“We will see a dramatic change in the industry in the next 20 years, particularly in new mining operations,” says Lawrence Lien, a specialist in management, financing and recruitment at mining operations.

“We won’t even recognize us,” Lien says, describing “factory mines” where the entire production is carried out with autonomous automated equipment and via remote control.

“The ambition will be to create a much more static mining environment that allows for repetition over longer periods, from six months to a couple of years, so that the movement of material can be automated as much as possible,” he says.

This means mining will go through the same process that has already transformed much of the manufacturing industry, facilitated by the rapid development in information technology. The result has been increased productivity and a better work environment for operators, combined with more efficient process control. These benefits are now also driving the development in mining.

Better productivity can help mining companies offset growing costs to reach the mineral, as mines are getting deeper and more remotely located. Automated machines can work long shifts with consistent performance in an unmanned process, controlled from safer or more urban locations.

Mine automation also allows an overall process control to optimize the product quality. With computer-aided drilling and accurate positioning it is possible to mine just what is necessary and avoid excess material that consumes resources without producing any income. The whole flow through the mine can be streamlined and the energy efficiency improved.

“I think you will see a reduction in the use of energy,” Lien says. “Mines are getting increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint, which also means there will be more electric-driven machines such as conveyors,
as well as trucks and shovels.”

A process control system in an automated mine can influence sustainability in more ways. Among other things it can keep an eye on factors that could affect the environment, such as groundwater levels and the status of settling basins.

Another part of an automation package is that one operator can monitor and control several machines, without any time or fuel spent on transportation back and forth to the production area. Fewer people in that area means less need for ventilation, a costly and energy-consuming part of any underground mining operation. Last but not least, there will be fewer people in hazardous areas.

Safety goes up dramatically when you work from a control room,” says Greg Baiden, a professor at Laurentian University’s School of Engineering in Canada, who specializes in robotics and automation. He is also chairman and chief technology officer of Penguin Automated Systems Inc. The company focuses on telecommunication solutions that control robots and other equipment in remote locations, from space to underground mines. Solid Ground reached him in Florida where he was testing a wireless underwater system based on light instead of radio waves, a principle he thinks will be useful in both surface and underground mines. As he sees it, continued development in mine automation doesn’t require any technological leaps.

“At this point I don’t really see any huge technical challenges,” Baiden says. “All that is needed is already there. There is some engineering work to do, but I can’t point to anything that we couldn’t achieve.”

He believes other parts related to mine automation may be trickier to develop, such as a culture of change.

“It can be a very difficult thing to handle, because people are often happy to do what they are already doing,” Baiden says.

Lawrence Lien shares the view that organization and culture around an automation project often hold the key to success.

“Oftentimes we’re concentrating on the hardware or the software, not on the organizational environment in which it is being utilized,” Lien says. “But you have to be aware that it isn’t just plug-and-play.”

As automation is introduced in an organization, particularly an existing one, it is crucial that the expectations in terms of new roles and results are well defined from the start, Lien says.

“You don’t have to be crazy about it, but you have to realize that the work is going to be different,” he says. “In many cases it is not at all about training the people – it has to do with how you’re managing the company.”