42 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.

|n
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis
M|n|ng and m|nera| process|ng |n lnd|a
have a huge potent|a| to become
|mportant sourceso |ncomeanddr|v|ng
orces beh|nd broader econom|c deve-
|opment o the country. Wh||e the |ssues
ac|ng m|n|ng |ndustry appear am|||ar
year-to-year, the actors |n|uenc|ng the
|ndustry are mov|ng to a new |eve| o
extrem|ty. lncreased ||ab|||t|es and costs
o env|ronmenta| and saety |ssues,
he extens|ve research and dev-
e|opment undertaken across the
Tg|obe |n the past ew decades
has |arge|y been successu| |n chang|ng
the ace o many |ndustr|es and has |ed
to new and |mproved trends |n techno-
|og|ca| app||cat|ons. Them|n|ng|ndustry
be|ng a key |nd|cator o and a ma|or
contr|butor to a nat|on's economy, |s no
except|ontoth|strans|t|on|ntechno|ogy.
|ower grades o m|nera|s |n trad|t|ona|
m|n|ng act|v|t|es, advent o new b|o-
chem|ca| processes, |arger, automated
and more soph|st|cated robot|c
equ|pment a|ong w|th more spec||c,
accurate, prec|se and expens|ve
eng|neer|ng have gradua||y |ed to more
product|ve and econom|c a|ternat|ves
over thetrad|t|ona| process andact|v|t|es.
Am|d constant commod|ty pr|ce gyrat|ons
N|n|ng a Susta|nab|a Futura:
|ntagrat|ng haad, Tachno|ogy and 8us|nass
Chaitanya Raj GoyaI
43 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis
and a w|den|ng ta|ent gap, costs
assoc|ated w|th wages, taxes and
cap|ta| |nvestments have a|so reached
newpeaks. lt thus becomes a|| the more
|mportant or th|s sector to move on
rom |ts ongo|ng techn|ques and
methodo|ogy to embrace the new,
|mproved and e|c|ent techno|ogy thus
ensur|ng a pro|tab|e, sae and eco-
r|end|y unct|on|ng o the |ndustry,
|na||y contr|but|ng |ts share |n bu||d|ng
the susta|nab|e uture we a|| dream o.
Changingtimes: Current ndianScenario
lnd|a's var|ety and abundance o
resources makes |t h|gh|y recept|ve to
the changes |n m|n|ng techno|ogy.
lnc|ud|ng on|y the |dent||ed reserves,
lnd|a has the ourth-|argest coa| reserves
|n the wor|d and s|gn||cant reserves o
baux|te, t|tan|um ore, chrom|tes,
d|amonds, and ||mestone. Go|d, copper,
z|nc and uran|um reserves have a|so
been |dent||ed, though |n a more ||m|ted
vo|ume.
ln terms o product|on, lnd|a ranks
th|rd |n product|on o coa| and ||gn|te
(80% o the m|nes |n lnd|a are coa|
m|nes), second |n bar|tes, ourth |n |ron
ore, |th |n baux|te, and seventh |n
manganese ore. Among the severa|
m|nera| depos|ts that lnd|a owns, |t has
so ar succeeded |n exp|or|ng on|y 6-
7% o the ava||ab|e resources. Th|s has
prevented the country romrea||z|ng the
u|| econom|c potent|a| o th|s |ndustry.
Current|y, the overa|| contr|but|on o
m|n|ngtothe country's GDP|s |ust above
2%, wh|ch |s very |ow as compared to
other m|nera|-r|ch nat|ons such as
Austra||a, Canada and South Ar|ca,
where the |ndustrys contr|but|on to the
GDP |s 5-25%. Techno|ogy has been a
key enab|er |nthesecountr|es. Thelnd|an
m|n|ng |ndustry |s |n transormat|on and
the system|c change that began |n the
m|d-1990s |s nowga|n|ng steam.
Mining Machines: Automation and
Robotics unfoldthefuture
Not surpr|s|ng|y, the g|oba| break-
through |n automat|on and robot|cs
has contr|buted drast|ca||y to the
m|n|ng techno|ogy. Automat|on and
contro| systems are shap|ng the m|nes
o the uture as the techno|ogy moves
|nto generat|on-3. Such systems are
emerg|ng as a ma|or compet|t|ve actor
or m|n|ng compan|es as they strugg|e
to cope w|th sp|ra||ng |abor costs and
dw|nd||ngresources. M|n|ngcompan|es
are dea||ng and count|ng on |arger,
aster, automated m|ne mach|ne and
equ|pment to support the product|on
targets and keep the m|ne runn|ng or
pro|ts. Such cap|ta|-|ntens|ve m|n|ng
assets requ|re a more re||ab|e, rugged
and s|te spec||c operat|ng and
ma|ntenance ramework to susta|n
|ong term bus|ness needs.
New concept techno|og|es such
P|cture Source: www.|gn.com
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis
44 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
as, state o the art sens|ng, contro|, and
p|ann|ng systems that w||| enab|e the
automat|on o m|n|ng act|v|t|es - pr|mar||y
excavat|on and mater|a| hand||ng are
be|ng deve|oped. Successu| deve|op-
ment anddep|oyment o th|s techno|ogy
w||| a||ow surace and underground
m|n|ng to be carr|ed out more e|c|ent|y,
sae|y, and w|th |ess human |ntervent|on
than |s current|y requ|red. Automat|on
w||| u|t|mate|y enab|e m|n|ng operat|ons
to proceed|n remote andharsh env|ron-
ments, such as on the surace o other
p|anets.
Fewexamp|es that can be stated to
dep|ct the extens|ve deve|opment |n
automat|on and robot|cs |n m|n|ng t|||
date are the eect|ve and sae te|e-
robot|c m|n|ng equ|pments ||ke rock
breakers, automated sw|ng |oad|ng
techno|ogy or e|ectr|c m|n|ng shove|s,
cru|secontro| andD|g|ta| Terra|nMapp|ng
(DTM) techno|og|es |n operat|on on a
sca|e mode| drag||ne, automated hau|age
anddump|ngcyc|e or a LowHau| Dump
(LHD), excavator gu|dance systems,
automated charg|ng process |n under-
ground m|n|ng, among others.
For researchers and eng|neers who
understand the |mportance o th|s
transormat|on, the v|s|on o the uture
o m|n|ng conta|ns unmanned trucks
commun|cat|ng w|th each other and
he|p|ng each other dec|de wh|ch hau|
road to take w|th automated dr||| r|gs
send|ng dr||||ng rate data d|rect|y to the
m|ne database and then out to the 3D
mode|s used by robot|c shove|s or
grade contro| and so on, and the best
th|ng about th|s v|s|on |s that a|| o th|s |s
a|ready happen|ng, and the goa| o a
u||y automated m|ne |s c|ose to be|ng
rea||zed.
EnsuringProductivity andSafety
'Saety' st||| cont|nues to be a ma|or
|ssue |n the m|n|ng |ndustry w|th under-
ground coa| m|n|ng |ead|ng the charge.
G|oba||y there |s |ncreased pressure or
m|nes to operate sae|y and move
towards zero harm. Best pract|ces
have |nc|uded programs such as
behav|or-based saety to produce
s|gn||cant |mprovements. However, |t
seems that |mprovements have reached
a stage o ||tt|e or no |mprovements and
that new |ns|ght |s requ|red or the next
breakthrough. Sae operat|on at
m|n|ng s|tes requ|re ana|yz|ng mach|ne
hea|th, process measures and operator
at|gue |n rea|-t|me. A|though they wou|d
not atta|n |e|d read|ness |n t|me to he|p
workers trapped by the m|ne co||apse,
a number o new techno|og|es w||| enter
serv|ce |n the next ew years that cou|d
drast|ca||y |ncrease m|ne co||apse
surv|va| rates. These techno|og|es d|er
|nthe|r use, but a|| useadvancedsensors
to he|p m|ners |ocate a||en co||eagues,
a|ert rescue teams and |ee to saety.
Newsmart programs and techno|o-
g|es, such as |ocat|on awareness tech-
no|og|es, GPS, PFlDs and co|||s|on
detect|on/avo|dance |mprove the
saety o each emp|oyee both dur|ng
da||y bus|ness-as-usua| and dur|ng
catastrophes/acc|dents. Compan|es
have a|so begun to dep|oy soph|st|cated
Advance |n the m|n|ng sector has g|ven r|se to more product|ve, saer systems. Seen here |s the
underground core dr||||ng r|g, the D|amec 4.
An |mage o a coa| m|ne, m|ned us|ng the Str|p coa| m|n|ng method.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd
and automated ldent|ty and Secur|ty
Management programs that syste-
mat|ca||y and centra||y track emp|oyee's
access r|ghts, |ocat|on, durat|on, tra|n|ng,
saety cert||cat|on, perm|ss|ons, com-
p||ance and s|te secur|ty. A|so, secur|ty
|normat|on |s |ntegrated and ava||ab|e
to those who need |t, |nc|ud|ng secur|ty
and humanresources.
The u|t|mate goa| o the uture
m|n|ng saety programmes shou|d be
the comp|ete e||m|nat|on o m|n|ng
occupat|ona| d|sease and |n|ury. They
shou|d cont|nue to deve|op new
techno|og|es and enhanced tra|n|ng
programs, but the |atter shou|d be
strengthened to recogn|ze and correct
substandard cond|t|ons and pract|ces
that contr|bute to m|ne acc|dents.
'Product|v|ty' |ncrement |s another
very |mportant need o the hour.
lncreas|ng product|v|ty and reduc|ng
costs oten present trade-os or most
compan|es. M|n|ng compan|es o the
uture w||| need to |mprove both s|mu|-
taneous|y w|thout sacr||c|ng customer
serv|ce, saety or operat|ona| |ex|b|||ty.
Some trad|t|ona| costs |evers such as
|abor, supp||es and vendor serv|ces
can be ad|usted through renegot|at|on,
|ntegrat|on, v|rtua||zat|on and other
strateg|es. More proound product|v|ty
and e|c|ency transormat|ons can
occur when undamenta| bus|ness
processes are redes|gned to become
|ean or stream||ned, and advanced
46 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
Ergonom|ca||y-des|gned cab on the |ongho|e dr||| r|g.
Mechan|zed sca||ng w|th hydrau||c hammer
"The future of mining contains
unmanned trucks communicating
with each other and helping
each other decide which haul
road to take with automated drill
rigs sending drilling rate data
directly to the mine database."
ana|yt|cs and opt|m|zat|on |s used to
support the dec|s|on mak|ng process.
Overa|| m|n|ng automat|on cou|d a|so
resu|t |n s|gn||cant cost sav|ngs. For
examp|e, trave| t|me to and rom the
surace can take hours, reduc|ng
product|ve work by as much as 50
percent |n a typ|ca| e|ght- or 12-hour
sh|t. Automat|on, part|cu|ar|y remote
operat|on, o m|n|ng equ|pment cou|d
doub|e product|v|ty. There a|so seems
to be add|t|ona| bene|ts to a decreased
number o workers |n the m|ne. Such
change m|ght |nc|ude the e||m|nat|on o
|arge, power-hungry ans that contro|
the |ow o a|r through the m|nes. l
m|ners were no |onger underground,
suchanexpense cou|d be e||m|nated!
Schedu||ng or the m|ne must be
|ntegrated rom m|ne operat|on to
sh|pp|ng, |nc|ud|ng b|end des|gn and
dynam|c order book a||ocat|on to
stocks |n the system wherever they are.
Qua||ty and e|c|ency programs, such
as S|x S|gma, are a|so be|ng ut|||zed to
manage product|v|ty and to de|ne
opt|ma| processes. We||-des|gned and
|mp|emented management contro|s
and processes w||| be needed |n the
uture, to ac|||tate and engender a
h|gh-product|v|ty env|ronment. There
w||| be |ncreased demand or greater
attent|on to deta|| and understand|ng o
var|ous processes and cross-d|sc|p||ne
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis
cooperat|on. Management w||| a|so need
to oversee the |ntegrat|on o the sub-
processes (coa| hau|age and vent||at|on,
or examp|e) |nto a tru|y cont|nuous
process.
Environmental outlook
Pub||c perspect|ve sees m|n|ng as
o|d, d|rty, dangerous and env|ronmen-
ta||y content|ous. The r|s|ng ocus and
pub||c|ty on env|ronmenta||sm and
newound ocus on Corporate Soc|a|
Pespons|b|||ty (CSP) creates pressure
rom governments, customers and
shareho|ders, w|th m|n|ng be|ng a
prom|nent target or env|ronmenta|
outrage roma|| corners. There |s c|ear|y
a d|rect trade-o between exp|o|tat|on
o natura| resources and conservat|on
o env|ronment and human hab|tat. ln
the past, due to |ower env|ronment
consc|ousness, the trade-o was
a|ways dec|ded |n avor o exp|o|tat|on.
Th|s |s appa|||ng! Yet, env|ronmenta|
47 www.masterbuiIder.co.in The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012
undamenta||sm can a|so prove to be
cost|y and w||| prevent a number o
peop|e to rema|n w|thout access to
bas|c necess|t|es o ||e.
Th|s apparent|y |ntractab|e trade-
o has to be reso|ved. The bottom ||ne
|s that str|k|ng a ba|ance between
conservat|on (protect|ng env|ronment
and r|ghts o |nd|genous peop|e) and
meet|ng the resource needs o a dev-
e|op|ng economy |mp||es add|t|ona|
costs and requ|res the use o super|or
techno|ogy. ln the past, th|s trade-o
has been addressed by creat|ng a
pub||c sector monopo|y. Th|s has not
de||vered the des|red resu|ts. The a|ter-
nat|ve approach has been to encourage
natura| resource exp|o|tat|on by organ|zed
and progress|ve pr|vate sector com-
pan|es that are t|ght|y regu|ated.
For m|n|ngcompan|es, "be|nggreen"
w||| need to be more than a market|ng
campa|gn. New techno|og|es and
programs now ex|st that are ab|e to
manage consumab|es such as carbon,
water and ue| rom end to end, as we||
as prov|d|ng new capab|||t|es |n peror-
m|ng trade-o ana|ys|s on product|v|ty
vs. env|ronmenta| |mpact. These
programs a|so may extend to ootpr|nt
management, waste management,
ecosystem r|sk management, m|ne
c|osure andre-hab|tat|on, ta|||ngs p|ace-
ment management and stewardsh|p
management.
What does the future hold for ndian
miningindustry?
ln recogn|t|on o the nat|on's s|ugg|sh
progress |n the |ndustry, the lnd|an
government has |ntroduced a new
ramework or m|n|ng, wh|ch has
expanded the scope or modern
techno|ogy |n a|| aspects o m|n|ng,
rom prospect|ng to product|on. The
New M|nes and M|nera|s (Deve|opment
& Pegu|at|on) B||| 2011 |s expected to
encourage |nvestments |n techno|ogy.
The work|ng group or m|nes or the
Twe|th P|an env|sages a |arge part o
the p|anned |nvestments to go towards
the acqu|s|t|on o h|gh-end techno|ogy.
lt a|so |ays emphas|s on the estab||sh-
ment o adeta||edandreg|ona| |nventory
o resources |n a|| m|nera|-bear|ngareas
o the country through the use o state-
o-the-art techno|og|es.
S|nce the lnd|an m|n|ng |ndustry |s
st||| at the |ower end o techno|ogy use,
there |s a ma|or opportun|ty or techno-
|ogy prov|ders to |ntroduce so|ut|ons |n
th|s market. Th|s can |ncrease the
product|on o m|nera|s |n lnd|a and
|ncrease the market's compet|t|veness.
W|th grow|ng m|nera| product|on, there
w||| be a greater thrust on |mprov|ng
saety standards through techno|ogy
A 3-D |mpress|on o Kem| m|ne show|ng the open p|t, the underground deve|opment and the ore bod|es
Two computer generated v|ews o Agn|co Eag|es Suur|kuus|ko go|d m|n|ng pro|ect
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis
and |GATE Corporat|on, wh|ch prov|des
bus|ness outcomes based so|ut|ons
under the brand |GATE Patn|, have
recent|y announced an lnd|an base or
the|r 'M|ne o the Future' program. M|ne
o the Future program |ntroduces next-
generat|on techno|og|es or m|n|ng
operat|ons that a|m to reduce costs,
|ncrease e|c|ency and |mprove hea|th,
saety and env|ronmenta| outcomes.
The transormat|on |n the lnd|an and
g|oba| m|n|ng sector |s becom|ng
apparent, and the next 10 years w|||
comp|ete|y change the m|n|ng |ndustry
as s|gn||cant|y as the 25-year transor-
mat|on o the eng|neer|ng |ndustry. Some
o the changes that w||| bea|| howm|nes
are managed |nc|ude the |ncreased use
o p|ann|ng parameters, metr|cs, the
contro| o mach|ne use andma|ntenance
and m|ne |nanc|ng.
As m|ners expand to arther reaches
o the wor|d, they a|so ace he|ghtened
|eve|s o commun|ty |nvo|vement and
env|ronmenta| overs|ght, part|cu|ar|y
as extreme weather events cont|nue to
take a to||, unpred|ctab|||ty and|nstab|||ty
across the |ndustry r|ses. lrrespect|ve
o such happen|ngs, m|n|ng |s, was
andsha|| cont|nue to be the cornerstone
o human c|v|||zat|on. M|n|ng operators
are a|so ac|ng s|gn||cant changes |n
the|r workp|ace, as the |ndustry moves
rom human-|ntens|ve operat|on to
more te|e-operated and automated
methods. The m|ne operator o the
uture |ooks more ||ke a v|deo 'gamer'
than a m|ner, as the |ndustry moves
towards v|rtua| and remote techno|ogy.
Susta|nab|e m|n|ng w||| be the creed o
the g|oba| m|n|ng |ndustry or the
upcom|ng decades and beyond, re||ant
on c|ean, bu|k m|n|ng systems w|th the
lnormat|on and Commun|cat|on Tech-
no|ogy (lCT) as the underp|nn|ng. M|n|ng
|n uture w||| have a d|erent techno|o-
g|ca| v|sage, but certa|n|y not unrecog-
n|zab|y so as a who|e host o |nnovat|ve
techno|og|es wend the|r way to new
|eve|s o product|v|ty and perormance
or susta|ned compet|t|veness o the
|ndustry.
Pout|ne check-ups and serv|ces are a must or a susta|ned product|v|ty |eve|. Seen here |s a v|sua|
|nspect|on be|ng carr|ed out on a MT5010 m|ne truck w|th u|| |oad
lnd|a m|n|ng sector |s see|ng new ||ght as government dr|ven |ncent|ves are on the r|se
48 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
use or better pred|ct|on and contro| o
hazards. Opportun|t|es ex|st across a||
segments o the lnd|an m|n|ng sector,
wh|ch |s |arge|y dom|nated by coa|
a|ong w|th other m|nera|s (meta|||c,
non-meta|||c and atom|c) that p|ay a
s|gn||cant ro|e |n meet|ng the domest|c
and export demand as we||. P|o T|nto
"Mining companies of the
future will need to improve
both simultaneously without
sacrificing customer service,
safety or operational
flexibility."
M|n|ng Industry AnaIysis