Some 250 professionals and decision-makers recently met at the 13th Mining Forum in the German city of Kassel recently under the patronage of the leading salt miner and producer, the K + S Group. Among the discussions and presentations on technical subjects, innovation and the future of mining at this international event, which is also supported by VDMA Mining, attention was focussed on Industry 4.0, a term which refers to the next stage of industrial manufacturing and a paradigm shift towards “smart” factories including harnessing “The Internet of Things.”

Kassel is a city of some 200,000 inhabitants situated almost exactly in the centre of Germany. In as early as the 17th century It played a decisive role in the development of metallurgy and thus the scientific dominance of the entire mining industry. Today it is not only the headquarters of K + S Group, but is also home to major European players such as Wingas and Wintershall. The 13th Mining Forum, hosted as usual by German-based DMT GmbH & Co. KG, the independent international engineering and consulting firm also active in the mining and commodities sectors. Professor Dr Elko Räkers, Chairman of DMT’s Board of Directors, addressed some 250 guests and speakers from Germany and abroad on the subject of the mining and commodities industries during a “time of major challenges”. Sinking commodity prices were putting the brakes on investment in new mining projects and material infrastructures. “Political turmoil” such as the Ukraine crisis and subsequent Russian sanctions were also having negative effects on business. They barred access to these markets or at least made it difficult. “Companies are suffering as a result”, said Räkers.

Räkers sees potential for additional business primarily in supporting mining companies in process optimisation. Because of falling prices and commodity surpluses, companies are forced to increase their efficiency and thus optimise costs in order to remain profitable, according to Räkers. He also sees opportunities in the “steadily increasing international concern for more security and environmental protection.” This ensures that areas affected by mining are increasingly being redeveloped for reuse. Given “long-term demand worldwide”, he assumes that commodity markets will recover, although “no one can say exactly when”. At the moment, low levels of willingness to invest are still overshadowing possible positive effects. Against the background of the forthcoming complete closure of Germany’s coal mines, Frank Hunstock, Head of K + S Group’s mining division, nonetheless emphasised Germany’s outstanding position as a mining nation with its “good, solid engineering know-how”. His company, which took on the forum’s patronage, strives to seek ways and means to guarantee sustainable, environmentally-friendly mining in Germany and to lead the country’s traditional exploitation of natural resources, based on centuries of experience, into “a publicly acceptable future.”

The importance of Industry 4.0 in this future was immediately apparent from the relatively wide scope the subject took, both directly and indirectly, during the two-day forum. Thomas Walther, responsible for the mining division of globally active engineering firm Siemens, believes that automation and digitisation are also becoming increasingly important for the mining industry. They can help to increase companies’ efficiency. Firms wanting to become fit for the future have to be “universally” automated and digitised. Machine or plant components must be able to communicate with each other. The important thing is to sift out the information and correlations from the mass of available data vital for an optimal operational process. “That cannot happen without effective data management”, claimed Walther. He advocates central and project-related data management from which relevant information can be sent out to the various systems. This cuts down on energy use, since one central system replaces many individual ones, reduces error rates and also lowers project expenditure.

In the future, according to Dr Ing Thomas Bartnitzki of the Institute for Mining and Metallurgy Machinery at RWTH Aachen in Germany, companies will link up their machinery, equipment and storage systems, with sensors and actuators playing an increasingly important role. Industry 4.0 “combines physical and real things”. Bartnitzki demonstrated a system developed by his institute in which a small wireless sensor of only a few square centimetres can measure the load on an excavator arm. This makes it possible for example to establish whether damage can be attributed to improper use or whether there is a case for a warranty claim. His institute is also currently testing a self-driven machine which can move safely in a mining environment. Bartnitzki believes it is imperative to introduce uniform communications standards if the mining and commodities industries are to profit from the potential benefits of Industry 4.0. Otherwise, “it simply will not function,” he says. Equally important, however, is “to support employees in the whole process.” Until then, a 98 mm spanner remains the classic tool for repairing sensors.