Mine-site investment in safety-related technologies rising

Lagos -- High levels of investment are being made in areas such as mine planning and management software, mine communication, and predictive maintenance, with increasing levels of investment in safety-related technologies that include drones, collision avoidance, and fatigue detection, according to the latest global mine-site technology adoption survey by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The annual survey asked 150 senior mine-site personnel regarding the degree to which they had invested in a range of technologies, and expectations for future investment. Over the last five years, the share that had invested in drones has risen from 44% to 74%, collision avoidance from 62% to 72%, and fatigue detection from 53% to 72%. Fatigue detection also had the third-highest share of respondents who expected to invest in the technology in the next two years (38%), after predictive maintenance for equipment (40%) and mine management software (39%).

David Kurtz, Research & Analysis Director at GlobalData, commented: “While the use of mine planning and management software, and communications systems has been high across the globe for many years, recently miners have invested more extensively in areas such as drones, collision avoidance, and fatigue detection, helping to ensure a safer working environment.”

Drones were found to be principally employed for surveying and mapping (90% of those using drones) and monitoring and inspection (71%), with 33% using for tailings dam monitoring and 31% specifically for safety purposes. In Australia and Africa, the percentage of mines using them for safety purposes is 56% and 36%, respectively.