ABSTRACT
Automated and new mining technologies are being increasingly developed and deployed for a number of efciency and/or safety reasons. These vary by their precise application to different aspects of mining, but they generally fall into one or more of the following broad categories:
Removal of operators from hazardous situations• . This includes from near large mobile equipment, or even total removal from a mining method (e.g., underground room and pillar mining, in theory). This category also includes the reduction in the need for hazardous maintenance or exploration tasks. Lower cost of production• . In one sense this is a catch-all category, and virtually all new or automated technologies need to achieve a positive return on investment (across the full life cycle of the equipment). Examples include more ore dug and transported, or more efcient process control operations. Requirements for enhanced precision• . As will also be mentioned later, an example of this is automated blast hole drilling-where not only is there a potential safety benet, but also the correct location of the blast holes can be more accurately achieved through automated systems. Similarly, for in-vehicle assistance systems in mobile mining equipment, this might include roadway departure warnings or better braking and speed-limiting systems (to allow the mobile equipment to be operated more precisely when in busy operations). Less environmental impact• . Automation and new mining technologies can, in theory, be more sustainable, minimise the need for land reclamation (e.g., by using keyhole mining methods, rather than open-cut operations), and require less energy to extract and process the commodity. Being able to mine areas previously inaccessible• . For example, being able to mine in hard-to-reach locations that previously could not be mined economically (e.g., at greater depths or lower seam heights). More data and information• . Certainly, such aspects need to be handled correctly, so they are not perceived as intrusive and as unnecessarily
spying on an operator. However, the capacity to be able to collect more data, often in real time, on the performance and state of mining equipment can be of considerable advantage for several reasons: it can help with equipment maintenance scheduling, may be useful in identifying the equipment-related issues which limit performance, could help identify operators who are not performing optimally (and so, for example, might benet from additional training on selected aspects), and can help with emergency response or in abnormal situations. Reduced manning• . As will be seen in this chapter, it is a myth to think that automation fully removes the need for all human involvement. However, it would change, and in some cases reduce, the need the humans, at least those on the front line. For example, automated haul truck or train movement of ore is becoming more common, and so requires less direct involvement of haul truck operators or train drivers (at least at the location of the equipment itself).
