Category: Mining technology

South Africa’s mining industry is increasingly making use of innovative and cutting-edge technologies to run more efficient operations, to manage risk, to improve health and safety, reduce the cost of maintenance and extraction, as well as bringing about a skills uplift. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the digitisation of the work process, as well as the adoption of automation and other innovative tools in the mining industry. These are some of the key findings from a report issued jointly by PwC and the Minerals Council South Africa. The report… Read More Here

New technology is on the market that could be a catalyst for industries with limited access to bandwidth, and internet connectivity can be patchy at mine sites, especially underground. Vancouver-based mimik Technology has developed a Hybrid Edge Cloud platform that enables computing devices, including sensors on mining equipment, to act as cloud servers so they can run applications needed to process data and communicate it to other devices. mimik’s platform enables sensors to process the data and communicate – even without access to the Internet. mimik’s platform Edge computing is… Read More Here

The mining industry has undergone many transformations to improve processes, operations, working conditions and safety measures. What used to be a labor-intensive and an unsafe occupation is now seeing innovative… The mining industry has undergone many transformations to improve processes, operations, working conditions and safety measures. What used to be a labor-intensive and an unsafe occupation is now seeing innovative discoveries being applied to various sectors of the industry. The following are some of the major advancements that modern mining enjoys: Material deposit-tracking Previously, more time and a larger workforce… Read More Here

Chief of machinery maker Epiroc says interest in automation and electrification is ‘coming from everywhere’ The pandemic is accelerating investment in automation and technology upgrades by mining companies to reduce the numbers of staff on site, according to the chief executive of the world’s largest mining drilling equipment manufacturer. Miners were already updating equipment to cope with lower grade material and deeper mines, which often involve more water. They have also been responding to pressure from investors to reduce carbon emissions. More are using electric trucks, for example, and every… Read More Here

The astute application of digital tools is the key to continuously improving efficiencies on underground mines, according to Niel McCoy, business line manager for automation and digitalisation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. McCoy says that the choice of digital tools needs to be based on each operation’s key performance indicators (KPIs). This is because the solutions that are implemented will be focused on monitoring and managing those KPIs. He then recommends a phased approach to introducing digital tools to an operation. “The starting point is always machine telemetry and… Read More Here

Automation and digitalisation technologies are no stranger to Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology (Sandvik) – and have been applied into the company’s solutions offerings for in excess of 10 years. While this positions the company as a leader in the digital revolution field, it has made significant strides in advancing these areas of the business further, driven by the need to overcome COVID-19 challenges, writes LAURA CORNISH. “No company could have prepared for the challenges associated with COVID-19. But every problem has a solution and this was the approach Sandvik adopted.… Read More Here