March of the robots heads underground
If John Henry were around today, he probably would be advised not to follow developments in mining too closely.
Legend has it that Henry died of exhaustion after racing a steampowered hammer while building a tunnel. But although the manufacturing industry has been using automation for decades, mining still relies on humans at the coalface, often literally.
That is beginning to change: last week Rio Tinto operated its first driverless train in Western Australia, moving iron ore about 60 miles; and in Sweden, robots are now being used underground in the Garpenberg zinc mine, which has been worked since the 13th century, making it one of the world’s oldest. It now uses sensors linked to robotic equipment controlled safely above ground.
Klas Nilsson, a spokesman for Boliden, which operates the mine, argues that the first aim is to put fewer people in harm’s way and the second is to boost profitability by operating around the clock. "We’re early adopters and we see our mines as testbeds," he said.
Using more automation and harnessing the "internet of things" could benefit the industry and its stakeholders by up to $373 billion by 2025, according to a study by McKinsey.
Roy Hill, the Australian iron ore business, said this week that it intended to cut costs by automating its drill rigs and partially automating its trains.
Rio Tinto has also been introducing driverless trucks at its iron ore mines, but the road to automation has not always been smooth.
Its Auto Haul project, which aims to automate its trains fully by next year, has proved trickier than expected and has been delayed several times, partly because of software snags.
In addition, Western Australia’s iron ore-rich Pilbara region is remote and scorchingly hot, which has led to relatively high salaries for workers, pay that they are reluctant to give up.
In Sweden, Boliden says that the workforce is onside.
"We have had an open and honest discussion on this topic and we have received support from our staff in doing this work, partly because we’re doing this because of safety."