mining technology

When you hear “mining technology,” many people immediately imagine giant excavators and the roar of explosions. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, today it is primarily about process management, safety and, to be honest, about saving every penny per ton of overburden. A common mistake is to chase the “most powerful” one. or ?the most modern? equipment without calculating how it will fit into a specific chain from the mine face to the processing plant. We had a case on the cut... but more on that later.

Evolution or revolution? My view on automation

They talk about the automation of quarries as something revolutionary. I’ll say this: you don’t feel a revolution when you’re standing in the rain at three o’clock in the morning and trying to understand why the dump truck’s positioning system is “buggy” again. Evolution is a more accurate word. She walks in small steps. For example, the transition to fleet dispatch systems. It would seem nonsense - GPS beacons and a tablet in the dispatcher’s cabin. But when you see how downtime has dropped by 15% due to route optimization, you understand that this is the very workmining technology.

We introduced a system for recording the work of excavators. Not the most sophisticated one, from a well-known German manufacturer. ?Iron? worked flawlessly, but the software constantly produced inconsistencies in rock volumes. It turned out that the algorithm did not take into account the correction for the natural loosening of our particular overburden after the explosion. Trifle? But because of her, shipping plans were delayed every month. I had to work on collective farms with the engineers. intermediate software for recalculation. Conclusion: any technology should “grind in?” to local conditions, otherwise it's just an expensive toy.

There's a lot of buzz around driverless dump trucks right now. I saw them at work at one of the coal mines. Yes, the spectacle is impressive. But when I started asking questions, it turned out that the economic effect so far rests on colossal capital costs and the need for ideally prepared infrastructure - roads should be almost like runways. For many Russian enterprises operating in permafrost or seasonal thaw conditions, this is still a matter of the distant future. The technology is there, but its niche is very clearly defined.

Where the real efficiency lies: details that are not visible at first glance

True efficiency is often hidden not in the main unit, but in the auxiliary systems. Let's take for examplemining equipmentin the field of enrichment. All attention is on flotation machines or crushers. And the key losses occur at the separation stage, and here separation decides everything.

I remember that at one of the factories they could not reach the planned extraction of magnetite for a long time. We went through the operating modes of ball mills and changed reagents. The problem turned out to be in the separator. The old drum machine simply did not provide the required separation purity. We switched to modern magnetic separators. I will not advertise specific brands, but, for example, when we were considering options, we studied, among others, the products of the LONJI corporation (https://www.ljmagnet.ru). They have been in this segment since 1993, and their engineers well understand the specifics of enrichment processes. It was important not just to buy a “magnetic drum,” but to select a model for the granulometric composition of our ore and the required productivity. After replacement and fine tuning, the concentrate yield increased by almost 4%. This is a huge number.

Or another point - energy consumption. Modern separators, like those from LONGI, are often designed with energy efficiency in mind. Their magnetic induction system can be designed to minimize heating losses. On the scale of a factory operating around the clock, this means saved megawatts and serious money. About these “quiet” ones? technologies and need to think first when it comes to modernization.

Security: from formal protocol to systems thinking

Security technology is probably the area where the gap between “how it should be?” and ?as is? feels especially acute. All have gas sensors and warning systems. But they often work on the “set it and forget it” principle. The biggest problem is not the lack of “smart” ones. systems, but the human factor and work organization.

We implemented an access control system for hazardous areas based on RFID tags. The idea: if a person enters the blasting area, the control room receives a signal. On paper everything is smooth. In practice, tags get lost, run out of charge, and people, in order not to carry an extra card with them, ask a colleague to “bleep” it. them outside. Technology has come up against organizational culture. In parallel with the technology, we had to change both the approaches to instructions and the system of responsibility. Without this, any most advanced gadget is useless.

Computer vision systems are now emerging to monitor the condition of ledges and identify cracks. This is already a serious tool. But again, its effectiveness depends on the quality of the source data (cameras) and, more importantly, on the analysis algorithms. So far, no system can replace the eyes of an experienced surveyor, but as an assistant for constant monitoring, the prospect is huge. The main thing is that reports from this system do not end up “on the table”, but are processed promptly.

Case study: when to upgrade? turned into downtime

I want to share one instructive case. We decided to modernize the dust suppression system at the crushing and screening complex. There were regular sprinklers, but they wanted to install “ultrasonic fog generators?” - technology advertised as breakthrough. They gave the task to the chief mechanic's department, they selected the equipment and installed it.

And everything stood up. Literally. It turned out that after crushing our limestone produces not just dust, but a wet dust suspension. The ultrasonic mist, mixing with it, created a dense, sticky crust on the conveyors and sieves, which clogged everything. Downtimes came one after another. We had to urgently dismantle this beauty and return the old, proven high-pressure nozzles, but with a new water supply control system depending on the crusher load.

Moral: anything newmining equipmentyou must first test it in pilot mode, on one node, and see how it interacts with the entire technological chain. There are no universal solutions. What works perfectly on iron ore concentrate can completely fail on apatite or coal. This lesson cost us dearly, but now any proposal for ?innovation? we pass through a sieve of practical tests.

Integration and personnel: the weak link of any system

You can purchase the most modern equipment, but without proper integration into the existing process and, most importantly, without people who can work with it, it is a pile of metal. This is where the catch often lies. Manufacturers supply ?boxed? solution, but how to fit it into your work scheme is your problem.

It’s good when the supplier has not just a sales department, but serious engineering departments capable of adaptation. Returning to the example with magnetic separation, the same LONGI corporation, judging by their website and the experience of their colleagues, often works according to the “engineering for a task” scheme. This is when their specialists come, take samples of the material, analyze the technological map of the enterprise and only then propose an equipment configuration. This is the right approach. The company, which employs more than 1,200 people, most of whom have professional education, clearly relies not on bare sales, but on comprehensive solutions. This is critical in our industry.

And the second point is training your staff. A new dispatch system or the same separator cannot simply be “turned on”. Repairers must understand its structure, and operators must understand the intricacies of control in different modes. Often no time or budget is allocated for this. As a result, the equipment is used at 50% of its capabilities, and at the first breakdown, panic and criticism of “unreliable equipment” begin. In fact, the implementation approach is often unreliable.

Looking Ahead: What Will Really Change the Industry?

If we put aside the hype, then, in my opinion, the near futuretechnologies in the mining industryhas to do with three things. The first is digital twins. Not just a 3D model of a quarry, but a living system where data on the excavation, the state of technology, and geology flows in real time. This will make it possible not just to react, but to model and predict: where to mine, when to carry out blasting, how to redistribute the dump truck fleet.

The second is robotization for dangerous and routine operations. Not necessarily driverless 100-ton dump trucks. These can be robots for inspecting hard-to-reach areas after an explosion, for sampling, for washing and initial inspection of equipment. This will reduce risks to people and increase the frequency of data collection.

And thirdly, the most important thing is deep processing and zero-waste. Technologies that allow you to extract the maximum from the rock and minimize waste. This includes the additional enrichment of tailings and the use of overburden in construction. This is no longer a question of production efficiency, but a question of the enterprise’s long-term survival and its social license to operate. And here again, not giant machines, but “quiet” ones will come to the fore. technologies of enrichment, separation, analysis. The same ones that enterprises like LONGI have been working on for decades, and which from a highly specialized area are becoming an industry-wide must-have.

In the end, it all comes down not to “hardware,” but to its proper use. Experience, understanding of the process and a systems view are what turns a set of equipment into a workingmining technology. Everything else is tools. And you need to choose them not according to a brochure, but according to the results that they will give in your specific mine, in your mine, in your factory.