Reimagining Mining: Digital Transformation and Future Trends - Part 3

In the final part of our series on Digital Transformation and Future Trends in Mining, we will delve into the topics of the Workforce of the Future Mines, gaining a Miner’s Perspective on the Digital Future, and exploring GroundHog Solutions.

WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE MINES

Profile of the industry’s workforce is likewise being transformed due to automated technologies. Across the whole value chain of any mining operation, from drivers to managers, each mine worker must adapt to the modern technologies by improving his literacy in digital solutions from wearables to autonomous haulage; be open and able to work pleasantly with new colleagues, whether with robots or perhaps data scientists.

Primarily, skilled personnel such as technicians and data specialists understanding operational control, predictive maintenance and mine planning will be in high demand in near future. Miners will need to be highly skilled in computer science and engineering. Even the mining manager will need to be well versed on autonomous technology systems rather than simply understating all the mining operations. They will require a new skill set to enable them to connect disparate systems, consider and augment the algorithms being used.

Statistics, coding, managing database, system integration, analytics, data visualization, hardcore math (AI/ML), etc. will be the skills most probably appreciated in future mining industry. Just imagine that data scientists with solutions architecture, coding expertise and technology experience will one day be in demand at remote mine sites to carry out dashboarding, visualization and technology integration. This is a perfect instance of new mining jobs that will be created due to digitization and automation.

A Mining 4.0 operator will not be confined to a control room. Instead, real-time process data and the status of machinery will follow the miner as they move around the mine. The miner would be able to solve problems directly at the source by remotely interacting with other operators, experts, and customers in multi-competent teams. Production control could even be done in a ‘digital twin’ far away from the mine site. In a nutshell, the concept of Mining 4.0 visualizes an augmented miner with senses and memory extended through data- driven technology.

In both open-pit and underground mines, we firmly believe that greater connectivity equals greater safety. The environment of modern miners is being transformed. Technological landscape of pleasant workplaces will attract young talented people to tomorrow’s mining industry- a workforce that will leverage the industry’s future high-tech environment. Furthermore, Mining 4.0 is developing mining companies into learning organizations that will require continuous workplace education.

JOBS LIKELY TO SEE SIGNIFICANT DECLINES

• Survey (replaced by drones)
• Mine Planning (displaced by AI/ML)
• Environmental Scientists (IIoT + Drones + Computer Vision)
• Reliability Engineers/ Mechanics (Fewer moving parts)
• Safety Managers/ Safety Trainers (Consolidated and in ROCs/Autonomous Equipment)

JOBS LIKELY TO SEE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES

• Drone Operators (short term)
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensor design (mineral identification, environmental monitoring, etc.)
• Highly skilled Maintenance Techs?
• Network Administrators
• System Integrators
• Algorithms for planning, routing, traffic management, blend optimization
• Analytics and Reporting

GLIMPSE OF DIGITAL FUTURE FROM MINER’S PERSPECTIVE

The digital transformation is happening across all phases of the extraction process. Technological trends are driving the future of mining. Fully automated mine was term once used to describe mine of the future, but that future is turning gradually into reality now. Full autonomy being the end goal, companies are following a staged approach starting with semiautonomous ones since it takes time to adapt and adopt technology.

Autonomous equipment will indeed operate to a pre-determined plan 24/7 which will increase efficiency on site and totally eliminate downtime associated with breaks and shift changes. The industry is progressing so quickly in terms of edge computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, big data analytics, automation, sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) that walking through an underground mine in next decade will see a much-changed working and operational environment.

Overall, mining is evolving exponentially with the integration of sophisticated technology; and mine of the future will surely be linked to emerging technologies, data and analytics. The more data that can be shared, the greater the possibility of finding correlations using analytics and AI/ML to identify inadequacies in applications or system- wide processes.

The mining industry is overcoming challenges with the help of recent technology but technology alone won't be sufficient. The mines of the future will have an extensive range of needs and roles- they’ll need both the experience, knowledge and insight from on the ground and the expertise to handle the technology aspects of the business. It’s equally important to have a fundamental understanding of the real mining environment.

GROUNDHOG SOLUTIONS

GroundHog has made a very early start by providing its digital solutions to the mining industry. Some of its solutions are mentioned below.

• Peer-to-Peer network connection: An extended system of Wi-Fi with access to deep mine working faces efficiently and cost-effectively. It provides miner-to-miner, miner-to-equipment, and equipment-to-equipment connectivity.
• Internet of Things (IOT): Use of beacons and sensors to establish communication in remote drifts is one of the innovations of IOT.
• Internet of Service (IOS): Services like Fleet Management System (FMS), auto task assignment and Short Interval Control (SIC) are some holistic examples of IOS.
• Cloud Technology: Cloud computing is the “great enabler” of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. GroundHog is a third- party cloud computing-based software that is user friendly, modular and scalable platform.
• Real Time Location Services: Mines keep a track of all personnel and equipment through RTLS and monitor traffic flow for safety and productivity.

CONCLUSION

The digital revolution has gone from being a buzzword to being a reality in mining. With the advent of Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, the mining industry is being greatly influenced. In fact, many mining companies have started taking important steps towards the digitalized mine of the future.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Fast and significant changes in the mining infrastructure is changing every aspect of how we interact with the physical equipment and also among the people. While the modern era of mining is redefined by harnessing emerging technologies, it is becoming increasingly evident that technological advances will play a growing role in the mine of the future, and is set to change the way miners operate and manage tasks.

An integrated autonomous mining system will definitely be a game changer because digital system is like glue that joins all elements of a physical entity, data, knowledge components and people who imagine, create, build, and operate the facility. So, get ready to embrace the next-generation mining with GroundHog.