Tarique Salman, Segment Manager for Surface Excavation Machine at Vermeer India, elaborated on improving mining efficiency with GPS technology with The Vermeer T1255III Terrain Leveller SEM.

Which emerging trends influence India’s surface mining dynamics?
The mining industry faces continuous challenges in meeting and fulfilling the sustainability requirements imposed by policymakers. 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.

A trend in mining technology has also been towards addressing climate change concerns and, hence, reducing carbon footprints. Using more energyefficient equipment and reducing fuel consumption are attempts in the right direction towards achieving reduced carbon footprints.

The mining industry has recently started using drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS). When set to perform operational tasks, drones improve the industry by providing services like site mapping, safety and surveillance in hazardous areas, equipment and workforce monitoring, measuring stockpiled inventory, and infrastructure upkeep and inspection.

Moreover, networking technology, like the Internet of Things (IoT), can transform the mining industry by creating new ways to maintain mine safety and productivity. Even robotic technology powered by artificial intelligence can perform various tasks, including drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, bolting mine roofs, and even ore sampling and rescuing trapped miners.

How do IoT, GPS sensing, and 3D imaging in equipment improve surface mining efficiency?
The IoT platform can not only improve the traceability and visibility of the entire mining operation but also enable computers to observe, identify, and understand different facets of mining operations without human intervention and automate and improve the maintenance and operation of machines.

The GPS systems produce accurate, three-dimensional visualisations of the location of the drill bit or the shovel tracks in real-time via a Moving Map Display (MMD) on a screen. This allows the operator to accurately navigate the drill from blast hole to blast hole, maintain a desired shovel grade, or change the drill’s face position from a remote location.

The Vermeer T1255III Terrain Leveller SEM features GPS technology that can also be used to create a mine-byline plan. Machine steering is controlled by GPS technology, helping to remove the human error by cutting head overlap and maximising the machine’s efficiency. This feature allows the operator to cut to the mine plan, producing a flat, almost road-smooth surface; a grade for drainage; or a sloped haul road.

What are the procurement constraints in the modern world of mining?
As the mining industry continues to emerge from a downturn, procurement and supply remain critical components of mining businesses’ ability to succeed and remain profitable. Though the technological advancements in mining procedures and equipment are desired by mining companies per se, they still have apprehensions about adopting these in brownfield mines, as they have already made substantial capital investments in plants and machinery and have yet to recover their costs.

How do you assess the mining activity in India compared to its potential?
The Indian mining sector has been a success story in waiting for decades. Despite enjoying an endowment of the top 5 or 6 reserves globally across commodities such as thermal coal and iron ore, the mining industry has remained relatively small and stagnant. India lags in baseline geophysical and geochemical data generation, faces unique challenges in land acquisition and executing resettlement and rehabilitation, has a long lead time for EC/FC, mining lease procedures, and several other factors contributing to slower growth. Moreover, India needs more advanced technology to mine resources that are difficult to access, such as eco-sensitive areas.

India is endowed with great mineral wealth. Properly tapped, it can help propel India’s GDP growth, generate additional employment, and mitigate fiscal and forex challenges. The industry and the government must work together to ensure the industry reaches its high potential.

For more details visit: https://vermeer-india.com/