Autonomous mining: the challenges of independently minded vehicles

Several companies have sought to capitalise on this opportunity; both Volvo and Sandvik have unveiled autonomous mining vehicles in recent years. Volvo tested an autonomous truck at the Kristineberg mine in Sweden in 2016, where it covered 7km without a human driver over 1.3km below ground, while Sandvik tested the precision of an autonomous 38-tonne loader by challenging it to manoeuvre through a glass maze earlier this year.

Yet these vehicles have been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of autonomous technology, rather than be deployed in actual mining operations, and obstacles to the widespread integration of automation at mine sites remain.

Geoffrey Ejzenberg, chief client officer at Slovenian electric mining truck company ETF, believes that technological limitations are some of the most significant.

“Improving the technology is probably the most important one and that is exactly what ETF has focused on,” he says. “The autonomous systems in time will become a feature similar to climate control in cars. You have standard climate control systems and premium ones that have additional useful features.”

“But only a complete redesign of the haul vehicle as ETF has done, integrating cyber and physical design, completely digital and electrified, futureproofs the development of haul vehicles.”

Ejzenberg adds that the technology will not become more widespread until it becomes cheaper and more accessible.

“Vehicle pricing is an important challenge, specifically from a pre-operational cash outlay perspective and the economic viability of new projects,” he says.

Consultancy firm McKinsey & Company announced that they expect fully autonomous 250-tonne haulage vehicles to be priced at around $6m, a price which is not an obstacle to companies such as BHP and Rio Tinto, which boast market capitalisations in the hundreds of billions of dollars, but could dissuade smaller companies.

Barrick Gold, the tenth-largest mining company in the world by market capitalisation, according to Statista, has a capitalisation of $15.44bn. This is by no means a small figure, but the company maintains 12 operations across five continents, and supplying all of them with autonomous vehicles would be a considerable hurdle. The task is made even more daunting by the fact that autonomous technology is simply a part of a larger vehicle, so this technology is an expensive addition to a global supply chain that is already costly and complex.

However, self-driving vehicles offer considerable safety benefits, not least by removing human workers from large vehicles, and Ejzenberg thinks these positives will ultimately lead to the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles.

“Automation is the future of mining for all the best reasons, including motivating the next generations to be miners,” he says. “The mine of the future will be a whole new thing. One where we will move less dirt, get to the valuables more quickly, and retrieve those at the lowest cost per ton of ore produced.”

Some of the world’s largest miners are committing to autonomous projects to improve safety and productivity. Australian gold company Resolute plans to complete work on the world’s first fully-automated mine in Mali by the end of the year, which will see a quarter of a million ounces of gold produced per year over a 12-year lifespan. Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner, plans to automate its fleet of mining vehicles at its Brucutu project next year, following small-scale trials that saw the volume of ore transported increase by 26%, and maintenance costs cut by 10%.

If autonomous technology can continue to develop, and its price falls to a more affordable level, Ejzenberg sees no reason why automated vehicles will not become the norm in mines of the future.

“The mine of the future will be a whole new thing […] With the lowest environmental footprint, and last but not least an ecosystem where we can take humans out of harm’s way and turn dangerous, dull and dirty jobs into jobs where humans can control fleets from a safe and controlled location close to their homes,” he concludes.

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia. Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

Ukrainian state mines currently employ 51,000 workers, and are the main source of employment in regions such as the Donetsk coal basin. Mine closures over the last few years have already decimated towns and the government does not desire to close more but there is little clarity on how to progress in a profitable and sustainable way.

“The development of state-owned mines is possible in a stable environment, but wages must be paid on time,” said Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers of Ukraine deputy chair Valery Mamchenko. “Last year, UAH2.8bn ($100m) was allocated for the development of the coal industry, including the wage fund, but this year the amount is less than half.”

Without communication with unions and workers, many fear that Ukraine’s coal mining industry will remain stuck in its cycle of non-payment, protests and emergency measures. “It is essential to pay wage arrears in full; stamp out corruption in the industry; appoint managers of enterprises and mines on merit alone; and establish an effective social dialogue with trade unions,” said the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine president Mychailo Volynets.

The next few years will determine the future of Ukraine’s mining industry; now is the time for the government to focus on and support coal communities. Whether or not mining is to continue to play an important part in Ukraine’s economy and the lives of its citizens, or if it is time for the subsidies to be reduced and new energy industries to be grown, a plan must be made.

Ukrainian state mines currently employ 51,000 workers, and are the main source of employment in regions such as the Donetsk coal basin. Mine closures over the last few years have already decimated towns and the government does not desire to close more but there is little clarity on how to progress in a profitable and sustainable way.

“The development of state-owned mines is possible in a stable environment, but wages must be paid on time,” said Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers of Ukraine deputy chair Valery Mamchenko. “Last year, UAH2.8bn ($100m) was allocated for the development of the coal industry, including the wage fund, but this year the amount is less than half.”

Without communication with unions and workers, many fear that Ukraine’s coal mining industry will remain stuck in its cycle of non-payment, protests and emergency measures. “It is essential to pay wage arrears in full; stamp out corruption in the industry; appoint managers of enterprises and mines on merit alone; and establish an effective social dialogue with trade unions,” said the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine president Mychailo Volynets.

The next few years will determine the future of Ukraine’s mining industry; now is the time for the government to focus on and support coal communities. Whether or not mining is to continue to play an important part in Ukraine’s economy and the lives of its citizens, or if it is time for the subsidies to be reduced and new energy industries to be grown, a plan must be made.