In an exclusive interaction, Vermeer highlights its digital tool’s key features and states the industry’s challenges.

How is the mining sector changing in response to the current infrastructure demand?
The growing worldwide population, together with the rising standards of living, increases the demand for minerals. The mining industry faces continuous challenges to meet such demand and fulfil the sustainability requirements imposed by policymakers. All parts of the industry, from exploration, production, processing and transportation, are transforming. The mining sector needs to foster innovation to remain competitive.

This has created a demand for industrial automation and control systems, simulator training, equipment control and guidance, advanced mine-surveying technologies, underground mining and surface drilling technologies, and machine guidance and control systems compatible with enterprise resource planning software solutions.

What innovative equipment is used at mining sites to improve operations while protecting the environment?

A trend in mining technology has also been towards addressing the concerns of climate change and, hence, reducing carbon footprints. Using more energy-efficient equipment and reducing fuel consumption are attempts in the right direction towards achieving reduced carbon footprints. Vermeer Terrain Leveler® Surface Excavation Machines are designed to deliver more power per kW, thus fuel efficient.

The Vermeer T1255III direct-drive terrain leveller SEM features a fully hydrostatic motor mounted to the side of the cutting head, providing direct drive power to the cutting drum.
The direct drive drum design delivers more horsepower to the cutting drum, enhancing efficiency when working in hard rock conditions.

Dust Suppression System:
On many mine sites, dust is a challenge due to urban encroachment and air quality concerns. An optional dust suppression system on the Vermeer Terrain Leveler SEM features an enclosed cutting head with two large vacuums pulling dust from the enclosed cutting head into baghouses. The collected dust is dropped beneath the machine, helping to reduce the amount of dust entering the air. This also diminishes the need to source water to control dust during mining.

What are the procurement issues in this industry?
As the mining industry continues to emerge from a downturn, procurement and supply remain critical components of mining businesses’ ability to succeed and stay profitable.

Lack of visibility in supply chains is one of the major procurement challenges. Visibility across the supply chain is essential for meeting regulatory requirements and mitigating risk.

Using software to trace solutions provides visibility over the entire supply chain. Supply chain management can be easily updated in real time. Workflows are added automatically for urgent reorders and contingencies for critical shortages. Successful supplier contracts are created with legally-reviewed boilerplate clauses, reviewed and approved easily.

Maximising savings through procurement has always been important in the mining industry. As the sector continues to come out of a downturn, many companies are now looking for new and more effective ways to cut costs even further to improve operational efficiency in an unstable market. The automation of procurement processes is deemed a big cost saver due to its ability to overhaul traditional ways of managing supplier contracts and processes. It is a more efficient way to improve governance, visibility, and control over contracts in real time.

What are the preventative and predictive maintenance solutions for mining equipment available?
Advanced digital services for proactive asset management integrate and analyse condition data from all types of equipment used in mining to reduce maintenance costs and increase operational efficiency. By pulling together previously disparate condition data from various equipment to collectively analyse and compare all data, the system can forewarn a potential fault (i.e., lubrication   ilure) with a proposed solution, all with enough time to address it before production is affected. A critical analysis of each asset, equipment, or component considers failure modes, available     control system data, and information from pre-installed expert condition monitoring systems and datasheets.

Vermeer Telematics is an online tool tracking machine productivity and jobsite management on Telematics-enabled equipment. Fleet or operations managers can access telematics by using a smartphone, tablet, or computer to view real-time information about the GPS location, productivity (including idle times and fuel consumption), and maintenance needs of their Vermeer
equipment.

Telematics sends alerts when a machine operates outside its expected GPS location and notifications when planned maintenance or service needs to be performed. Captures planned maintenance schedules and completed services to help maximise machine efficiency and productivity, as well as help extend the life of the equipment.

What are your thoughts on the change from fuel-powered to battery-powered or electrical mining equipment?
Across industries, technology has advanced dramatically. Even in the mining industry, automation has become critical for smooth and precise operations and management. Surface mining manufacturers and specialists are exploring methods to adopt and embed automation and linked technologies into their equipment and operations on job sites. We are looking to implant an electrical engine in several stages over the coming years. Therefore, the demand for electrical engines will drive the market for the mining and equipment sectors. Electrifying mining operations can reduce not only environmental impacts but also reduce energy costs. The future of mining equipment and vehicles, specifically, is in electrification, both from an environmental and economic efficiency perspective.