Abstract for World Congress of Mining
Speaker: Leslie McHattie, Reliability Practitioner, Bentley
Track: Intelligent Mine
Title: Intelligent Mining – advances in mining engineering to enable information mobility.
“Intelligent mine” conjures up a futuristic image of unmanned extractors and loaders working in harsh
conditions in a remote lunar landscape. The promise of increasing mine fleet productivity and solving
the problem of lack of labor in mining regions can certainly be achieved today through remote
controlled extraction and automated hauling. The technology is available and it doesn’t seem to be so
much science fiction when you see driverless cars from Google hurtling down the freeway.
“Intelligent mining” on the other hand implies the application of information technology at every phase
of the mining value chain from exploration and geological modeling to equipment, operations and
maintenance, and logistics and transportation. These are really industry-specific enterprise systems
focused on using information technology to support the business processes of mining and make them
more efficient and effective.
Overlaying the physical world with the digital or virtual world enables us to model and simulate our
assets, giving us the ability to effectively design, build and ultimately to optimize the performance and
reliability of our assets throughout the lifecycle. The digital asset, often a 3D model, is created initially
during the engineering and construction phase and is handed over to the operator before the mine goes
into operation. Combined with geospatial or geographic information systems (GIS), the operator has a
complete digital representation of the physical world which forms the foundation for regulatory
reporting. Laser scanning and positioning technology can be used to create point clouds, information
models consisting of millions of data points, which enable the visualization and representation of the
“as-operated” reality.
But consider that once the mine is in operation, it throws off an endless stream of data in the form of
condition data from sensors and monitoring devices on our fixed and mobile assets through mesh
networks, servers and services. This “big data” can be processed and analyzed to spot trends and help
predict events formulated from reliability strategies set as early as the design stage (reliability centered
design). The “intelligent mine” implies that massive amounts of data augment the reality of the physical
mine, plant and equipment. This embedded intelligence can be used to optimize operational efficiency,
increase asset availability and utilization, improve safety and environmental integrity, and maximize
return on investment.
A few examples to be discussed:
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Kolomela Mine in Postmasburg, South Africa – developed an integrated environmental
monitoring system for water, dust, and biodiversity. Building on Bentley’s MicroStation
platform for cadastral and survey data, Kumba Iron Ore added Bentley Map as the source for
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GIS-related features. Bentley Geo Web Publisher was implemented to share geospatial and
attribute data with other departments.
AMEC and Fortescu Joint Venture in Pilbara, Western Australia – Cloudbreak ore-handling plant
wet front-end project. The first phase examined a previous design, established feasibility, and
recommended agreed-upon improvements. Phase two entailed delivery of the project within
19 months. Rapid deployment of Bentley’s MicroStation, Structural Modeler and PlantSpace
enabled a multidisciplinary project team to streamline workflows in an integrated, intelligent
3D modeling environment. Bentley Navigator was used to visualize design concepts; model
reviews minimized downtime for tie-ins to the existing plant.
Agrium’s Potash mining operation in Western Canada saw strengthening markets highlighting
the need for more reliable production. Agrium implemented Bentley’s Ivara EXP asset
performance management application on Windows-based hand-held tablets to support
operator and maintenance rounds to monitor asset condition and ensure asset reliability and
performance. Understand and learn from Agrium’s journey to implement the new technology
at twelve very different and geographically diverse plants.
Lastly, the sweet spot for intelligent mining is seen in the crossover between consumerization and
industrialization. The application of “consumer” technologies that we use every day on our iPhones and
Android devices, such as cameras, motion sensors, and positioning, in an industrial context are
producing “immersive” experiences including augmented reality. Overlaying the digital world on the
physical world and connecting them accurately through intelligent positioning results in “intelligent
infrastructure” which is safer and more sustainable.