There is a significant opportunity for the mining industry to unlock the potential of new digital technologies, with billions of dollars to be gained in increased productivity, efficiency and reduced costs.
To realise the full value of new digital technologies, we need to equip our people on site, on board our machines and inside our remote operations centres with access to real-time information to make decisions in real-time.
If we do this well, digital technologies have the power to deliver greater efficiencies, productivity and safety at multiple levels.
Advanced monitoring systems such as MineWare’s Argus Shovel Monitor and Pegasys Dragline Monitor give surface mines a more accurate picture of their operations than ever before, bringing multiple sensors and technologies together to optimise the performance of mobile mining equipment.
Such technology delivers real time data and advanced analytics to optimise machine movements for maximum efficiency—from optimising truck and shovel payload to improving mine compliance, maintenance, safety and more.
Performance monitoring and management
The IoT plays a pivotal role in the real-time monitoring and management of productivity data, reducing variability in areas such as operator performance, payload compliance and mine plan compliance. MineWare technology harnesses operational data from multiple sources in real time to deliver real-time performance improvement.
For example, MineWare’s Argus System deploys direct operator guidance on-board to improve individual performance as well as remotely to benchmark and improve performance at an enterprise level. Argus brings several technologies together such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, sensors and GPS. New digital technologies are also helping mines to improve the repeatability or ‘predictability’ of their operations to deliver more consistent rates of operation and production.
The path to automation
Latest advances in digital technology are connecting machines, data and people to perform faster, safer and more reliably. To fully leverage the opportunity that lies ahead, collaboration, integration and agility is key. We must find a way to integrate new technologies and take a coordinated approach to embedding these across the entire value chain—from machine functions and processes to complete system integration.