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MANAGEMENT | MINING Image Credit: SES
Intelligent mining: the power of connectivity Mining worldwide has become increasingly complex and sophisticated work, an industry that’s now driven by technology for performance, safety and efficiency – as such, the future of mines depends on connectivity.
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ining is one of Africa’s primary, strategic industries, an essential part of its economy, producing gold, uranium, gemstones and a host of other metals and minerals for the world. Some of Africa’s newest and largest mines are among the most sophisticated anywhere, embedding technology in all aspects of work to help operators gain greater visibility and aid decision-making. The treasure trove of data captured through sensors, computers and other technology can ultimately help to improve safety and boost profitability. As an example, this data allows users to build in predictive maintenance models that may help to minimise downtime, thereby raising overall efficiency and productivity. But the success of any such system hinges on good connectivity, a point recognised by leading industry players, such as SES, an expert in digital mining solutions. It recognises that technology, such as the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality, is transforming safety, productivity and profitability in the natural resources sector and extractive
industries – yet, none of these work without connectivity. O3b mPOWER, the newest MEO satellite constellation in its multiorbit ecosystem, launched this year, enables clients to design a digital strategy without the limitations of capacity, speed and reach. It means multiple mines can be managed from a flexible pool of bandwidth. The high-throughput network provides Internet and private network connectivity, from aggregated data rates of up to 2Gbps and beyond, directly to any mining site or other installation. SES works with various technology partners, ranging from satellite manufacturers and software companies to telecoms giants like Orange to deliver its cloud-scale connectivity services. The potential across Africa alone is huge, especially those areas where communications infrastructure is less well developed – a common problem for remote mine sites. With this infrastructure in place, intelligent mining then accelerates innovations such as real-time data visualisation, analytics, automation and virtual or augmented reality. Most recently, SES and InterSAT, a
O3b mPOWER Constellation rendition EMEA.
leading African Internet provider, renewed a partnership agreement to accelerate digital inclusion. Caroline Kamaitha, vice president sales Africa at SES, said the partnership has enabled the company to pave the way for abundant digital opportunities across Africa by connecting the unconnected in some of the region’s most underserved locations. “The renewal of our partnership accelerates Africa’s digital inclusion – and we are humbled to be part of the solution,” she said. The digital access its services provide is allowing innovative solutions in key industries to address some of the continent’s greatest challenges, she added. In a paper last year by another global telecoms giant, Peter Malebye, managing executive for IoT at Vodacom Business, agreed that “connectivity will be key” and to expect more focus on this and other areas. While the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the often-siloed nature of mining companies, he believes it also highlighted the need for more integrated operations, accelerating the adoption of digital technologies such as 5G and IoT.
“It’s clear that the future of mining will depend on a robust, reliable, low latency communication system – and premium grade connectivity – to ensure productive and safe operations, all of which 5G was designed to support.” Vodafone has forged a partnership with IoT.nxt to trial some of these ideas specifically for the mining sector. That includes running a 5G connected mining vehicle trial with South Africa’s Aard Mining Equipment, a manufacturer of underground trackless mobile machines. Together with IoT.nxt, the goal was to resolve some of the biggest issues facing the industry when it comes to connected vehicles. The partnership team installed an intelligent edge gateway, known as Raptor, on one of Aard Mining’s new mining vehicles. Raptor was developed to transform an ecosystem into a multilingual hub of innovation and communication. In addition, it provides real-time alarm notifications on IoT.nxt’s cloud-based platform – all underpinned by guaranteed Vodacom 5G mobile connectivity. ■
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