Rio Tinto is testing new techniques for underground drifting, mineral exploration and improved recovery of ore in its latest push to develop competitive advantage through its Mine of the FutureTM program. Launched in 2008, the program, covered extensively in articles in International Mining, introduces next-generation technologies for mining operations to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve health, safety and environmental performance.
Rio Tinto, and partners Aker Wirth, Atlas Copco and Herrenknecht, is in advanced stages of developing new shaft and tunnel boring systems aimed at significantly reducing the time taken to excavate underground. The tunnel boring system will be trialled next year at the Northparkes copper and gold mine in New South Wales with shaft boring system trials to follow.
Rio Tinto believes these rapid mine construction developments through the tunnel and shaft boring systems could lead to a reduction of up to 40% in the time taken to construct an underground mine.
Rio Tinto is working on ways of improving rates of ore recovery from mature and complex deposits. Pilot projects are underway in both iron ore and copper, aiming to upgrade marginal ore, reclaim ore from waste streams and improve efficiency through lower energy consumption.
An airborne gravity gradiometer is being tested as a potential tool for finding the next tier one orebody. The device can be deployed in an aeroplane to detect small changes in the gravitational forces which result in density differences in the earth that indicate potential mineral deposits.
The gradiometer represents a step change in exploration geophysics and will fill a gap in airborne mineral exploration methods, providing us with specific satellite mapping to help us find the possible deposits of the future.
Rio Tinto head of innovation John McGagh said “The revolutionary technologies being tested now cement Rio Tinto’s leading position in the field of mining innovation. Mine of the Future is giving us competitive edge in the global mining landscape by generating more efficient and cost-competitive methods of finding, extracting and processing mineral resources and providing new, engaging and diverse employment opportunities.”
Recent milestones in the program include the one-year anniversary of servicing the Pilbara from the Operations Centre in Perth, Western Australia; and trialling and initial roll-out of automated haulage and drilling systems. The programme is run in conjunction with leading universities and organisations in Australia and overseas.
Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore mining and infrastructure has been controlled remotely for the past 12 months from the Operations Centre in Perth. The Centre has more than 400 employees overseeing and ensuring the synchronisation of the mine, rail and port systems in the Pilbara region.
The benefits of the Operations Centre can already be quantified with increased efficiency, improved safety, decreased variability and better identification of performance issues across the iron ore business in Western Australia.
Rio Tinto plans to double its fleet of driverless Komatsu haul trucks at its iron ore operations in Western Australia following a successful two-year trial at the West Angelas mine. The broader operational deployment of the autonomous trucks marks a step forward in the development of the Mine of the Future vision, delivering improved safety and production efficiency in haulage.
Rio Tinto is also trialling autonomous production drills designed to provide a reliable and repeatable process in blasthole drilling. The intent of the integrated system is that automated blasthole drill rigs will precisely position the blast holes, conduct live rock analysis, dictate to the explosives delivery vehicle the correct charge for each hole and provide data supporting three dimensional mapping systems to provide detailed imaging of each deposit. A number of critical system components have already been successfully tested in Rio Tinto operations.