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World Mining Frontiers Volume 2 2023


Editorial Editor Nicholas Kenny


nicholas.kenny@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editor Tal Abdulrazaq Production manager Dave Stanford Group art director Henrik Williams Designer Martin Faulkner Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Client services executive Ruchita Marwaha


Publication manager Roy Morris roy.morris@progressivemediainternational.com Managing director William Crocker


World Mining Frontiers is published biannually by Progressive Media International.


www.nsenergybusiness.com ISSN 2054-4219 © 2023


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M


ining is a dirty, dangerous and difficult business, often fraught with risk for workers and operators alike – and when something goes wrong, it can have truly catastrophic consequences. For


this reason, it wasn’t hard to understand why many feared the worst after the collapse of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in India on 12 November, which trapped 41 workers behind over 60m of dense concrete rubble, rock and metal. However, 17 days later, all 41 of the trapped workers were pulled out through an escape pipe, after the final stretch of rubble was manually drilled through by a specialist team of ‘rat-hole mining’ experts – an outlawed but still common high-risk method of extracting coal in India – who were flown in to help after the mechanical drill broke down. In short, this story has a happy ending thanks to the hard work and expertise of skilled mining experts, who overcame disaster and mechanical failure, firmly highlighting the importance of the people who make up this industry. It does also, however, underline the importance of driving robust and effective safety measures across mining and, in this issue, we examine a number of topics that could have an impact on this front. On page 12, for example, we look at the potential autonomous swarms of mining robots pose for the future of the industry, alongside the developments that are already ongoing. Similarly, on page 22, we examine how VR training systems are enabling workers to prepare for their roles without having to physically enter the mining environment. Still with safety in mind, the challenges presented to miners and mining operations by rising temperatures through global warming is explored on page 32, as dehydration and heat stress risks look set to grow steadily in the years ahead.


UK £67 EU €104 US $135 RoW $136 UK £105 EU €163 US $215 RoW $216


Mining is always going to carry some inherent risks, but it’s crucial that the industry does all that it can to minimise them to whatever extent is possible. There are many promising moves taking place in this direction, but new safety challenges are also arising, and the industry will need to ensure it stays a few steps ahead. Thankfully, as we saw in India, the sector is filled with people possessing all the skills, expertise and determination it needs to solve just about any problem – all the more important, then, to keep those people safe.


Nicholas Kenny, editor


World Mining Frontiers / www.nsenergybusiness.com


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