Mine + Intelligence: What kind of mine is smart mine

"China's economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, and we are in a critical period of transforming the development model, optimizing the economic structure and shifting growth drivers." 

With the transformation of old and new growth drivers and the continuous advancement of the supply-side structure, social development has entered a new era of intelligent development. At the 2018 China International Mining Conference, some experts said that in order to realize the transformation of China from a mining country to a mining power and shape the image of China's mining industry in the new era, mine construction must also take the road of innovation. At present, intelligent technology has played an increasingly important role in various fields, and intelligent mine operation has become an inevitable trend, and has become a technical hotspot and development direction in the global mining field.

It is understood that the Western developed countries from the 1960s began to study automation, digital, intelligent mining technology, in order to obtain a competitive advantage in the mining industry, has developed the "intelligent mine" and "unmanned mine" development plans. In recent years, with our country's continuous attention and support, some of the domestic large and medium-sized mining enterprises digital design tool penetration rate, key process numerical control rate has been improved to a certain extent, the level of intelligence is also constantly improving.

So, what kind of mine is the smart mine, what should the smart mine be built into in the future, and what advanced technologies are already available? With these questions, the reporter found the answer in a number of relevant forums at the 2018 China International Mining Conference. Let's listen to what the experts say.

What is a smart mine?

Zhang Yuansheng, director of the Intelligent Mine Center of Beijing Mining and Metallurgy Science and Technology Group Company: For intelligent mines, many people have different understandings, according to the current stage of development, we can summarize a general framework structure. The first is the two basic platforms, namely the big data storage and analysis platform and the mine Internet of Things platform, which is the basis for intelligent production management in mines. Secondly, from the perspective of the operation model, the intelligent mine should have several characteristics: the production management should be fully networked, remote, remote control and even unmanned, the mining operations should be intelligent, the selection process should be automated and even intelligent, and the transportation scheduling should be seamless. From the perspective of management, the future smart mine from all aspects of production, from geological exploration to mining, and then to the management of data, should be based on the two basic platforms mentioned above.

In general, the core content of smart mine construction includes: Intelligent 3D mining design, fully covered underground optical fiber network system, underground Internet of Things platform, underground accurate positioning and navigation system, use of underground rapid measurement means, use of new underground blasting technology, equipment to achieve autonomous and intelligent operation, integrated scheduling system, safety monitoring system, big data acquisition system, etc.

Ge Qifa, director of the Information and Intelligent Center of China Enfei Mining Division: At present, there is no unified definition of the concept of intelligent mines. In our view, the construction of intelligent mines must include four aspects: automation of production process, intelligent logistics management, unmanned fixed facilities, and comprehensive informatization of production management, and finally achieve safe, green and efficient mining of mines, so as to achieve concept innovation, system innovation, management innovation, and technological innovation. Lu Tao, deputy chief engineer of Orient Measurement and Control Technology Co., LTD. : The main content of smart mine is no longer the narrow three-dimensional geological modeling, but includes equipment, sub-dialogue control, production execution, operation and management, intelligent decision-making, unmanned operation and other integrated solutions. From the concept of digital mine in 1999 to the formation of the concept of smart mine in 2010, and then to today, after 18 years of development, the industry has formed a stable 5-level technical architecture, many technologies and products have matured in the process of infrastructure construction, and the concept of smart mine has also penetrated into various enterprises. In addition, the technology of smart mines has formed some standards. For example, the "General Technical Specifications for Smart Mine Information Systems" released on May 1 this year. The development of smart mines has become a tool for mining enterprises to reduce staff and increase efficiency, and it is a technical guarantee for enterprises to reduce costs and improve quality. Many mining enterprises have put their profit growth point and core competitiveness in this respect, and it has also become the main direction of our development of smart mines.