From excavators and dumpers to wheel loaders, Tata Hitachi offers sustainable machines for mining which utilize environmental-friendly engines complying with US EPA Tier 2 and European EC Tier 2 norms says Hemant Mathur – Assistant VP Sales and Marketing, Tata Hitachi.

What are the opportunities you see in Indian mining sector today?
Coal, limestone and iron ore constitute over 70 per cent of the mining sector in India and almost 98 per cent of these minerals are extracted by open cast methodology hence mining provides good opportunities for Tata Hitachi to be a leading player in the mining equipment industry. At Tata Hitachi, we have dedicated mining equipment for opencast mines which include excavators, dumpers and wheel loaders. At Tata Hitachi, we believe the Indian mining sector is brimful with opportunities waiting to be explored.

What kind of innovations are designed by you for sustainable growth in mining operations?
Our company is working on (a) adding features on equipment (b) introducing services which can lead to sustainable growth in mining operations. The mining equipment are fitted with environmental friendly engines complying with US EPA Tier 2 and European EC Tier 2 norms thereby resulting in reduction in carbon footprints. Furthermore, the hydraulic oils used have lead content which must be controlled. The development of long drain hydraulic oils has helped in addressing this issue and mitigated the risk which leads content poses.

On-line equipment health monitoring systems like Consite has enhanced the operations of the equipments by way of monitoring the performance parameters which can be studied and actions identified for improving the performance of the machines. Offerings like full maintenance contracts, annual maintenance contracts, etc are the value adds which are offered along with the machine which allows the customer operating staff to learn and understand equipment operations. These innovations will aid sustainable growth in mining operations.

What are the tech-transformations we are witnessing in the mining sector today?
There have been major tech transformations in the mining sector which marks a shift from manual operation to mechanization. The users in the mining sector are working towards monitoring the mining processes for efficiency, productivity, utilisations, safety, etc. They are also working towards the integration of various mining operations which will make way for efficient monitoring of all the activities on a centrally controlled dashboard.

How digitisation and smart solutions are impacting Indian mining?
Digitisation and smart solutions are the future of the country for Indian mining. Customers have started talking about IoT in mining machines which cover diagnostics, performance parameters, etc. to be made available to them. Digitisation will enable customers to plan better as far as machine maintenance, spare replacements, correcting technical and operational glitches is concerned. This will also ensure proper utilization of the machine, maximum uptime and keep them at peak performance.

What are the criterias to select an appropriate mining equipment/solution?
Mining equipment selection depends on multiple parameters like annual production requirement, the distance of dumping, density of the material to be handled, bench size and width, life of the project, etc.

Do you think autonomous systems will reduce human risk in mining environment?
Autonomous systems have been developed by many mining machine equipment manufacturers like Hitachi Construction Machinery Ltd, Japan. These are slowly getting accepted globally in mines as the mining operations involve human risks and safety becomes the utmost concern.  So yes, I do believe autonomous systems will have a very important role to play in mining and mitigate the risk it poses to human lives.