As a leader in the field of automated mining equipment, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has been steadily extending the reach of its automation technology into different mining environments and equipment categories.
Its AutoMine® product group has allowed underground mines to automate their drilling, loading and hauling operations, for instance. More recently, according to Kabelo Nkoana, Business Line Manager for Automation and Digitisation at Sandvik Southern Africa, this technology is being applied to surface drill rigs.
“Over the last four to five years, we have seen our southern African market share in down-the-hole and rotary blast hole drill rigs grow considerably,” says Nkoana. “This has given us an opportunity to start discussing available automation options with customers.”
The AutoMine® system has been in operation for over two decades, and now plays an integral role in making mining safer and more efficient in more than 100 mines worldwide. He notes that the impact on safety has been notable, with more than five million Lost-Time-Injury-Free (LTIF) hours worked by the automated equipment.
“Over this extended period of time, we have proven the reliability and performance of our digital technology, and demonstrated the direct safety benefits of remote automation and placing personnel away from areas of hazard or high energy,” he explains. “Based on our success in the underground environment, we are now rolling out equivalent solutions for surface operations.”
Underground
AutoMine® has allowed underground drilling rigs to be remote operated, while applying optimised drilling patterns and adjustments for maximum efficiency. The company’s underground loaders can also be remotely controlled, reducing the need for operators to be physically present in potentially hazardous unsupported areas. In the same way, autonomous trucks have become a key component of the hauling process in underground mining, being able to transport materials within the mine without direct human control.
In the loading and hauling space, the AutoMine® system enables loader steering without predefined paths, where the operator controls the loader’s maximum speed and provides direction from a remote-control station. The functionality of this system includes collision avoidance to minimise equipment damage and optimise uptime. Without an operator being present in the actual working area, the equipment can be kept working during blast clearance and shift changes. This facilitates less downtime and raises the productivity of the operation.
Surface drills
Nkoana explains that AutoMine® can now be applied to the Sandvik i-Series of surface drilling machines; these intelligent units are therefore AutoMine® compatible. The Sandvik i-Series comes standard with features such as the onboard data collection units for major components. The machines’ data-collecting Knowledge Box gathers and stores a range of operational data, and transmits it to the cloud for analysis and reporting.
“With our surface drilling rigs, AutoMine® essentially replicates the OEM’s machine control system to enable remote control over the Wi-Fi network,” he says. “This enhances safety especially when rigs are operating close to a highwall, or when there are unstable geological conditions on the bench. Mines have embraced these features to further enhance the safety of operators.”
The automation of this equipment is also paying dividends in terms of reliability and performance. This is due to the machines’ extensive sensing capability, where they are picking up valuable data about their working environment. Programmed to operate only within their design limits, they will respond immediately to changes.
“An automated machine will follow pre-determined instructions and will not exceed its limitations,” says Nkoana. “This helps extend the life of consumables and components, generally leading to a lower total cost of ownership.”
Interoperability
He notes that Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions is continually developing its digital offerings in response to customer preferences and needs. As the mining sector evolves toward ‘smart’ operations, one of the key imperatives for an OEM is to ensure the interoperability of its technology.
“Mines will usually have a range of OEM brands on their site, but they are working towards greater transparency of all operations through integrating data from different sources,” he says. “Management on mines therefore needs the third-party systems to speak to each other – so we have achieved a high level of interoperability and continue to develop our systems in this direction.”
Geo-fencing
The trend towards automation on mines means that automated equipment is increasingly sharing the physical space occupied by manually operated machines on a site. To ensure the highest levels of safety, automated machines can be ‘geo-fenced’ – or partitioned off – from manual equipment. However, he points out that there are also situations where the area is too confined to give the automated machine its own space.
“To deal with situations like this, machines need artificial intelligence (AI); we have launched our AutoMine concept loader and underground drill rig, which are AI-enabled and fully autonomous,” Nkoana explains. “This concept includes perception-sensing technologies to detect obstacles, and make decisions about their movements when there is a person in their proximity.”
He highlights that the application of technological change needs to be carefully managed at site level, with the involvement and education of all stakeholders. Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions makes a point of guiding customers through the process of automation, planning each step and ensuring the necessary skills development and commitment.
