control system manages day-to-day operations in underground assets and requires no in-site development, allowing for a record implementation time," Pérez concluded.
Retrofitting equipment
Freeport-McMoRan is kicking off an effort to implement autonomous haulage at its Bagdad mine in Arizona, and many operators are jumping on board this trend. For instance, Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) has been actively exploring and implementing these solutions over the years: "Our initiatives have included testing autonomous trucks and underground battery-driven equipment. Currently, we have several open-pit drills at Carlin operating autonomously, with the capability of remote control. In our underground operations, we utilize remote mucking, where operators control loaders from the surface using joysticks and cameras," commented Peter Richardson, executive managing director from NGM.
Mining companies expect that automation will allow operators to work from remote control centers miles away from the mining sites, attracting a new generation of talent that might not be interested in working at mine sites. However, not every existing mining equipment and machinery is autonomous. To solve this problem, Teleo is a company that builds technology to retrofit large construction mining equipment and is OEM agnostic: "We can retrofit any make and model of machine. We are introducing an incremental path to autonomy for mining equipment that allows for remote operation where a single operator can simultaneously control multiple pieces of equipment from a central command center," commented Vinay Shet, co-founder and CEO of Teleo.
The company's primary customers are contractors who operate heavy equipment in the construction and mining industries.
ASI Mining is another company specializing in retrofitting old equipment that collaborated with NGM to deploy autonomous haul conversions for five Komatsu 930E-2 trucks at Goldstrike. Operating as a JV with Epiroc since 2018, its director of business development, Drew Larsen, also highlighted the importance of being OEM agnostic. This approach maximizes flexibility and avoids restrictions, fostering competitive tension among suppliers: "An OEM-agnostic solution offers distinct advantages, aligning well with the evolving landscape of energy solutions and the need for flexibility in decarbonization efforts," he commented.
“By blending machine learning with the skills of human operators, customers can take advantage of where autonomous technology is today, while increasing productivity and addressing labor shortages.”
Vinay Shet, CEO and co-founder, Teleo
The connectivity problem
The effectiveness of new technologies, such as automation and AI, depends significantly on connectivity. Thus, telecommunications and network resellers are pivotal in addressing limited bandwidth challenges. 3D-P's operation revolves around three key areas: As a network reseller specializing in infrastructure design, manufacturing intelligent endpoints for mobile fleets to meet growing ESG-driven data demands, and offering professional services for network support and compatibility across diverse technologies.
Given the potential weaponization of critical minerals, it is imperative to recognize mines as vulnerable assets susceptible to various cyberattacks. For example, in December 2022, part-owned by the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, the Canadian Copper Mountain Mining Corporation in BC shut down its mill after suffering a ransomware attack. More recently, in August 2023, Freeport McMoRan was subject to a cybersecurity incident that affected its information system. According to Ron White, the director of sales and marketing at 3D-P, the vulnerability in network security often lies in human behavior, especially in physical security aspects such as opening suspicious emails or inadvertently allowing access to cyber-attacks by opening doors to potential threats: "Educating customers on protecting against threats is essential, highlighting that even advanced technologies are ineffective if we unintentionally enable unauthorized access," he concluded.
Article header image courtesy of Strayos