Full automation is the next paradigm for mining. We are working on the first step — vehicle automation. Making mining safer for people by moving them from the mine to a control station has potential not only for increasing safety, but also for improving efficiency. And in the mining industry, efficiency gains pay off many times over.
Automating the mine improves safety by taking people out of dangerous positions, keeping vehicles controlled from a central location, keeping speeds consistent and under control, not having people exposed to the dust and fumes.
Automating the mine improves efficiency by controlling traffic and speeds centrally to save fuel costs, requiring fewer people to run the mine, safely increasing volume by using more vehicles and the most efficient paths.
Other benefits include automated mapping of mining progress for better planning.
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