Fully automated port in Antwerp as a role model for the mining industry
Could Covid-19 trigger a mining revolution?
At the height of the global economic and social disruption of the Covid 19 pandemic in early April, GlobalData's analysis showed that more than 1.600 mines worldwide had been temporarily shut down. While companies are still hesitant about the extent to which this has affected production, the overall picture is slowly being completed: Fernando Alanis, head of Camimex, Mexico's mining chamber, estimated that the country's mining production is likely in 2020 will decrease by about 17%; Coal India reported an 2020% decline in production in May 11,2 compared to May 2019, and the Minerals Council South Africa CEO, Roger Baxter, said the country's mining output is likely to decrease 8 to 10% this year.
Concerns have been raised that the mines could potentially be breeding grounds for new outbreaks of the disease due to the nearby locations where miners live. Significant outbreaks among Polish coal miners in the Silesian mining region show that it will be difficult to resume regular mining operations in a safe manner.
Spotlight on automation
Automation and remote mining are not new ideas - the first big foray into these technologies came in 2008 with Rio Tinto's Mine of the Future project - but they are ideas that are likely to accelerate in the future of the post-pandemic mining industry.
"Had these technologies been in place, we might not have been forced to close the mines as a result of the pandemic - as was the case with our South Deep mine in South Africa," said Sven Lunsche, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Gold Fields.
“Operating machines remotely is physical distance to the utmost as it ensures that our people can operate the machines away from their colleagues and away from the work areas where they are most at risk.
Resolute Mining, the operators of the world's first fully autonomous gold mine - Syama in Mali - have confirmed that operations at the mine have not been affected and production has continued to meet expectations.
Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields, who advocates automated innovation in mining, says: “As far as technology is concerned, the Covid-19 crisis will undoubtedly help accelerate the mechanization, automation and digitization of the mining industry.
ISE - June 2020
