Historically, safety in mining is an aspect that has been somewhat overlooked. Between 1873 and 1953 alone, there were 85,000 deaths in the mining industry – and as much as 1800 in a single year. It’s only in the last half century that mining safety has improved considerably – and technology has certainly helped to pave the way. Gas detection for example, is just one element of mining safety that has benefited from modern technology. Up until 1986, canaries were still being utilised as an early-warning signal for toxic gases, particularly carbon monoxide. They were phased out by the Government in favor of electronic gas detectors, as they would be more effective at indicating the presence of pollutants in the air sooner, rather than later. But while mining today is substantially safer than before, mines are still some of the world’s most dangerous, harsh, and hazardous working environments on a daily basis. As advancements in technology continue, however, how will mining safety change? How will mining safety change?
While the current AI-based technologies are not sophisticated enough to support comprehensive mining operations, in the future, AI will be a key player in providing support with environment analysis, as well as structure and environment monitoring. Machine learning applications, for example, could be taught to assess mine environments and fragmentation or structural damage under any conditions by applying it to ground penetrating radar technology and therefore making data-driven assessments.
Robotic devices on the other hand, empowered by advanced AI programs, would be able to perform a range of tasks that would normally require a human operator, conducting them in the most efficient and safe manner. Activities such as drilling, loading, hauling, bolting, monitoring, assessment, rescue and much more, could all be done by robots in the future. These multipurpose devices would then reduce the burden on human operators, instead allowing them to focus their energies into managing the operation. Furthermore, data – particularly big data – will become more prevalent in the mines of the future to drive real-time data analysis. We already have the systems available to conduct mine-wide analysis, but more of that data will be incorporated into operations, executed via AI to manage multiple streams of information at any one time, ensuring maximum efficiency across the mine.
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