AUTOMATION
Robots will chisel an alien mining landscape
‘The industry will be unrecognisable’ in five to seven years, says Tony O’Neill, technical director at Anglo
London — Some mines in the next decade will run without humans and instead rely on robots, virtual models and sensors, according to Anglo American. Anglo was betting on technology, such as computerised drills with "chiselling ability as good as a human", to increase productivity, cut costs and reduce environmental impact, Tony O’Neill, technical director at Anglo, said at the Mines and Money conference in London. "The industry that everybody currently knows will be unrecognisable" in five to seven years, O’Neill said. With mining processes automated, Anglo’s "employee of the future" would only need to focus on managing the company’s relations with governments and communities that live near its mines, he said. Anglo operates some of the world’s most valuable copper deposits and employs 87,000 workers from SA to Chile. Bots, or software that could execute instructions, would be increasingly important in underground mining, O’Neill said. Small and self-learning, the technology requires...
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