Smart Industry 1/2020

Smart Business IoT in Mining
source ©: Ericsson
ingly equipped with GPS tracking
and machine-health tracking.
Whether for fleet management or
characterizing an area’s geology, IoT
is also starting to make its way deep
below ground following its initial
adoption in near-surface, open-pit
mines. “Most mines are going to
have a Wi-Fi mesh network, with
connectivity being pushed into every
corner in the mine. We assume
most mines are already going to
have pretty good connectivity in
the pit [with GPS, Wi-Fi, and LTE connectivity],”
says Palmer.
Smart Bolt
Rock bolts stabilize mining
tunnels by distributing stress
evenly. For Ericsson, a
team at Luleå University of
Technology developed a bolt
containing sensors and electronics
that senses stress
changes and vibrations and
can warn of future failures.
Digging Deeper
As current seams are mined
out, mining companies
need to dig deeper. LKAB is
teaming up with ABB, Epiroc,
Combitech, and Volvo Group
to set a new world standard
for sustainable mining at
great depths.
Reaching New Depths
Sweden and Norway may be the European
hubs of IoT in mining, with
deep, advanced iron mines above
the Arctic Circle. Swedish equipment
makers like Sandvik and Epiroc
are rigging their machines with
IoT devices while a telecom team
at Luleå University of Technology,
working with Ericsson, produced
sensor-equipped “smart” rock
bolts. Swedish state-owned iron
mining and processing giant LKAB
(Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB) has
put the technology into practice.
Founded in the 1890s, LKAB operates
mines that stretch more than
a kilometer below ground in Kiruna
and Malmberget, as well as owning
ports and mineral processing facilities.
“[IoT] isn’t some fluffy buzzword
from the industry like Industry 4.0 or
digitization. To us, it’s a very tangible,
practical thing we use on a daily
basis on our way to fully automated
underground mines, which is where
we’re headed,” said Tim Peco, development
engineer at LKAB Wassara,
who helps to lead the company’s
future drilling system initiative. The
goal of the project is to create an advanced
drill rig capable of more efficient
curved and steered drill holes
with sensors and connectivity.
“We are 1,000 kilometers south of
the rig [which is almost a kilometer
below ground and controlled from
Stockholm]. For the moment the
IoT deployed on this rig is simply a
two-way link with surveying and
communication systems. There is
a steering and real-time surveying
system,” Peco explained.
LKAB was early to adopt Wi-Fi deep
below ground and now has LTE as
well. Although the rig is run from
Stockholm, eventually the command
center for such machines will
be in Kune closer to the mine site.
Data from surveying computers
gets uploaded by Wi-Fi to a locally
hosted database and eventually
passed off to a cloud service within
LKAB’s intranet for processing in an
Aspen Tech data analytics system.
LKAB isn’t alone in the Swedish
mining sector as a user of IoT. Boliden,
another major iron mining
firm, is using Aqua Ductus’ IoT water
monitoring equipment to track
potential mine runoff into streams
and Sandvik is operating an IoT test
mine in Tampere, Finland, using the
underground-capable Nokia Digital
Automation Platform.
Gaining Experience
IoT in European mines isn’t restricted
to Scandinavia. In 2014, Canadian
company Dundee Precious Metals
managed to achieve a self-reported
400 percent production increase in
its Chelopech gold mine in Bulgaria
by adding sensors to conveyor belts
source ©: LKAB
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