Autonomous Mining Answers the Call for Major Changes in Innovation and Productivity

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“If mining companies hope to emerge from the downward cycle in a stronger position from which they entered it, they need to… adopt innovative technologies used in other industries in a measured and risk-intelligent way…” Glenn Ives, American Mining Leader, Deloitte Canada.
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In one of the world’s most challenged industries, the outlook remains uncertain for mining in 2015 as it faces increasingly strict government regulations, financial turmoil, and reduced access to resources. However, in their Tracking the Trends 2015 report, Deloitte identifies ten trends that will shape the industry’s challenges and provides insight on how miners can leverage these trends to come out on top. This article will explore the two trends that are directly affected by autonomous mining technologies.

Trend: Back to the Basics – the pursuit of operational excellence

After experiencing years of plenty, the mining industry experienced productivity declines “due to structural labor market forces, elevated input costs, critical shortages in energy and water, declining ore quality, and a legacy of inefficient capital allocation,” explained Deloitte.
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Among the suggested solutions, Deloitte identified insourcing vehicle maintenance to reduce expenses lost to outside contractors and suppliers. Eighty percent of Australian mining companies surveyed are looking to bring maintenance in-house.

Access the full Deloitte Tracking the Trends 2015 mining report.

Automation reduces maintenance costs by enabling operators to control vehicles within the OEM recommended spec, something not always possible with human drivers. Eliminating variability that exceeds OEM thresholds can stop maintenance issues before they start.
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In addition, managers can access “real-time information on the state of equipment to improve maintenance schedules and asset performance.” By leveraging the data logs and metrics that already exist in robotic command and control software, miners can identify bottlenecks, monitor vehicle efficiency and health, set and monitor benchmarks, and track project status real-time from a remote location.

Trend: Innovation is the new key to survival

In today’s volatile conditions, mining companies can’t be satisfied with marginal change. “Ore grades continue to decline, costs continue to rise, labor is becoming more militant, labor are more demanding,” states the Deloitte report. “Incremental improvement is no longer an option.”
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Traditional approaches simply take too long to make a difference, and mining companies need a dramatic change. And many organizations are looking to innovation to provide major results.

“Companies that have invested in such technologies as remote mining, autonomous equipment and driverless trucks and trains have reduced expenses by orders of magnitude, while simultaneously driving up productivity,” reported Deloitte.

Managing multiple vehicles with one remote operator creates economies of scale where miners can experience dramatic improvements in productivity, safety, and cost reduction.
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Keeping with corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and environmental performance, companies using vehicle automation can improve fuel efficiency, idle time, and unscheduled maintenance (such as tires wearing out too quickly), reducing the overall mining carbon footprint. With 30% of mining costs being dumped into energy, the cost savings from fuel efficiency alone are substantial.

“Although miners are working to control expenses,” says Julian Dolby, Consulting Mining Leader for Deloitte Australia, “declining grades will put continual pressure on costs. To regain momentum, and lay a strong foundation for the next mining cycle, companies need to accelerate their efficiency programs, and invest more significantly in innovation.”
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As mining companies invest more in and see positive results from autonomous mining vehicles, the future may look just a little less bleak. In fact, automation may just be the catalyst needed to regain lost momentum.
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