ABSTRACT
Computer control in mining and mineral processing has been weighted heavily to the processing side of the business for the last 50 years. These systems are mature with sensors and actuators that support control rooms for running a variety of process plants from centralized control rooms. Each new plant is designed in today’s world to have these capabilities. In fact, these systems have evolved from being operated with large mainframe-type computers to today’s PCs. Mining, on the other hand, has been slow to adopt these modern technologies mainly due to the lack of systems capable of supporting large-scale mining operations. For example, a backbone telecommunications system in a process plant has the walls dened boundaries. Mining, on the other hand, is a process whereby the infrastructure is continuously growing. Therefore, bringing the required infrastructure into a continuously growing environment has proven difcult and costly. This trend is changing mainly through the introduction of automation and robotic systems that support basic process control such as the water systems and robotic control of mobile equipment. This chapter looks at the history of computer control systems in mining and mineral processing, describes current trends, and discusses future trends.
