The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Whether exploring and mapping a historical underground mine for the first time since it was shuttered during World War II or generating more detailed maps of a modern operation, drones that navigate the labyrinth of ramps, declines, stopes, and other underground environs without reliance on the global positioning system or human guidance can make subterranean mine surveying safer, faster, and more accurate. Ascot Resources Ltd. and Northern Star Resources Ltd. are amongst the...
Alongside the industries they complement, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been tasked with staying ahead of the curve, assessing emerging market trends and technology, and developing best practices and solutions for the future. Their supportive services and specialized equipment have played an integral role in bringing mining operations into the future. Tomorrow's mines and their backers bank on three pillars – efficiency, safety, and sustainability. This primaril...
Company unveils new automation platform that is tailor made for underground mass mining. Staying on the cutting edge of autonomous underground mining technologies, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has introduced AutoMine Core, a comprehensive platform to support customers ramping up from manual operation to fully autonomous production. The Swedish underground mining equipment and technologies company says AutoMine Core is tailor-made to bolster the safety, productivity, and...
Collabs with academia, tech firm, with funding from government for future safe, smart vehicles. With 150 years of experience in all things mining, Sweden-based Epiroc has unveiled its next generation in mineral extraction, which will leverage the power of artificial intelligence to make its mining vehicles more autonomous through a new collaborative project called the Realistic Navigation Assistance and Machine Control, or ReNAM. Funded by Swedish government innovation agency...
Urges the mining industry to build goodwill and trust to survive societal, geopolitical, and new technology megatrends in a changing world. Newmont President and CEO Tom Palmer did not waste his keynote address at the Minerals Week 2023 gathering in Australia to tout the many achievements of the world's largest gold mining company he leads. Instead, he delivered a powerful and sometimes foreboding message to the mining leaders in the room and around the world about the...
Kinetic Mesh tech delivers reliable, fast, and scalable network solutions to modern digital mines of all sizes. From giant equipment autonomously digging ore at global-scale copper mines to industrial internet of things sensors monitoring the health of man and machine at a local gravel quarry, mines are increasingly relying on digital technologies to improve efficiency, productivity, and safety. This digitization of the modern mine makes a rugged and reliable communications...
Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson has launched Ericsson Private 5G, a next-generation private cellular 4G and 5G network tailored to drive the Industry 4.0 digital transformation. The latest network features secure and simple 4G LTE and 5G standalone connectivity primarily targeting manufacturing, mining and process industry, offshore and power utilities, as well as ports and airports. "With Ericsson Private 5G, we take the best of...
Like flying cars and jet packs, space travel, colonization and resource mining are all lagging behind the imaginations of Hollywood, scientists, and billionaire CEOs. This is partly because NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (and any other nation's government-supported agencies) have a problem – the project ambitions of the U.S. Congress-funded space agency is hedged by the variable length of a presidential term and the resulting appointments. Therefore, it is up to the p...
The last few years have seen big industries' social accountability come to the fore, with growing pressure to engage more holistically with the workforce, local communities, and environmental concerns. Evolving from this, a new business model of corporate performance has arrived in boardrooms, comprising a trifecta of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibilities. Keeping pace is the mining industry's collective push to be more sustainable and accountable,...
COVID-19 may have served as an inflection point for metal 3D printing. After suffering a short-term downturn in the wake of the pandemic, the global metal additive manufacturing market is expected to grow to US$18.5 billion by 2032, according to business research firm IDTechEx. The United Kingdom-based market analyst says several factors have come into play to push this burgeoning technology to the foreground, most notably the supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic its...
Geothermal power has generally represented region-specific and niche clean energy in the public consciousness for over a century. Today, thanks to a profusion of social outreach and government incentives, investors and leaders across both public and private sectors are exploring lesser-known applications and exciting advancements in the field. Just a few feet below the surface, the earth maintains a near-constant temperature that belies the seasonal extremes of aboveground...
Seeking to unearth the future of smart mining, Swedish telecom giant Ericsson has partnered with Becker Mining Systems AG to distribute private 5G networks at global operations. According to a recent report by Ericsson, the successful implementation of digitalization into the mining sector could potentially triple productivity growth in the industry by 2025 – shining a light on the value of creating data-driven mines. With the apparent necessity mining will play in the o...
Tungsten could be held ransom unless domestic mines open Tungsten, or wolfram, is the 74th element on the periodic table of elements and, like many other metals that have found their way onto critical mineral lists in Canada, Europe, and the United States, this sturdy metal is vulnerable to supply disruption. Tungsten has been known since prehistoric times, and as far back as 350 years ago, Chinese porcelain makers were using this element as a pigment to incorporate a unique...
As its mining clients increasingly go underground to provide the minerals and metals needed for a technology-driven clean energy future, global heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu Ltd. continues to position itself to offer the low-emissions, digital, and automation solutions to help bring these essential raw materials to the surface. In the latest move to achieve this strategy, Komatsu has agreed to acquire Mine Site Technologies, an Australian firm better known as MST...
Rio Tinto is leveraging the safety and productivity advantages of Sandvik's autonomous mining equipment as it heads underground at the enormous Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the South Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. Oyu Tolgoi, which began operations as an open pit mine in 2013, produced 359.4 million pounds of copper, 468,000 ounces of gold, and 977,000 oz of silver last year. Turquoise Hill Resources, a company that is majority-owned by Rio Tinto that operates Oyu Tolgoi,...
Researchers at the University of Sydney have been working toward a new method of telecommunications with a safe and cost-effective technology that could be a wireless internet game-changer for connecting mines, with an industrial long-range Wi-Fi system that transmits signals to hard-to-reach places while maintaining high data rates. Supported by an AUD$800,000 grant from the NSW Physical Sciences Fund, this Wi-Fi system that can send signals several kilometers underground is...
LAS VEGAS – From heavy equipment training simulators to the largest and most powerful electric drive dozer on Earth, Caterpillar's 55,000-square-foot mecca in the Central Hall of MINExpo 2021 in Las Vegas is showcasing how the global equipment manufacturer is helping its customers to mine more efficiently, effectively, safely, and sustainably. "After waiting an extra year, the mining industry is ready to reconnect at MINExpo. We are excited to show our customers and the indust...
In the depths of its test mine and lab in Tampere, Finland, Sandvik has secretly been carrying out underground tests on a cabinless, electrified, and automated concept loader that showcases the Swedish company's vision for the future of mining equipment. Clandestinely developed in a facility dubbed Area 52, this concept loader is equipped with Sandvik's Automine, an automation solution that allows the cutting-edge mining machine to navigate through the rough and changing...
In a recent webinar hosted by Ericsson, industry leaders from AT&T, Epiroc, and Ambra Solutions met to discuss the global impact and direction of connectivity for the mining industry. This fireside chat, titled Mining in a Connected World Digital Event – 5G Things Dialogues, included an introduction of Ericsson's Smart Mining Value Calculator intended to share the brunt of determining risk toward the fast-growing technology sector and a hesitant mining sector in adopting n...
COSM Advanced Manufacturing Systems is in the final stages of developing and building electron beam 3D metal printing systems that will allow space robots to print parts in the vacuum of space, as well as future lunar and Martian outposts. "Producing large metal parts autonomously to verifiable specifications and quality in-space will be an enabling part of man's permanent presence on the Moon and further missions to Mars," said COSM Advanced Manufacturing Systems President...
Canada-based Maestro Digital Mine launches MaestroLink, a server software tool for managing health conditions for all Maestro-based digital industrial internet of things devices and networks for the underground mining sector. "Maestro is known for its industrial internet of things devices used for ventilation monitoring and controls as well as last mile digital networks for the underground mining sector," said Maestro Digital Mine President and CEO Michael Gribbons. Maestro...
With the announcement of Nokia's 5G standalone private wireless networks, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology have opted to employ Nokia's 5G SA private network at its Tampere test mine in Finland. Utilizing Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud – an industrial-grade digital automation service platform that provides a reliable, secure, and high performance private wireless network platform – this standalone 5G will be used to enhance communications and connectivity at this testing g...
Bulldozer operators at mining operations may soon be trading in the loud and jarring cabs of these large earthmoving machines for remote-control consoles in air-conditioned offices. Komatsu Ltd. is testing such remote-control dozer technology at Anglo American's Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil. Under an agreement between Brazilian subsidiaries of the two companies, a tele-remote Komatsu D375Ai-8 dozer that weighs in at 72.9 metric tons and is able to push 22 cubic meters...
Provider of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, Rajant Corp., recently announced its participation at MINExpo to showcase its collaborative solutions for fully mobile, underground and open-pit connectivity that could redefine the digital revolution. "With the mining industry deploying more autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment and applications every day, they require mission-critical, high bandwidth, secure, machine-to-machine communications systems," said Rajant EVP of Sales...
Extremely hard and with the highest melting point of all the metals, tungsten's toughness is legendary. Like many of the other metals that have found their way onto critical mineral lists in Canada, Europe, and the United States, this durable metal is vulnerable to Chinese control. "World tungsten supply was dominated by production in China and exports from China," the U.S. Geological Survey inked in its 2021 mineral commodities report. It is estimated that mines in China...
