Industry News September 26, 2024

The Future of Mining

Fortunately, significant strides are being made to enhance sustainability efforts across all stages of the mining process. Whether this is in the day-to-day operation of a mine, or on a wider social scale, companies are beginning to prioritize the needs of both mining communities and the planet.

The role of innovation in creating sustainable solutions

Adaptation and evolution are at the core of any successful business. And the mining industry has continued to change and improve the way they operate in order to find sustainable solutions which protect the environment. Here are some of the most innovative technologies and adaptations which have been, or will be, implemented.

Remote mine inspection and remediation

While collapses are increasingly rarer in the world of mining, they do unfortunately still occur. When this happens, it can be dangerous and time-consuming to inspect a tunnel. Technology has been developed which sees a small fleet of robots enter a shaft, and map out the area using 3D scans. This allows inspectors to assess a mine remotely, removing any further risk to human life in an unstable environment.

Sensor-based management systems

Sensors are at the forefront of modern mining adaptations. They’re used for a variety of purposes, such as collision avoidance, maintenance, environmental monitoring, and asset management. They’re also capable of monitoring air quality in a tunnel, as well as automatically managing lighting and energy systems.

Digital Twins

This groundbreaking technology provides workers of many different industries with a virtual representation of an asset or environment. This allows critical scenarios to be simulated using the tech, which in turn preempts and futureproofs against potential accidents. This is a particular popular technology in deep-sea mining, when getting a detailed picture of an area’s surface is harder.

Electric trolley trucks

The mining industry hasn’t been left behind when it comes to the electric revolution. In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint that the sector has on the environment, electric equipment is being tested across the world. A trolley truck system which runs off this renewable form of energy is now fully operational in the Kristineberg copper-zinc mine in Sweden.

Encouraging greater ethical mining in developing nations

Perhaps most important of all for the future of the industry is the necessity to promote and enforce safe, ethical, and sustainable working conditions and practices in developing nations which have mining communities. In order to do this, it’s important to encourage an approach which ensures the needs of everyday workers, their families, and local residents are put at the forefront.

Corporations can do this by:

Ensuring all materials are conflict-free

This should be made a priority in any project. The World Gold Council launched the Conflict-Free Gold Standard (CFGS) in 2012 to guarantee that conflict-free gold mining was the adopted norm across the industry as a whole. The standard uses internationally recognized benchmarks to ensure ethical practices are followed at all times.

Maintaining transparency at every step of the process

In order for ethical practices to be followed correctly, it’s vital that an open and transparent approach is taken at every step of the mining process. This extends to legality of the workforce, the flow of cash, impact on the local community, and the relationship that the mining company has with the people who live and work nearby.

Operating at the highest levels of safety

Safety measures need to be followed, and, most importantly, overseen and managed throughout the entirety of a project. It’s this secondary element which can sometimes be overlooked – especially when a mining operation spans across a number of years.

Banning underage miners

Child labor has been at the forefront of ethical mining changes for some time. And while strides are constantly being made to reduce the number of children working in mines, as many as 1 million were believed to still be working in the sector in 2019.

Enriching the lives of local communities

Poorer communities give up a lot when a mining project comes to their area. But there are also employment, financial, and infrastructural benefits which present themselves with the introduction of a mine. These need to be managed and syphoned out accordingly, in order for developing nations to feel the full force of the positive impact of a mine.