UNDERGROUND

Editor's note: March 2023

Plagued by deadly disasters, underground mining has been considered the most dangerous method of mining for centuries. But positive disruption by new technologies can help it emerge into the light as a safer and more sustainable industry.

 Underground mining has claimed the lives of many, but now it has a saviour's role

Underground mining has claimed the lives of many, but now it has a saviour's role

As we find out in this month's edition, progress in automation and autonomous machines can enable miners to develop subsurface projects with a significantly smaller footprint both below and above ground.

New solutions that can protect workers using connectivity and location data will help underground mining to shake off its image as a risky and destructive pursuit of riches.

The advances made are not only significant but necessary - a sizeable amount of the vast reserves needed for the planet's shift away from fossil fuels is located underground.

However, significant challenges are still ahead. For instance, underground reserves are located in countries where 5G networks, public oversight, and renewable energy aren't readily accessible.

Underground miners will also need to accept far higher levels of investment in local communities, and far greater levels of transparency and accountability, than their mining predecessors.

However, the rewards of acting responsibly, and the risks of not, are equally great. Ensuring the coming wave of mining is done ethically is of material concern for both high-level investors and the planet's next generations.

This will require brave investments in emerging underground connectivity technologies such as 5G, and mining is playing catch-up with other industries.

"What 5G brings is a levelling up [with other industries]. Mining technology is really behind the curve, and what 5G enables is a reset or even revolution," Jon Collins of analyst firm GigaOm tells our writer in 5G: Underground mining's missing link. Collins suggests that mining has the opportunity to make a rare leap: "When people talk about Industry 4.0, mining was at 0.5, so there's an opportunity to catch up and leap forward, almost from the 1930s to the 2030s. [With 5G], you can perform data analytics, make better decisions, manage risk, and identify what seams to mine."

Connectivity's vital role in improving subsurface safety extends into personal safety devices such as Newtrax's smart helmet lamp. Cap lamps, radios, and gas detectors have been around for generations, notes Paul Gorodko, global deployment manager at Newtrax.

"But advanced safety devices, such as those currently produced by Newtrax, can integrate lighting, proximity detection and warning, positioning, communications, and other safety features," he said. These can remotely stop a nearby vehicle that is putting a miner at risk, detect a fallen worker and send an alert to dispatch nearby vehicles or mine rescue teams, or send an evacuation message and enable positioning of miners on 3D maps or electronic tag boards as they return to the surface.

As we reach towards deeper ore reserves for the needs of tomorrow, mining needs to create an underground world much removed from the deadly, toxic, and cramped environments faced by many in the past - including this editor's not-too-distant ancestors in Eastern Scotland. Only automation and robotics will make underground mining safer for all, and only they can deliver the precision mining the future demands.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

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Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

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Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

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Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

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