Automation & robotics
Automation & robotics
Mine collapses remain an ongoing danger for mining sites and, as they continue to delve deeper and deeper into the earth, the importance of being able to carry out a comprehensive visual inspection after a collapse is imperative. The Brisbane-based Australian Droid & Robot (ADR) recently completed the deepest remote underground mine inspection in history, using a fl eet of robots to reach 1.8km into an underground limestone mine in the US following a collapse. Mae Losasso speaks to Callum Macdermid, head ground robotic engineer at ADR, to fi nd out more.
After the fall T
he collapse of mines has long been a hazard in the industry – and it’s one that continues to intensify as mining moves deeper underground. In October, an explosion in a coal mine in Turkey left 41 people dead. Earlier that month, a bauxite mine collapsed in Greece, killing one person; in September, a mine collapse in Illinois led to the destruction of a nearby high school; and in July, ten people were killed and six left injured in a mine collapse in China’s north- western Gansu province.
There is no magic bullet when it comes to mine collapses – but developing the right technology can help limit some of the dangers posed to human life. “As resources become more finite, we’re having to go deeper and deeper, and the risk just keeps elevating”, says Callum Macdermid, head ground robot engineer at mining solutions company Australian Droid + Robot (ADR). “But we can reduce that risk through robotics.”
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ADR was established in 2016 by underground mine automation experts, Dr Joe Cronin and Dr Dawid Preller. The company’s motto is “safety by separation”, an ethos that emerged out of Cronin’s recognition that some mining hazards are simply unavoidable – which is why it is vital that we remove the human element, wherever possible. As Macdermid explains, “the mining industry has a structure for doing risk analysis and risk assessment – it’s called the hierarchy of controls. Coming out of that industry, our co-founder was adamant that there needed to be another control added to that hierarchy, which was separation. And that’s what we really strive for – if you can’t eliminate the risk, let’s separate the human from the risk.”
The machine of the moment ADR’s core product is the Explora XL, a “field- hardened and field-proven Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)”, Macdermid explains. “It’s a highly
World Mining Frontiers /
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Australian Droid & Robot
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