DT in Mining
The mining sector, which is dedicated to locating and extracting metal and mineral reserves from the earth’s surface, is considered one of the oldest established industries. Just as for the oil and gas industry, a DT is a perfect tool for process/operation optimiza-tion on mining sites. DT is identified a as one of the key enabling technologies in the mining industry as it is going through digitalization.This is four areas where DTs contribute to mining: (i) Mining Operations: predictive maintenance improves asset reliability and cuts down unplanned downtime,(ii) Processing: optimizing plant set points improve the efficiency of processes and thequality of the product, and reduces bottlenecking, (iii) Transport: predicting and optimizing the transport network improves transportation reliability, and (iv) End- to-End: simulating and analyzing different scenarios across the value chain determines optimal plans and schedules. Moreover, DTs help miners in testing new processes or machinery before using the real one on the site and also trains new miners, especially for emergency situations, by educating them about the correct procedure and training them remotely in a risk-free and stress-free environment.
DT technology has the potential of adding new value to the mining industry, from increasing efficiency to providing a safer environment, which explains why mining corpo-rations are investing in DT technology. The International Data Corporation (IDC), a global provider of market intelligence and advisory services, has predicted that 70% of the mining companies will be investing in DT technology in the next two years. In addition, DT has caught national interest for the ‘revitalization of domestic resource development’.
How ore mining will be improved using digital twin simulations
- Improving mining machinery productivity
- Developing digital twin mining simulations
- Automating ore extraction processes
The digital transformation that will impact the mining industry will most certainly involve virtual twin technology.
The new technology generation 4.0 is impacting all industries across the globe and it will bring a plethora of improvements when it comes to productivity, adaptability and efficiency growth. The continuous objective of improving equipment, systemized processes, and means of transportation has become more crucial than ever due to the competitive nature of the mining industry. In order to stay competitive and keep thriving in business, mining companies and ore extraction businesses must embrace the newest technology trends – digital twin will soon become the single most impactful piece of technology that will help with that.
Utilizing digital twins to improve mining machinery productivity
Virtual simulations will prove themselves to be extremely useful when planning schedules and operations. By simulating the work environment miners will be able to create long-term and short-term schedules and create accurate estimates for drilling, crushing and extraction work will be over and what the end product results will be. Moreover, by simulating the equipment, machinery, and the entire work process, on-site workers will be able to test new methodologies on their most crucial work processes in a very cost-effective manner because no capital will be required to accurately find out what works – every test will be executed in a digital simulation, using the same exact machinery and equipment.
