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By M Barkh, F X. Spachtholz

The mining industry faces significant environmental challenges in managing tailing ponds and wastewater treatment, including the risk of contaminated water, breaches of tailing dams, and energy-intensive treatment processes. Traditional methods involve pumping water to secondary treatment facilities for neutralisation, which is costly and poses operational and environmental risks. In response to these challenges, the Professional Mine Water Action Plan (PMAP) introduces a revolutionary approach that combines cutting-edge AI technology and environmentally friendly reagents for in situ neutralisation of acidic wastewater. PMAP leverages magnesium-based slowrelease reagents and AI-driven intelligent dispensing systems to optimise treatment processes within the tailing pond itself. The unmanned smart dispensing vessel (USDV) conducts bathymetry to gather data on water quality and hydrography, allowing the system to determine the appropriate reagent quantity and injection strategy. This approach transforms the tailing pond into virtual reaction columns, enabling individual and simultaneous water treatment while optimising efficiency. PMAP’s novel reagent demonstrates exceptional efficacy in removing critical metals like cobalt, nickel, and copper, as well as reducing harmful metals such as mercury and manganese to undetectable concentrations. Unlike traditional lime-based treatments, PMAP’s reagent prevents gypsum formation and reduces waste volume significantly, improving reagent utilisation and solid waste handling. Furthermore, PMAP technology offers benefits beyond environmental stewardship. By reducing water treatment costs and improving resource management, it enhances operational efficiency and aligns with broader corporate sustainability goals. Additionally, PMAP expedites permitting processes by eliminating the need for traditional water treatment infrastructure and mitigating risks associated with hazardous reagent transportation. Integrating PMAP as a pre-treatment for existing lime facilities provides further benefits, including optimisation of treatment operations, reduced reagent consumption, and the recovery of valuable metals from generated sludges. Overall, PMAP represents a groundbreaking advancement in mining wastewater management, showcasing the transformative potential of AI and environmentally friendly solutions to foster sustainable and responsible mining practices globally. Its inaugural project in the Yukon Territory aims to demonstrate its capability to remove contaminants from mine water, paving the way for widespread adoption in the industry.

Sep 1, 2024

By S Jeon, K Haga, A Shibayama, L Godirilwe, C B. Tabelin, I Park, A Buronov

Open pit/underground mining and mineral processing can generate large amounts of waste that contains sulfide-type minerals such as pyrite (FeS2), and it can produce acid mine drainage (AMD) when exposed to oxygen and water. This highly acidic wastewater contains heavy metals and this is one of the most serious environmental issues after mining operations taking several decades to completely remediate with high costs. For green mining, the present study focused on the development of a recovery technique for gold from an eco-friendly solvent, thiosulfate, by utilising mine wastes, tailings. First, gold recovery experiments in ammonium thiosulfate system were carried out using model samples representatively present in tailings (ie SiO2, Al2O3, FeS2, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4). The results showed that gold recoveries were negligible when using Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4 while pyrite shows a recovery efficiency three-fold as high as the maximum recovery efficiency when using others. Subsequently, the study also addressed the identification of the recovery mechanisms and post-recover process. The results indicate that tailings can be sufficiently utilised for gold recovery in the hydrometallurgy process and a further sustainable process can be established.

Sep 1, 2024

By W Midgley, M Torok, I Canbulat, J Katupitiya, S Saydam, S Akdag

The green energy transition is expected to require a range of valuable minerals, which could be supplied through deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining. Deep-sea polymetallic nodules are mineral deposits with a composition well suited to produce lithium batteries, which are expected to be a necessary energy storage solution (Diouf and Pode, 2015; Paulikas et al, 2020) for the energy transition. By 2050 the annual demand for both cobalt and lithium is estimated to increase by around 450 per cent from 2018 levels (Hund et al, 2023), with the annual demand for nickel being greater than 2 million tons, and copper greater than 1 million tons. Polymetallic nodule mining is well positioned to provide these minerals in the near future. An intricate and comparatively unexplored ecosystem thrives within and surrounding the nodule fields (Smith et al, 2008). Deep-sea mining operations have the potential to disrupt and permanently damage this ecosystem through introduced pollution, artificial noise and light, and habitat destruction. Hence, there is a pressing need for new engineering and scientific endeavours to focus on developing new technologies to reduce any environmental impact from mining.

Sep 1, 2024

By H Bao, M Nehring, M Kizil, P Knights

The mining sector, a notably energy-intensive industry worldwide, is a major consumer of fossil fuels, leading to significant carbon emissions globally. The move towards electrification, coupled with advancements in battery technology, has redirected focus from traditional diesel-powered solutions to battery-powered alternatives. This paper introduces a novel mining haulage system, termed the Battery Trolley system, and examines its theoretical foundations, configurations, and operational processes. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the system’s characteristics and limitations. Through a hypothetical road simulation, the study analyses various battery mining trucks, calculating energy consumption based on force parameters and tailoring battery sizes to contemporary materials and technology. When assessing various battery truck alternatives—considering aspects such as battery size, effective payload, duty cycle, energy efficiency, productivity, and single-shift production—a range of performance outcomes and characters become apparent within the mining context. The findings indicate that Battery Trolley configurations, requiring smaller battery capacities, entail lesser compromises on effective payload. Consequently, these configurations achieve a higher duty cycle, reduced energy consumption per tonne, heightened productivity, and enhanced singleshift production capabilities compared to Battery-only alternatives. The comparative analysis of Battery Trolley with stationary charging (BT-S) and Battery Trolley – dynamic charging (BT-D) underlines that battery Trolley systems are capable of overcoming the challenges associated with battery size, thus successfully fulfilling the production demands of large truck applications in mining. This positions Battery Trolley systems as a more advantageous option for the decarbonisation of mining fleets, underscoring their potential in contributing to the sector’s sustainable evolution.

Sep 1, 2024

By W J. Haylock, K Wasiel

PX4 Software Pty Ltd is a Brisbane-based company, which specialises in providing tenement management software to mining and exploration teams operating in Australia and several international jurisdictions, including the United States, Africa, and Canada. Whilst the company is experiencing substantial growth due to a demand from both the minerals and mining technology sector, there is a crucial gap in the market for critical minerals, which will be required to achieve the net-zero emissions goal set by the Paris Agreement for 2050. To help understand and address the technology gap identified by the unprecedented demand, PX4 Software undertook the Annual Survey of Technological Transformation in the Exploration Industry. This survey involved interviews with 12 very distinguished subject matter experts in the fields of Geoscience and Geology from across the globe. From this survey, we have defined eight major categories of exploration technologies. Notably, the most transformative of these technologies over the past 65 years falls into the Geophysical Methodology category, specifically focusing on image and signal processing of both airborne and downhole data. Advances in computing power during this period have significantly improved data processing quality, enhancing orebody modelling, and targeting. This has had a profound impact on the industry. Moreover, the survey reveals that future transformative technologies are expected to centre on the automation of existing processes through AI and Machine Learning techniques. This is expected to help facilitate the identification of critical mineral systems and thus enable the exploration industry to make more informed decisions based on data analysis using Machine Learning and AI.

Sep 1, 2024

By L H. G McClean

Diversity, equity and inclusion are often cited as ‘important priorities’ by mining companies and industry organisations in their public presentations and reports, but is the minerals industry really making strides forward? The mining industry is the least gender diverse industry in Australia (WEGA, 2023). Women make up just 22 per cent of the mining workforce and mining has a gender pay gap of 15.1 per cent (WEGA, 2024a). Only 8 per cent of the CEO roles are female and 20 per cent of boards have no female members (WEGA, 2023, 2024a). Gender diversity, equity and inclusion is a highly topical issue with the recent release of the Respect@Work report, Western Australia Parliamentary Inquiry as well as the publication of company specific workplace culture reports and the national legislative changes to implement a positive duty for organisations to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This comes at a time of a skills and labour shortage in the minerals industry as well as declining geoscience study and participation. This is a perfect storm for our future workforce. Governments, industry associations, networks and companies are developing and supporting initiatives to make strides towards equity and inclusion, with some shining examples on both an industry and company level, but the dial is only moving slowly and, in some ways, going backwards. Every company is unique, but every company can review and support gender diversity, equity and inclusion. Actions to progress gender parity could include establishing a clear company position; ensuring that this position is cascaded throughout the company with appropriate training; reporting and reviewing gender participation as well as supporting positive workforce initiatives and a positive culture with a people-centric issues reporting process. At the industry level, there are clear gaps in the support for gender diversity and inclusion including a national voice and ‘one-stop-shop’ to support women in the industry and provide resources. Recommendations include improved co-ordination and collaboration of support for women as well as improved promotion of the suitability (and safety) of the industry for women. The new independent organisation, Women in Mining and Resources Australia (WIMARA) has the objective to address the challenges of gender diversity and inclusion as well as foster co-ordination, co-operation and collaboration between the different stakeholders and state or territory groups and amplify reach. To deliver the future workforce that the minerals industry needs, the time is now for the industry to make some giant leaps for womankind.

Sep 1, 2024

By C Zhang, R Liang, I Canbulat, S Saydam, B Li

The integration of digital twins in mining represents a significant advancement towards enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making. Central to this development is the role of visualisation, a crucial element in mining digitalisation. This paper aims to develop a data-driven visualisation solution for the construction of mining digital twins, highlighting how this innovation revolutionises the representation of physical mining environments. It spotlights the shortcomings of conventional visualisation methods, particularly their inability to accurately depict complex underground environments and their predominantly historical orientation. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel, data-driven approach. This approach extensively utilises CAD files, encompassing data from geological surveys to intricate mine plans, thereby significantly elevating the precision of digital twins. It supports real-time updates and enables flexible interaction with a variety of data types. Moreover, it introduces a comprehensive data diagram alongside the adaptation of a 3D tile index. This strategy ensures the efficient rendering of extensive mining environments, allowing for a more dynamic and interactive digital twin model. In conclusion, the implementation of data-driven visualisation in the construction of mining digital twins marks a pivotal advancement in the industry’s digital transformation. It promises a more detailed, accurate, and dynamic depiction of mining operations.

Sep 1, 2024

By J P. van Dijk, M Munro

Discrete vein modelling presents an innovative geology driven 3D modelling method for quantification of vein hosted mineral deposits, with far reaching potential for critical mineral supply and low impact resource extraction. By integrating key geological drivers with advanced discrete fracture network modelling, the DMX protocol (launched in 2019) converges to a more realistic representation of complex vein systems in three-dimensional space. The approach insights greater geologic reasoning in distributing mineral grades where vein boundaries are already defined. This presents a viable alternative to existing modelling and estimation methods and has important implications for mineral resource estimation and reporting. Further implications are discussed, where the enhanced understanding of complex orebody characteristics can potentially be used in optimising mining and mineral processing, supporting more sustainable and efficient mining practices.

Sep 1, 2024

By M Liang, C Putzmann, D Gokaydin

The mining industry faces numerous challenges in swiftly evaluating and exploiting new mineral deposits to meet the escalating demand for critical minerals and metals. These challenges necessitate the adoption of innovative techniques and technologies to expedite development cycles and facilitate the efficient exchange of knowledge and expertise. Traditional mineral exploration methods rely heavily on data governance, visualisation tools, and expert interpretation skills, often operating in isolation and limiting the integration of valuable data and knowledge (Lindsay and Perrouty, 2019). To address these integration challenges and bridge the industry’s knowledge gap, the concept of a digital twin offers a holistic solution (Ahn, 2021; Nagovitsyn and Stepacheva, 2021).

Sep 1, 2024

By A Karrech, G M. Hassan, A Varghese, E Lessing, S Martins

Pumps play a critical role in mining operations, and their energy consumption and environmental impact are significant. This paper addresses the need for a holistic approach to sustainable pump deployment by expanding on previous work presented at IMPC Asia Pacific 2022 and World Mining Congress 2023. The research takes a significant step forward by outlining a structured approach to estimate and demonstrate sustainability tailored for operational slurry pumps. It details the calculation methodologies used to quantify the carbon dioxide emissions from electricity, wear materials and transport, as well as sealing water usage. To enhance practicality and usability, a simplified visual representation—called sustainability metrics—has been developed to monitor overall efficiency. The sustainability metrics consist of the availability, pump efficiency, and water utilisation efficiency. The proposed methodology is integrated with Pumps Condition Monitoring Service to maximise benefits. Three case studies, from iron ore, copper, and nickel operations globally, were employed to evaluate the proposed methodology. The findings demonstrate the critical role of sustainability calculations in understanding pumps operation. These calculations improve awareness of the pump’s role in the sustainability journey and enable effective monitoring. The studies highlight that continuous monitoring paired with effective prescriptive maintenance strategy can significantly reduce power and water consumption while maximising pump availability. The case studies also reveal significant shortcomings in current operational practices and non-optimal maintenance regimes, emphasising the need for practical recommendations to maximise savings and optimise pump performance. In the context of increasing climate change awareness and the imperative for global decarbonisation, this research highlights the necessity of critically assessing methods and operations to drive sustainability in the mining industry. By adopting a holistic approach to sustainable pump deployment, mining operations can effectively reduce their environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency and economic viability. The proposed methodology and case studies provide valuable insights and practical recommendations for mining companies seeking to achieve sustainable practices and contribute to a decarbonised future.

Sep 1, 2024

By H Zhang, M Karimi, M Hassan, S Saydam, B Li

With the prevalence of Mine Internet of Things (MIoT), different types of sensors have been widely deployed in mine sites for environmental monitoring and operational management. Currently, sensors in mine sites are mainly powered by cables or batteries. However, the deployment and maintenance of a power supply network can be difficult and expensive, and batteries have a limited lifespan. The vibration energy harvesting (VEH) technology can be used to provide power for lowpower sensors in mine sites. This presentation briefly introduces three widely used VEH methods (ie piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic). The performance of a commercial electromagnetic energy harvester (ReVibe model D) is evaluated based on the vibration of a lab vibrator (3 g, 50 Hz) and an idling SUV automobile (0.3 g, 25 Hz). Experimental results indicate that a ReVibe energy harvester can generate adequate electricity to power a sensor, and its power output depends on the load resistance as well as the vibration frequency and amplitude of vibration sources. To apply VEH to mining applications, this study also analyses the characteristics of vibration sources at the mine site based on the vibration data collected from various operating machines in a coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP). The vibration analysis results indicate that all the measured vibration sources in the CHPP can generate stable and abundant vibrations, characterised by substantial amplitudes (up to 5.55 g) and low dominant frequencies (ranging from 14 Hz to 25 Hz), which are sufficient for VEH.

Sep 1, 2024

By A Tsang, D La Rosa, L Julian, W Hunt, R Pratama

Mineral extraction is facing the twin challenges of finite resources and increasing environmental and economic costs. Society’s growth is matched by an increase in demand for the earth’s resources. It is incumbent on us as contemporary mining professionals to promote and facilitate ethical and efficient practices. Technological developments have and will continue to allow a decrease in viable cut-off grades, creating new economic opportunities from deposits that were previously uneconomic. Mining low-grade deposits however, even with perfect recoveries, will have a significant environmental cost for the metal won. The greatest opportunity to increase metal with the least environmental cost is to increase the metal yield from existing mines. The determination of mining polygons is a critical juncture where rock is typically subjected to the binary grading of either ore or waste. This is undertaken using a number of factors, such as the mining equipment being used and the recovery in the processing plant. Traditionally, mining polygons were generated on the in situ grade control model. This ignores the complex differential blast dynamics that occur during blasting. Two opportunities exist to improve metal yields: optimise the blast design to achieve the post-blast muck pile that will support the greatest outcome; and generate optimised polygons on the post-blast muck pile. A data set from a Canadian Gold deposit is used to demonstrate the potential benefit of iterative blast movement modelling and grade control polygon optimisation on metal yield. The impact of blasting on the total recoverable metal is presented, highlighting blast design as a critical process in the mining value chain.

Sep 1, 2024

By S Nowosad, A Binder, O Langefeld, M Bothe-Fiekert, F Apollo

The mining industry faces complex and urgent challenges driven by an increasing demand for raw materials, and a socially demanding globalised world. The extraction of primary raw materials is today more important than ever as one of the cornerstones towards a sustainable future since the increasing demand for the raw materials required for the energy transition. In the last three years, leading countries as USA, China, Canada, Australia, and the European Union (EU) have developed and adopted strategies to enhance domestic extraction capabilities, diversifying sources, fostering innovation in recycling, and promoting international collaboration related to critical raw materials. On 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in the USA, in June 2023, the Australian Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 was published and in March 2024, the Council of the EU adopted the European Critical Raw Materials Act. On the other hand, raw materials extraction is facing higher environmental and safety standards and regulations, as well as scrutiny from the broader public. Regrettable environmental accidents as tailing dam failures or acid mine drainage occurrences have led to a general distrust of mining activities leaving mining companies with the dual imperative of increasing output while implementing sustainability, decarbonisation, and circularity as a core value in their production processes. This challenging environment offers the opportunity to enhance ‘blue mining’ (BM) as a sustainable holistic approach that integrates the principles needed to plan sustainable, reliable, and responsible mines for today’s and future generations by implementing the principles of circular economy (CE). This requires a fundamental shift from the traditional linear economy approach to a sustainable, circular economy strategy. At its essence, BM encapsulates four crucial aspects – energy, ergonomics, water, and circularity and integrates these four aspects into integrative mine planning, defining clear goals and objectives from the ‘blueprint’ of a mine towards a beneficial post-mining activity. Its implementation can lead to maximisation of resources beyond the life of the extractive mine and sustainable use of materials by integrating the principles of circular economy and multiuse mine, see Figure 1. These concepts complement and recognise the need to minimise environmental and social impacts while advancing economic development. Finally, this contribution explains the requirements and challenges of moving from linear to dynamic planning approaches under the BM concept. This way, BM stands as an approach that can contribute to the mining industry receiving necessary approvals and support from society leading to a long-term transformation of the industry’s image.

Sep 1, 2024

By D Connelly

Quartz deposits are common in nature but the presence of quartz suitable for yielding high purity quartz is exceedingly rare. This paper describes a test work study on producing high purity quartz (HPQ) product to meet the tight product specifications of greater than 99.97per cent, including four and even five nines, for uses including, lighting and fibre optics and modern-day high efficiency solar panels. Due to demand in renewable energy applications the market for high purity silica solar panels known for their increasing efficiency and durability is rapidly growing. Demand continues to rise for the use of high purity quartz in semiconductors, electronics, imaging and sensor markets. Microelectronic components are created by chemically fabricating wafers of semiconductors such as silicon to obtain the desired transport of electrical charge and control of the current. The production of silicon metal from high purity quartz has been designated a Strategic Mineral by the European Commission and by the US Department of Justice due to the growing significance of this metal in various industries. The subsequent processing of quartz is the key step to adding value and aiding technological advances. Overall, the high purity quartz market is a highly secretive, specialised market with increasing opportunities for stakeholders. The attempt to produce HPQ in this work was carried out using an Australian quartz ore following a typical HPQ process flow sheet. The unit processes included primary crushing, scrubbing, magnetic separation, flotation, acid leaching followed by hot chlorination. The results indicate that grinding of quartz requires specialist equipment due to the hardness and extreme abrasiveness of the ore leading to additional iron contamination in the ground ore. The critical impurities were aluminium, iron, sodium, potassium, lithium, titanium, zircon, calcium and magnesium. The chemical refining was found effective. The hot chlorination process needed to be done at 1200°C in a chlorine – hydrogen chloride gas atmosphere. The risk of any gas being released during this stage is very serious and only specialist companies should and can carry out this step. More recent studies reported many new options that appear to facilitate the production of HPQ with the requisite purities more easily, but costly equipment along with highly trained operators are required and hence unlikely to become available in standard metallurgical laboratories any time soon.

Sep 1, 2024

By G McCullough, J Bassan, d P. Knights, C T. Farrelly

By 2045, carbon-neutral mines will be economically producing products that are vital for the world’s transition to renewable energy. After overcoming significant technical challenges (and the investment of significant capital), leaders have successfully eliminated the use of diesel and other fossil fuels by introducing a wide range of new decarbonisation technologies. These leaders will be reaping the benefits of lower production costs (resulting from elimination of diesel), stable and predictable operations, and easier access to capital for their future projects. This paper describes a future scenario of how a net zero carbon and zero-entry mine could operate by taking maximum advantage of technologies in development or already proven in other industries. Some miners have been unsuccessful in their efforts to reach decarbonisation targets. Instead, they have been forced to close or offload their assets to be acquired by operators with better sustainability credentials, or, in some cases, to indigenous or community-based enterprises with vested interest in making operations viable and sustainable. Regardless of ownership structure, all successful mining operations will have fostered strong and positive community relations that bring education, health, security and economic development opportunities to the communities while respecting their traditions, land-uses and culture. As shallow, easy to mine deposits have become scarce, the majority of new mines are underground. Advancements in electric underground technology and the feasibility of ‘zero entry mining’ (with no personnel in active mining zones) has made it increasingly possible to economically operate underground mines, even at shallow depths. The newest mines have a near zero footprint on the surface, produce no harmful by-products, and are employing in-place or in situ methods of extraction that are efficient and low impact. Surface land-uses, such as agriculture and renewable energy generation, continue in the immediate vicinity of the mine, with no significant ground disturbance, community impact or environmental footprint.

Sep 1, 2024

By B Y. Luan, Y Tian, W Zhou, X Lu, Q X. Cai

The unmanned driving technology in open pit coalmines is an important technology that relies on innovation to drive the development of the open pit coal mining industry in China’s transformation of growth drivers and industrial structure upgrading. It is an important path to solve the shortage of mine truck drivers in the future mining, an important way to improve the working environment of open pit mining personnel, and an important foundation for achieving flexible production capacity in open pit mining to cooperate with the coordinated development of new energy. The communication rules at intersections are key to ensuring the safety and efficiency of unmanned driving in open pit coalmines. This paper proposes a collaborative traffic strategy between unmanned trucks for the single bucket unmanned truck intermittent process system in open pit coalmines. Based on the gap theory, this paper analyses the conflict characteristics and establishes a coordinated traffic strategy for the common intersection and merging conflicts of unmanned truck trucks in open pit coalmines, A multi-agent system simulation platform was built to evaluate the coordinated traffic efficiency under different initial average gap sizes of vehicles, with intersection traffic density, vehicle speed, and gap changes as key indicators. The results show that under the simulation conditions of this article, when the initial average gap of vehicles reaches three (four) times or more of the safe distance, the coordinated traffic performance of intersection conflicts (merging conflicts) is better, and the traffic capacity of intersections is close to the traffic capacity without conflicts.

Sep 1, 2024

By J Q. Shi, M Karakus, Y Liu

Predicting the spatial distribution of rock mass properties in cave mining is a critical challenge. In this study, we introduce a novel machine learning-based model to advance our comprehension of rock behaviour. This model specifically focuses on the spatial distribution of rock mass and mechanical properties, a crucial aspect of our understanding of rock mechanics. Our model is inspired by the recognition that neighbouring information serves as crucial prior knowledge for predicting the spatial distribution of these properties, wherein closer neighbours are likely to exhibit similar characteristics. To effectively capture and model these neighbour relationships, we design a neural network-based model to map the spatial locations within the data set into a new highdimensional space. Within this transformed space, we utilise Euclidean distance to identify N neighbours. Leveraging these neighbours, we introduce a straightforward yet highly effective approach—label propagation—to construct a graph that illustrates neighbour relationships. This graph not only facilitates the prediction of the spatial distribution of rock mass properties but also offers a measure of uncertainty for these predictions. We validate the proposed method using a real rock data set and showcase its efficacy in capturing intricate relationships and distributions within rock properties, enabling precise predictions across diverse spatial scales. Our results underscore the potential of machine learning-based approaches to revolutionise the field of rock mechanics, providing valuable insights applicable to geotechnical engineering, mining, and other sectors where an accurate understanding of rock properties is paramount. This model has direct practical implications, offering a new tool for geotechnical engineers and mining professionals to enhance their understanding and prediction of rock properties, thereby improving safety and efficiency in their operations.

Sep 1, 2024

By N F. Glenn, S Thiruchittampalam, B P. Banerjee, S Raval

The determination of shear strength parameters for the spoil material plays a crucial role in the assessment of a dump’s stability; nevertheless, their evaluation necessitates laborious laboratory experiments. In order to address this issue, Simmons and McManus (2004) formulated a framework that serves as a foundation for categorising spoils according to their distinctive shear strength parameters based on observable and tactile characteristics. This framework, previously identified as the ‘BHP Mitsubishi Alliance Coal (BMAC) Spoil Shear Strength Framework’, is now recognised as the ‘CoalSpoil’ framework. The spoil characterisation provided by the CoalSpoil framework offers benefits but is not without limitations. The examination of these attributes in the field is a time-consuming task that demands expertise. Subjectivity arises in the spoil characterisation when attributes straddle the line between two categories, such as delineating matrix-supported and framework-supported fabric structures. To enhance consistency in the spoil characterisation process, minimising human intervention is crucial to mitigate bias, classification errors, and safety risks. This study seeks to achieve this aim by introducing image-assisted and automated methods for spoil characterisation.

Sep 1, 2024

By K Zhao, H Gong, B Li

Health and safety are the first priority for Australian minerals sector. Australia has a global reputation in the mining industry. However, accidents occur every year. Legislation and regulation are important to prevent the accident from occurring, so do the new technologies. It is sad to witness the collision incident persisting and the long called collision avoidance system (CAS) is still not widely used in underground mines. The main reason is that the existing systems are still not advanced enough. The current CASs utilise GPS, infrared, ultrasonic, RFID, Radar, electromagnetic etc have their limitations and disadvantages. For instance, GPS is widely used in a surface mine, but it cannot be applied in underground mine; Infrared and electromagnetic have the false positive problem.

Sep 1, 2024

By i, A Shirbazo, S Saydam, S Ata, H L. Ram, B Li

The integration of internet technology into industrial sectors has significantly accelerated the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, transforming communication, data aggregation, and information distribution. The mining industry has embraced this evolution by deploying IoT devices and advanced technologies like autonomous robots and sensors to enhance operational safety. These sensors enable real-time data transmission and continuous monitoring of key parameters, providing decision-makers with timely insights. However, the interconnected nature of these devices has introduced complexities, resulting in inconsistencies across operations. Addressing these challenges, this research explores the application of modern digital principles to the mining industry through the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0). RAMI 4.0 offers a robust framework that integrates digital and physical systems, promoting data transparency, interoperability, and decentralised decision-making. This study aims to briefly introduced framework designed for the unique challenges of mining operations, leveraging the latest digital technologies. The lack of standardisation in the mining sector highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to tackle issues such as interoperability, scalability, security, safety, and repeatability. Establishing standard procedures can ensure smooth interaction between connected devices, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency in the growing IoT ecosystem within the mining industry. Introducing a well-defined reference architecture like RAMI 4.0 can streamline management processes and improve operational efficiency in mining. By adopting this framework, the mining industry can effectively navigate the challenges of digital transformation, leading to a more connected and resilient future. The study concludes that RAMI 4.0, with its structured approach, can significantly enhance the efficiency and productivity of mineral processing operations, fostering sustainable growth in a digitally driven industrial landscape.

Sep 1, 2024