ABSTRACT
The ongoing need to deliver improved safety, productivity, and environmental benefits in the mining industry presents an open challenge as well as a powerful incentive to develop new and improved solutions. Critical to the success of this agenda is the ability to identify new approaches that can be applied to improve high-value processes in the mining value chain. This chapter explores the evolution and impact of digital methodologies and technologies through the lens of a 50-year journey in mining automation innovation in underground longwall coal operations. The outcomes gained through past and present developments provide critical insights and lessons to help understand the value of emerging digital technologies for future mining. Our vision for a future integrated mining ecosystem is outlined, together with the foundational behaviors that underpin the implementation of this vision. This future mining ecosystem will be driven by digital information, operated as a mission, and has zero-exposure for both people and environment. Digital productivity is core to this vision through its capacity to deal with large and complex data sets, extract knowledge from data, build intelligent and automated machines suitable for remote operation, and cohere the overall mining process.
