Artificial Intelligence the new reality for a Smarter, Safer, and More Efficient Mining Industry
Humans have come a long way from having intelligent solutions to developing Artificial intelligent systems and if we look beyond IT, the journey is tremendous.
Humanity has made remarkable strides, evolving from creating intelligent solutions to developing sophisticated artificial intelligence systems. When we look beyond the realm of IT, the journey of innovation is truly astounding. Pivotal inventions such as fire, the wheel, the compass, the clock, the engine, electricity, the telephone, and the airplane etc… have significantly advanced our progress. However, it was the advent of personal computers and the internet that truly transformed the world around us, and setting us on an unprecedented path of discovery and connectivity – impacting businesses in more ways we could even think off.
For instance…I was recently going through a post, and I was amazed with what I learned, it’s right in front but never thought about it... how has Technology impacted the toffee business? ?with a toffee in return to whenever there is No Change available (chutta nahi hai in Hindi ) to straight UPI payments to Business account, the toffee business has suffered with no more forced sale. Small change having big impact in a country with a population of 1.4 billion + people with majority having a sweet tooth.. who would say no to a toffee ? ?Focusing back….
IT Systems and models have the power to move and transform mining for better.
In this post I will share the prospects around Artificial Intelligence for Mining business. ?
The common denominator for any change is to bring improvements- whatsoever the business is and for #AI by large few of the common benefits were
?
1.????? Improved
2.????? Reduced
Mining (natural resources) which is a capital-intensive industry and with deep engineering character in later years are swift to be on the journey of digitization as they reduce the gap between Industrial and commercial IT (Converged IT) and are quick to take raw data from Pit to the boardroom via cloud for decision making. ?
The industry is experiencing a profound digital transformation, with AI leading this revolution and playing a crucial role in modernization.
AI, ML, Predictive Analytics, robotics together have transformed the way these businesses operate around exploration and extraction of natural resources. These changes are not only saving dollars but also promoting safety and sustainability which are paramount for these businesses considering the exposure and high-risk environment involved.
Application of AI in solving Mining challenges.
1.????? Exploration
a.????? Geological Data Analysis
???i.????? AI systems analyze and pinpoints areas to mine,
??ii.????? Provides insights on the availability of resources and
??iii.????? If it’s worth the efforts to extract based on Value
b.????? Ore Quality: Based on the geological data AI systems and model provide data on Ore grade for accurate resource estimation and planning.
c.????? Water and Energy Management: Helps in the sustainability cause by providing insights to effectively use Water and helps in managing energy cutting down on resource wastage.
2.????? Safety: Safety is paramount in mining
a.????? Environment: AI systems analyse environmental data such as
???i.????? air quality,
??ii.????? water quality,
?iii.????? land use,
? iv.????? soil properties,
???v.????? topography,
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??vi.????? vegetation cover, and
??vii.????? geological features
to detect potential risks and be compliant with environmental regulations as per sustainable mining practices.
b.????? Workers:
??i.????? Enabling real time monitoring to provide locations and vitals of workers and generate alerts for any deviations.
??ii.????? Providing insight and alerting workers of any environmental changes / potential hazardous.
c.????? Industrial Equipment and heavy Vehicles: Reducing risk of accidents and improving operational efficiency by predictive reporting.
3.????? Operational Efficiency
a.????? Predictive Maintenance:
???i.????? AI model do it all, whether its equipment’s lifecycle management or real time parameter check.
???ii.????? It gives the visibility and predict failure before it occurs.
Helps in reducing the downtime and saving maintenance cost.
b.????? ?Process Optimization – Holistically analyzing the data from different mining processes to bring intelligence for
????i.????? Optimizing resource extraction
???ii.????? Reduce Waste
4.????? Accuracy guided by Robotics: With the introduction of electric mining tools – automation is even better received and help businesses reach where miners can’t. Autonomous robo’s are ready to performs task such as
a.????? Surveying (on surface and underground)
b.????? Excavation
c.????? Collecting
d.????? Hauling and
e.????? Processing
f.??????? Detection ( Large Stones, Impurities, Defects )????????????????????????????????????????????????????
5.????? Autonomous Vehicles: Driver less Vehicles using GPS, Lasers, extensively using ?AI taking decisions on the fly avoiding obstacles and other vehicles in challenging environment with precision to bring
a.????? Increase productivity
b.????? Reduction in maintenance ( parts and Tyre) ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
c.????? Very low to Zero incidents
d.????? Improved Experience
The usage and application of AI has tremendous scope in transforming Mining around different domains of it, but the key to this success is provision of correct information.
Accurate information – is key for the success of it or else the implications could be fatal.
Apart from technology key drivers to make it successful includes the leadership buy in and commitment to promote and share clear objective and benefits of AI and promote upskilling and cross skilling of resources to develop champions by enabling cross department collaborations and inculcate a culture of innovation and adoption
Communicating both tangible and intangible benefits by when it can be delivered is essential. The initial project at hand can be smaller one which serves quick and is easy to adopt and lays down the groundwork for future projects and foster acceptance.
Software Quality & Sustainability Professional
1 个月Good read Siddharth Adholia