INDUSTRY NEWS
Collaborative autonomous drilling project announced
Epiroc, in collaboration with Boliden, Algoryx and Örebro University, is at the forefront of a pioneering project with the goal of achieving autonomous face drilling. A crucial part of the project will be to construct and employ a digital twin of a mine for machine learning, thereby greatly reducing the need for physical testing. Finding a solution for autonomous
face drilling will be a major step toward fully automated underground mining. Face drilling is already automated in
part, with rig control systems following digital drill plans. In practice, however, the face topography is seldom immaculate. More often than not, it is necessary for the operator to adjust the drill plan manually to compensate for various types of obstacles. “The success of the blast is
very much dependent on the quality of the drilling. We are trying to figure out if an autonomous system can achieve
Copper exploration conducted in Peru
Getech, a leading locator of subsurface resources, has successfully assisted Nittesu Mining to identify favourable conditions for iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) minerals deposits in Peru. This analysis informed a multi- million-dollar investment decision in the country. Rather than following the traditional approach of searching near already discovered mineral deposits, Getech’s solution identifies
geological settings conducive to mineral accumulation. This innovative approach opens up the potential for discovering mineral deposits in new search spaces. The work had two phases.
Phase one involved testing a new methodology using a high-resolution 3D subsurface analysis. In phase two, a favourability map highlighting areas for IOCG deposits in Nittetsu’s area of interest in Peru was developed.
Fleet management system chosen
Caterpillar and Wheeler Machinery recently completed installation of a Cat MineStar fleet management system at the Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine, located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Rather than upgrading the mine’s previous fleet management system, Kennecott, a Rio Tinto Company, chose to deploy MineStar Fleet. This has optimised the mine site’s equipment tracking, production recording, material management and truck assignment, and it has further
expanded the technology relationship between Caterpillar and Rio Tinto. “For 15 years, Rio Tinto has used
MineStar Terrain and has expanded its MineStar capabilities in recent years at locations like Gudai Darri and Marandoo, autonomous mine sites in Western Australia. Bingham Canyon Mine is
the first MineStar Fleet site in Rio Tinto history, and this extends the company’s application of MineStar capabilities,” says Ryan Howell at Caterpillar.
results that are comparable with or better than those of experienced operators,” says Oskar Lundberg at Epiroc.
VEHICLE SUPERVISORY SYSTEM LAUNCHED
Vehicle automation provider, ABD Solutions, has developed a new mobile supervisory system for its vehicle automation solution, Indigo Drive. “Indigo Drive automates existing vehicle fleets, accelerating autonomy at a fraction of the cost of replacing the fleet with autonomous equivalents,” said Matthew Price, managing director of ABD Solutions. “Autonomous vehicles are revolutionising the mining industry. Our new mobile solution is enabling these benefits to be extended across the entire mining operation, wherever it is.” The mobile supervisory system consists of the servers and operator stations that enable a site to manage its fleet of automated vehicles. It can be fitted into various configurations and can be placed in the most remote and hostile environments.
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