Data-driven mining takes advantage of analytics and information sourced across the breadth of the operations to optimise production and improve real-time decision-making. It can enhance existing operating models as well as underpin innovative new ways of working.
When it comes to supporting data-driven mining, connectivity is an essential foundation, and with wireless being important to meet the scale and dynamic nature of the business,, onsite Ericsson Private 5G solutions provide a range of advantages over 4G or Wi-Fi, says Ian Ross, Ericsson Head of Enterprise Private Networks, Australia and New Zealand.
Depending on the environment, Wi-Fi can have coverage, connection and stability issues which present significant challenges for large-scale mining operations. While 4G addresses some of these issues, 5G offers the added benefits of improved coverage, higher uplink (upload) capacity, higher responsiveness and improved energy efficiency(1).
Along with deterministic performance, 5G also offers advantages when it comes to accessing licensed spectrum, and achieving high levels of security and segregation between Information Technology and Operational Technology applications.
“The benefits of 5G become critical as mining machines and systems push more data into the network, such as supporting multiple video streams for precise remote control of mining equipment,” Ross says. “Especially when there are strict packet loss thresholds that trigger safety and protection mechanisms.”
“Low latency is also essential when working with human machine interfaces as well as sensors that require high-speed event correlation, such as monitoring seismic and ground movement.”
Teleremote dozers push more earth on 5G
The world’s largest gold miner, Newmont, replaced Wi-Fi with a private 5G network at its Cadia mine in NSW to remotely operate a fleet of dozers for a tailings dam remediation project.
After seismic movement caused containment loss in 2018, the four-kilometre long, 90-metre high dam wall needed to be remediated with stabilising buttresses created with eight and a half million cubic meters of earth – enough dirt to fill the MCG to the roof six times over.
Safety standards require bulldozers to be controlled remotely, but the speed, throughput and latency limitations of Wi-Fi and 4G meant they could only support two dozers simultaneously, far short of the 16 dozers and other machinery forecasted to complete the job.
The unstable and unpredictable nature of WiFi could lead to downtime for half a 12-hour shift at a time for troubleshooting and efforts to restabilise connectivity.
This world-first 5G teleremote dozer implementation – taking advantage of Ericsson 5G Advanced Antenna System radios wth 64T64R Massive MIMO (Multiple Input/Multiple Output) to achieve the high levels of uplink connectivity – allowed for more precise, efficient and safer control of heavy machinery, Ross says.
“By using 5G to increase throughput and tackle dropouts, they not only increased the number of dozers in operation, but also experienced a 50% increase in the push capacity,” he says.
“As one dozer operator said, thanks to 5G they ‘spent more time pushing earth, not chasing signal’.”
Engineers bring remote mine data to life with 5G
Along with improving the safety and efficiency of existing operating models like teleremote dozers, 5G also lays the groundwork for a new generation of mining technologies such as smart rock bolts from Swedish IoT specialist ThingWave.
Along with shoring up rock faces, ThingWave’s smart bolts contain a range of sensors – such as movement, stress and strain – to provide real-time data in order to visualise a digital-twin of a mine.
5G connectivity scales to support thousands of smart bolts simultaneously, allowing a step change from measuring point displacement to monitoring whole drive movement.
The combination of 5G and smart bolts allows geotechnical engineers to remotely assess the status of mines from the safety of the surface, Ross says.
“This offers engineers a new level of operational visibility in order to see what’s happening in the mine in real time, without the need to actually go underground into a higher-risk environment,” he says.
“Measuring air quality after blasting also speeds up the process of giving the all clear for people to work, providing a huge productivity benefit while also enhancing safety levels.”
(1) https://www.ericsson.com/en/about-us/sustainability-and-corporate-responsibility/environment/product-energy-performance