Mining goes Digital

The conferences on 'Applications for Computers and Operations Research in the Minerals Industry' (APCOM) initially focused on the optimization of geostatistics and resource estimation. Several standard methods used in these fields were presented in the early days of APCOM. While geostatistics remains an important part, information technology has emerged, and nowadays APCOM not only focuses on geostatistics and resource estimation, but has broadened its horizon to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the mineral industry. Mining Goes Digital is a collection of 90 high quality, peer reviewed papers covering recent ICT-related developments in: - Geostatistics and Resource Estimation - Mine Planning - Scheduling and Dispatch - Mine Safety and Mine Operation - Internet of Things, Robotics - Emerging Technologies - Synergies from other industries - General aspects of Digital Transformation in Mining Mining Goes Digital will be of interest to professionals and academics involved or interested in the above-mentioned areas.

Dr. Christoph Mueller, born 1963, after his engineering studies and an additional education in technical software engineering at Siemens got his PhD in Electronics and Telecommunications. Since 1992 Christoph Mueller works mainly with automation projects for mobile machinery in the raw material industries. From 1997 he is operating his own companies specialized on successfully turning innovations into operational benefits in major mining process optimization and machine automation projects. Currently, these companies in Germany and Poland are working mainly with functional safe machine automation, driver assistance systems and autonomous operation in areas as mining and tunneling, agriculture or airport equipment. Dr. Winfred Assibey-Bonsu BSc(Mining); PhD(Eng) Wits Univ.; EDP, Wits Business School, FSAIMM, MSACNASP. Current Position: Group Geostatistician and Evaluator, Gold Fields Ltd, Corporate Technical Services, Perth, Australia. Employment post PhD studies; Gold Fields of South Africa, 1991 to 1994; Gencor Limited, 1994 to 1998; Gold Fields Limited, 1998 to date. Winfred's experience includes mineral resource assets assessment for mining companies as well as new business associated work including prospects in South Africa, Australia, South America, Zaire, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Philippines, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Russia, Finland, Romania, Papua New Guinea. Winfred is a dedicated family man with wife and four children. He enjoys reading and soccer. Dr. Ernest Baafi holds PhD in Mining Engineering from University of Arizona, MS in Mining Engineering from Penn State University, US and BE, ACSM from Camborne School of Mines, Cornwall, UK. He is Associate Professor in Mining at University of Wollongong, Australia where he is currently the Academic Program Director in Mining Engineering. His primary field of research is the application of computers and operations research methodologies to system evaluation and design. His current research activities include geostatistical ore reserve estimation, mine system simulation, logistics and optimisation. He is the current Chair of the International Council of Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Minerals Industry (APCOM), representing the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) on the Council. Prof. Dr. Christoph Dauber. Born in 1954, Prof. Dauber has studied Mining Engineering at the RWTH Aachen, where he obtained his Ph.D. about refrigeration techniques for deep hard coal mines. 1982 he joined RAG, the biggest hard coal mining company in Germany, and started as a deputy and undermanager. An exchange of engineers gave him the opportunity to work for six month in two Australian coal mines. Seven years he acted as the production manager of the hard coal mines Ewald and Walsum, before he joined the central technical department. Being the responsible manager for central technical support and supply he initiated and accompanied a couple of operational innovations. 2008 he become a professor at the THGA in the field of mining technology. Additionally he held the position of a Vice President responsible for research and development. Since 2015 he works as a part-time professor for the THGA. Dr. Chris Doran is a Mining Technology Consultant at Mitacom, a company specialising in technology services related to mobile equipment safety and automation for minerals and resource industry clients in Australia, Southern Africa and South America, including development of requirements for collision avoidance and introduction of advanced technologies and automation systems into mining operations. Dr. Doran is a key participant in several industry programs to improve mobile equipment safety, promote interoperability, a driving innovation between mining houses, mobile equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology providers. He is also an active contributor to the development of national and international standards for safety and interoperability in the field of earthmoving and mining. Prof. Dr. Marek Jerzy Jaszczuk PhD, DSc is employed at the Department of Mining Mechanization and Robotics of the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland. His subject covers issues related to the identification of external and internal loads of mining machinery, especially shearer-loaders, armored face conveyors and hydraulic roof supports, as well as the interaction of mining machines with their natural environment. He is the author and co-author of original mathematical models and software for computer-aided design of cutting drums for longwall shearers and multi-criteria optimization of design features of the hydraulic roof supports. For the solutions resulting from the research he and his team won the Team Award of the Prime Minister for the outstanding national scientific and technical achievement and the 1st degree Award of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. They have also been awarded medals of prestigious innovation exhibitions at home and abroad, including: Warsaw, Brussels, Nuremberg, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and SuZhou. He is the author and co-author of 4 academic textbooks, 5 monographs, over 90 articles in domestic and foreign journals, over 50 papers delivered at national and international conferences and the scientific editor of 5 monographs. He gained 15 patents for innovative solutions. Oleg Nagovitsyn, Dr. Eng. is Deputy Director of the Mining institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Oleg's scientific activity is connected with the studies aimed at development of the software which realizes the functions of a mining-and-geological information system for the mining and mineral processing. The geo-information system is based on the application of subject-oriented databases, visualization and integration; spatially related geological, technological, geophysical, geomechanical and monitoring data which form a single geo-information space of the mining and processing enterprise. The practical significance of the studies lies in the fact that the developed software, educational and methodological materials realize the computer technology of geological modeling, design and planning of mining operations.

General aspects of digital transformation in mining The so-called "Green Paradox" A.B. Bendiek & M.P. Bendiek Digital technology trends and their implementation in the mining industry L. Barnewold Virtual reality mine: A vision for digitalised mining engineering education R. Suppes, Y. Feldmann, A. Abdelrazeq & L. Daling Investing in engineering, research and education in Africa to derive a roadmap for ensuring local digital mining success W. Assibey-Bonsu The application of correlation models for the analysis of market risk factors in KGHM capital group L. Bielak, P. Mista, A. Michalak & A. Wylomanska Improvement of investment processes in mining company by implementation of project management system M. Wach & I. Chomiak-Orsa Resource estimation and geostatistics An approach for drilling pattern simulation G. Usero, S. Misk & A. Saldanha Application of Locally Varying Anisotropy (LVA) kriging at the Grasberg porphyry Cu-Au-Ag deposit, Papua, Indonesia A. Issel, A. Schwarz, K. Moss & R. Rossi+ Multivariate geostatistical simulation using principal component analysis M. Bolgkoranou & J.M. Ortiz Application of ASTER multispectral data and hyperspectral spectroscopy for phosphate exploration N. Mezned, A. Fatnassi & S. Abdeljaouad Multivariate Gaussian process for distinguishing geological units using measure while drilling data K.L. Silversides & A. Melkumyan Machine learning classification of geochemical and geophysical data L. Huang, M. Balamurali & K.L. Silversides Covariance table and PPMT: Spatial continuity mapping of multiple variables J. Kloeckner, C.Z. da Silva & J.F.C.L. Costa Optimal drill hole spacing for resource classification M. Nowak & O. Leuangthong Geostatistical simulation with heterotopic soft data without the LMC C.P. Araújo, M.A.A. Bassani & J.F.C.L. Costa Application of localized multivariate uniform conditioning and conditional simulation for a stockwork niobium deposit L. Bertossi, D. Raposo, J. Watanabe, S. Silva & G. Usero MILP framework for open pit and underground mining transitions evaluation B.O. Afum & E. Ben-Awuah Multi-collocated cokriging: An application to grade estimation in the mining industry N. Madani Recursive convolutional neural networks in a multiple-point statistics framework S. Avalos & J.M. Ortiz Grade estimation in a tabular deposit using unstructured grids M.A.A. Bassani, C.P. Araújo & J.F.C.L. Costa Influence of drilling spacing on the mineral resources uncertainty C.J.E. Silva, M.A.A. Bassani & J.F.C.L. Costa Evolving estimation techniques for an evolving world class stratiform copper deposit at Kamoa-Kakula, Democratic Republic of the Congo G. Gilchrist Critical review of mineral resource classification techniques in the gold mining industry S.K.A. Owusu & K. Dagdelen Transforming exploration data through machine learning I.W.S. Whitehouse & W. Slabik Rock mass characterization using MWD data and photogrammetry S. Manzoor, S. Liaghat, A. Gustafson, D. Johansson & H. Schunnesson Ore grade prediction using informative features of MWD data S. Liaghat, A. Gustafson, D. Johansson & H. Schunnesson Recoverable resource estimation mixing different quality of data C.R.O. Mariz, A. Prior & J. Benndorf Declustering weights as a measure of average sample spacing, applications in mineral resource classification D.E. Hulse & R.C. Bryan Mine planning in digital transformation Multi stage dumping sequence-a new approach for waste disposal B.T. Kuckartz & R.L. Peroni Parametric analysis of the optimal depth of an open-pit gold mine R. Motta, C. Porto, D. Machado & O.C. Souto A procedure to generate optimized ramp designs using mathematical programming N. Espejo, P. Nancel-Penard & N. Morales Break line and shotpile surfaces modeling in design of large-scale blasts S.V. Lukichev, O.V. Nagovitsyn & A.S. Shishkin Incorporation of mineralisation risk into underground mine planning R.C. Rosado, J.F.C.L. Costa & A.A. Saldanha Economic optimization of rib pillars placement in underground mines A.B. Andrade, A.R.C. Faria & P.C.B. Rampazzo Performance assessment of antithetic random fields in a stochastic mine planning model G. Nelis, N. Morales & J.M. Ortiz A data science model on production level pillar stability at El Teniente mine R.J. Quevedo, R.F. Quezada, R.A. Zepeda, S.A. Balboa, J.P. Vargas & S.A. Pérez Incorporating grade uncertainty into sublevel stope sequencing Y.A. Sari & M. Kumral A spatial clustering algorithm for orebody classification and boundary setting S. Li, Y.A. Sari & M. Kumral Underground mine planning optimization process to improve values and reduce risks H.H. Wang Application of a digital model of deposit in Polish hard coal mines on the example of Polish Mining Group Ltd. V. Sokola-Szewiola & M. Poniewiera Scheduling and dispatch Improvements in plan-driven truck dispatching systems for surface mining M. Samavati, A.W. Palmer, A.J. Hill & K.M. Seiler Short-term production scheduling of multiple mines using genetic algorithms P. Pathak & B. Samanta A two-stage solution approach for a shift scheduling problem with a simultaneous assignment of machines and workers C. Seifi, M. Schulze & J. Zimmermann Understanding plan's priorities: Short term scheduling optimization A.B. Andrade & P.C.B. Rampazzo Simulation and optimization framework for evaluating the mining operations A. Moradi Afrapoli & H. Askari-Nasab Framework of optimal operational indices for the open pit mines production scheduling problems M.R. Moghaddam & E. Moosavi Mine schedule optimization and mine operational realities: Bridging the gap A. Chowdu, M. Goycoolea & A. Brickey Optimization model for rostering and crew assignment for train transportation J. Amaya, E. Molina, N. Morales & P. Uribe Generating pushbacks using direct block mine production scheduling algorithm C. Aras, K. Dagdelen & T. Johnson Industrial internet of things and gamification applied to fleet and personnel management S. Dessureault Short-term open-pit mine production scheduling with hierarchical objectives F. Manríquez, H. González & N. Morales Mine operation and equipment A deep learning approach for automated quality control of iron ores A.K. Gorai, B.C. Balusa & U. Sameer Comparison between regression models and neural networks applied to forecast geometallurgical variables F.G.F. Niquini & J.F.C.L. Costa The simulation of the excavation sites of coal mines K.N. Kopylov, S.S. Kubrin & D.I. Blokhin An operational data based framework for longwall shearer performance measurement E. Yilmaz & M. Erkayaoglu The digital mine eco-system W.A.S. Fourie Application of DEM-FEM methods in tests of loads on idlers B. Doroszuk, R. Król & L. Gladysiewicz Comprehensive, experimental verification of the effects of the lock-up function implementation in LHD haul trucks in the deep underground mine T. Kaniewski, P. Sliwinski, J. Hebda-Sobkowicz & R. Zimroz Analysis of dynamic external loads to haul truck machine subsystems during operation in a deep underground mine P. Sliwinski, T. Kaniewski, J. Hebda-Sobkowicz, R. Zimroz & A. Wylomanska Selection of variables acquired by the on-board monitoring system to determine operational cycles for haul truck vehicle P. Sliwinski, M. Andrzejewski, T. Kaniewski, J. Hebda-Sobkowicz & R. Zimroz An integrated simulation model for opportunistic maintenance O. Golbasi, M. Olmez Turan & C. Karpuz Approach of mining equipment performance with simulation of the use of autonomous trucks W.S. Felsch Jr., A.F. Oliveira & C.E.A. Ortiz Modelling and forecasting geometallurgical recovery at a phosphate mine L.B. Andrade, I.E. Cabral & J.F.C.L. Costa Artificial intelligence using real-time data L.-P. Campeau & M. Dubois LTE, 4G & 5G - Broadband mobile communications in mining applications W. Santos Development assumptions of a data and service management centre at KGHM S.A. P. Pyda, P. Stefaniak & H. Dudycz Mineberry-remote monitoring of abandoned shaft openings B. vom Berg, F. Schmachtenberger, B. von Gruchalla, F. Wollnik, S. Klaß, A. Koschare, S. Schnell & J. Schliebs Optimization of material logistics by using leading edge electronic Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in underground coalmine M.T. Stöttner Mine safety in digital transformation Development of blast-induced ground vibration wireless monitoring system R. Prashanth & D.S. Nimaje Increased safety in deep mining with IoT and autonomous robots F. Günther, H. Mischo, R. Lösch, S. Grehl & F. Güth Coupled CFD-DEM modelling of mine dust dispersion in underground roadway L. Tan & T. Ren Proximity detection of explosive methane clouds in longwall mines J.F. Brune, H.S. Düzgün, G.E. Bogin Jr., A. Juganda, C. Strebinger, T. Nguyen, E. Isleyen & C. Demirkanr Evaluation of trackless mobile machine collision management systems H.A. Hamersma, P.S. Els & C.E. Doran A sensitive carbon monoxide monitoring system for forecasting coal spontaneous combustion Z.W. Wang, Y.F. Li, T.T. Zhang, Y.B. Wei & T.Y. Liu Application of laser methane sensor in on-line monitoring of gas pipeline G.X. Jin, H. Meng, G.H. Jia, W.W. Wang, H. Zhang, Z.D. Shi, T.Y. Liu, C.X. Song & Y.N. Ning Fibre optic sensor for coal mine combustion detection T.Y. Liu, X.J. Meng, F.Q. Wang, R.C. Li, M.Y. Hou, Z.W. Wang, J. Hu, Y.F. Li, L.Z. Ma, Y.B. Wei & S.X. Zhang IoT and robotics Lithological hyperspectral characterization for UAV sensor selection F.S. Beretta, A.L. Rodrigues, R.L. Peroni, S.B. Rolim & J.F. Costa High-resolution modeling of open-pit slopes using UAV and photogrammetry R. Battulwar, J. Valencia, G. Winkelmaier, B. Parvin & J. Sattarvand Enhancement of explosive energy distribution using UAVs and machine learning J. Valencia, R. Battulwar, M. Zare Naghadehi & J. Sattarvand The concept of walking robot for mining industry B. Debogórski, P. Sperzynski, M. Fieden, T. Ursel & A. Muraszkowski State-of-the-art mechatronic systems for mining developed in Poland D. Jasiulek, M. Malec, B. Polnik, K. Stankiewicz & S. Trenczek Designing top layer in Internet of Things for underground mines S. Feng & E. Ding Emerging technology and synergies from other industries Development of optimized processes in construction management supported by Building Information Modeling (BIM) with special focus on procurement: Case study at HOCHTIEF Polska K. Boede Development of a low-cost Proximity Warning System for mine equipment using smartphone and bluetooth beacons J. Baek & Y. Choi Version control system applied to resource modeling projects C.Z. da Silva, Á.L. Rodrigues, J.F.C.L. Costa, J.L. Alves & A.M. Amaral From machine construction to mechatronic system design: Digital Transformation is changing the way of thinking! S. Kochanik, P. Dudzinski & C. Mueller Rethinking mining transport: Trackless trains for mass transport in mining G. Biro, C. Mueller, M. Juzwiak & G. Tabak Interaction of man and machine: Lessons learned from aviation F. Hovgaard, C. Mueller & G. Biro