The mining industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the need for safety and productivity. There has been a growing use of technology in improving safety and reducing injuries and fatalities on mine sites, particularly underground, where risks generally increase the deeper the mine. 

However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity. 

Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have. 

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the mining industry using innovation intensity models built on over 350,000 patents, there are more than 150 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry. 

Within the emerging innovation stage, mining inspection robots, autonomous steering systems and robotic excavators are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. 

Tunnelling machines, tunnel rescue devices and tunnel lining construction devices are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are CAD for drill planning and SCARA robotic arms, which are now well established in the industry. 

Tunnel safety products and technologies range from personnel tracking to mobile proximity devices, methane sensors, refuge chambers and ground support products and systems. 

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are more than 20 companies, spanning technology vendors, established mining companies and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of tunnel safety devices. 

In the graph below, ‘application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators. ‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Leaders in tunnel safety devices include Orica, Sandvik and Epiroc. Amongst the innovations, Orica has partnered with Epiroc to co-design and build Avatel, which enables a single operator to prepare and charge explosives from the safety of an enclosed cabin, several metres from the face.