Automation in Mining

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Automation in Mining
Automation in Mining

• Grant Aitchison

Automation in Mining
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Introduction

• The focus for nearly 20 years
• Mining industry far behind other industries with
  technological advances
• Coal industry - strict
• electrical safety
• regimes
• Mines will be fully
• automated in the future

Automation in Mining
Introduction
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Mine Automation

• Reasons for automation -
• Safety
• Vibration
• Dust
• Noise
• High Temperatures

Automation in Mining
Mine Automation
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Technologies / System Requirements

• Three simple processes -
• Gathering of information
• Processing of that information
• Taking action as a result of the previous two
  processes
• Most important feature for an autonomous
  underground unit is navigation

Automation in Mining
Technologies / System Requirements
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Technologies / System Requirements
Automation in Mining
Technologies / System Requirements
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Equipment in Automation

• Boggers (LHD)
• Trains
• Trucks
• Draglines

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Boggers

• Preferred method of transporting ore over short
  distances
• First technologies -
• Buried rope
• Suspended light rope
• Now tele remote and
• auto tram

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Boggers

• Tele remote -
• Closed circuit tv
• Automation -
• High bandwidth digital communications network
• On board computers control the machine within set
  global goals

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Boggers
Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Boggers
Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Trains

• Olympic Dam one of two mines in the world with
  an automated rail system
• 300t per load
• Powered by two 600 volt DC traction motors which
  drive through double reduction spur and bevel
  gearboxes

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Trains

• Overhead trolley wire system
• Condition monitoring equipped
• ATCS senses which surge bins need unloading

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Trucks

• Condition monitoring
• Planning and scheduling
• Continuous yet
• smoother operation
• Lower average
• speeds with higher
• production rates

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Draglines

• Bottleneck in mine
• Variations between operators
• Laser range finders mounted on tip of boom to
  locate bucket at all times
• Have better control than the average operator

Automation in Mining
Equipment in Automation
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Draglines

• All work to date has only automated the swing and
  dump of the bucket
• Future - to fully
• load locate and
• dump into a truck

Automation in Mining
Paste Fill Flow Path Concept
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Conclusion

• Much more R D needed
• Proved to be safer, productivity and quality
  control increases, automation will reduce the
  need for a skilled workforce, it will improve
  equipment utilisation, there will be less
  maintenance, and there will be improved
  organisation and planning with substantial cost
  reduction in the long term.

Automation in Mining
Conclusion