Automation continues to move the mining industry forward

Advances in automation of equipment and procedures have helped advance improvement of safety, sustainability and production in the global mining industry for decades. Technological advancements in both surface and underground mining continue to take place around the world as mining companies adopt cutting-edge technology. These advancements are helping mining companies reach environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals while also aiding the mining industry in its efforts to address one of its most pressing issues, that of workforce. Automation is not new to the mining industry, attempts to incorporate remote control machinery can be traced back as far as the 1950s. During the following decades, equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar and Komatsu have focused a great deal of attention on the development of autonomous mining equipment. From 1994 to 1995, Caterpillar ran the first two prototype Cat 777C autonomous mining trucks at a Texas limestone quarry, where they successfully hauled more than 5,000 production loads over a 4.2-km (2.6-mile) course. In 2005, Komatsu tested a fleet of ultra class autonomous trucks in Chile and installed a working fleet at Codelco’s Gabriala Mistral Mine in Chile. The industry has come a long way since those early days. Caterpillar now boasts more than 620 autonomous trucks in operations on three continents. In 2022, Komatsu announced that there are more than 525 autonomous Komatsu haul trucks in operation around the world. Caterpillar and Freeport-McMoRan announced in October that they are collaborating to convert the mining company’s fleet of 33 Cat 793 haul trucks at its Bagdad Mine in Arizona to an autonomous haulage system (AHS) using Cat MineStar Command for hauling. Komatsu announced plans last year for its FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) to be deployed on a total of 62 930E ultra-class haul trucks by 2024 at Los Bronces, a Chilean open pit copper mine owned by Anglo American. Mining has long been on the leading edge of advances in vehicle automation, so much so that Toyota has partnered with Komatsu to develop an autonomous light vehicle that will operate on Komatsu’s Autonomous Haulage System. This will realize further safety and productivity improvements in mines by running autonomous haul trucks and automated ALV controlled by AHS. Autonomous haul trucks often grab the headlines, there is a natural curiosity that comes with the thought of a 400-ton driverless truck, but automation is also advancing rapidly in underground mining and in drilling technology. According to a report from Research and Markets titled “Global Mining Automation Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report by Offering, Technique, Application, Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022-2028,” the global mining automation markets is expected to reach $7 billion by 2028. “Blasthole drills are at the forefront of the types of mining equipment where autonomous or near-autonomous operation is now the baseline for the majority of the largest mining operations worldwide,” Wes Taylor, product manager, Surface Mining Automation, Komatsu told Mining Engineering. “From a mine-to-mill perspective, the blasthole drill makes up one of those key steps and it is somewhat indicative of a trend in mining for more equipment to go down that same path.” “At Komatsu, we’re focusing on operator assist technology development with our loading tools (electric rope shovels, electric wheel loaders and hydraulic excavators). HEX’s are beginning operator assist functions while electric rope shovels and electric wheel loaders specifically have a few assistive feature offerings already, and are continuing with that roadmap while beginning automated machine functions,” Taylor said. “We are in the process of trialing blasthole drills with fully autonomous operation, with a focus on being able to vary the operating location of the drill operator. That allows customers to scale up to the level of autonomy they require throughout the life of the mine, and to control the locations that their drill operators work, even on a day-to-day basis, with minimal impact.” Underground mining In the underground mining sector, recent developments include a partnership between ABB and mine operators LKAB and Boliden where testing of the industry-first automated robot charging technology for underground mines was successfully completed. ABB is now embarking on the final stage of development that aims to execute the full blasting sequence in the underground mine with full control of the robot handed over to the customer. ABB is also starting discussions with other mine operators to eventually join the co-development project, so that the technology can be tested in different mine environments. “This is a significant technology development for ABB and the wider industry where safety is part of overall ESG commitments,” said Vedrana Spudic, head of Technology, Business Line Mining, ABB. “The robot locates the drilled holes on the rock face using a vision system, and these recent tests show all can be reached and charged with the cycle fully automated. This removes the need for human operators in a small, unsupported area right at the face.” Companies such as Sandvik, Hexagon, Hitachi, Rockwell Automation, Epiroc and others have all been involved the advancement of automation in underground mining as a way to improve safety and efficiency. “The market drivers remain very similar to those of the past,” Toby Cressman, lead product manager, controls and automation for room and pillar at Komatsu told Mining Engineering. “We put a specific focus on safety considerations, as we continue to work toward developing solutions and equipment that can help move operators further from harm’s way. Automation is an enabler for Remote Management Centers (RMC). As the control systems manage more and more of the process, it can become feasible to move the operator to around the corner, to shaft bottom, and then onto the surface managing the equipment from the RMC. Automation can also help reduce the impact of repetitive strain injuries.” Cressman said the latest advancement for automation in underground mining include cutting, haulage and bolting. “The latest innovation being trialed with cutting is continuous miner (CM) navigation. We are using LiDARs to help steer the CM during the cut sequence,” said Cressman. “On the flexible conveyor train (FCT), FCT follow me mode uses UWB sensors mounted on the FCT and CM to enable the FCT to follow the CM throughout multiple cut cycle. In blasting, our auto-bolter (ABX) is a carousel-style auto bolter that allows a machine to complete two full bolting cycles with the operator simply indexing the drill mast to the proper location.” Cressman and Taylor both said advancements in LiDAR, RADAR, camera and inertial navigation system (INS) sensors are improving in ruggedization and quality for mining applications. Workforce One of the challenges with the automation of mine sites is how it will affect the current workforce. Labor unions and others have voiced concerns that an automated fleet could eliminate high-paying jobs. However, the mining industry contends that many current operators can be trained to be remote operators. Additionally, the mining industry has struggled to find a sufficient workforce to meet the growing demand for minerals. “Post-COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of resources is decreasing and the industry expects to continue facing high turnover in the next five years,” Cressman said. “Automation is poised to play a key role in shortening the learning curve for new operators.”

Automation continues to move the mining industry forward

Authored by:
William Gleason

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