Mineral commodities are essential for a wealth of manufactured products such as cement, lime, glass, wiring, and concrete pipe. However, if countries want to meet net-zero targets of cutting carbon emissions to a low enough amount to reduce environmental impacts, mining more minerals will be essential. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that demand for minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements will increase six times by 2040 to meet net-zero goals.
As President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Mike Crabtree has championed innovation and R&D in the energy and clean tech industries for over 30 years. He and SRC's experts watch closely for new technologies that will make mining more efficient and sustainable to meet the accelerated pace of a global energy transition. Crabtree believes innovations in mining will provide tremendous opportunities for digitization and automation that improve mining productivity, efficiency, and safety, as well as reduce its environmental impact.
Emerging Mining Trends to Watch
The universal push for the electrification of vehicles, a lower-carbon manufacturing footprint, and the predictable rise of data center installations to meet the computing power requirements of AI and Big Data has resulted in a surge in global mining operations and the need to optimize the extraction of minerals and rare earth metals.
To meet the skyrocketing demand, the following emerging technologies may help to reshape the mining industry.
The Digitization of Mining Operations
Integrating advanced digital platforms across every stage of mining, including exploration, extraction, processing, and transportation, may significantly optimize operations. This may also result in improved safety records if less human power is required to operate machinery or more jobs are available in safe, climate-controlled environments.
Mining operations digitization includes monitoring environmental conditions and equipment performance using sensors and feedback controllers. Human interaction in the mines could be reduced with automated systems that will control machines, equipment, and processes while also collecting real-time data.
Communication networks could be linked to various mining systems and equipment, creating digital twins or a virtual replica of underground mining operations. This digitized or virtual environment can then be used to simulate 'what-if' scenarios that could drive decision-making. In essence, the digitization of mining operations could create a seamless flow of data that could be graphed, analyzed, and modified with machine-learning or AI tools to drive mining improvements further.
The Automation of Mining Processes
The automation of factories has already produced significant output increases and a reduction in scrap material. When applied to mining equipment, this same type of automation could deliver similar results in quality and efficiency. Mike Crabtree notes that mining automation has already improved or removed many human interactions with hazardous areas, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Making the shift from a people-oriented to a process-oriented environment could deliver more stable production and enable continuous operations at optimum levels. There could be a greater role for more robotic equipment that utilizes advanced software driven by computer software. Also, GPS systems and IoT sensors will allow autonomous vehicles to replace human-driven trucks, drills, and other heavy machinery.
With the use of programmable control systems in conjunction with emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, equipment could be controlled from remote locations, and operations can be optimized in real time. The increased safety, productivity, and efficiency that automated mining processes deliver could transform the mining industry.
How Tech Will Reshape the Mining Industry
New technologies will bring the groundbreaking levels of productivity that will be needed to meet clean and sustainable energy initiatives. With the digitization of front office processes and the automation of field operations, stakeholders may redirect spending to further boost production by investing in more state-of-the-art equipment.
These same technologies will revolutionize the maintenance of equipment and overhead demand of facilities by predicting when equipment may fail or monitoring the entire infrastructure for wasteful energy, water, or other resources. Reduced labor and maintenance costs for mining operations are an incentive to invest in digitization and automation platforms.
The most significant benefit of emerging technologies in the mining industry is the minimization of environmental harm and a reduction in energy consumption.
