Fachartikel

The changes in the mining industry in Austria entailed also changes in the mines rescue system. Due to new legal regulations, all mining operations with underground activities were integrated into the mines rescue system. The re-establishment of the Austrian body for mines rescue and gas defense also contributed to set up a well-functioning system. The base of this mines rescue ...

Digital technologies offer the potential to deliver significant improvements by improving the quality and availability of data and informations, which in turn can be the key to significant productivity gains. In addition, meaningful digital technologies can help to reduce the environmental impact. It is therefore assumed that digital technologies have the potential to be the key to the sustainability of ...

Technologies already exist to begin addressing some of mining’s biggest problems, but all too often, attempts to innovate yield disappointing results. It is not enough to build great strategies and hire bright people; to fully leverage what technology can offer, mines need to address fundamental issues with culture. This article discusses how to foster the curiosity, courage, communication, collaboration and ...

Today, every company involved in raw material extraction strives to work efficiently and effectively. In the article “Smart Mining – Today and Tomorrow” in this issue, smart mining and its implications have already been described and discussed in detail. The central challenge, according to one of the key statements of that article, is the actual implementation of what is understood by Smart ...

Digitalization is on path of fast development in all spheres of society. As an outcome the requirements on modeling of systems are increasing. This applies with regard to quantity and quality. In this context the tools for modeling have to be selected. Considering modeling a possible choice is the language “Modelica”. This language comprises different advantages, finally supporting safe use ...

In recent years, the ongoing digitalization of mining has led to continuous changes in the way the raw materials sector explores its resources, carries out mining operations, processes the products and ultimately delivers them to its customers. This article illustrates the Mining 4.0 concept of the DMT GmbH & Co. KG, -Essen/Germany, which is based on the three pillars of ...

Automation in all its aspects has been gaining in significance in the extractive industry and decision making in today’s mining sector is based as much on planning activities as on event-driven reactions. This means that machinery and sensor networks are increasingly required to gather data on individual operating modes and ambient conditions, this information then being transmitted to a mine ...

Efficient use of the available assets plays an important role for the economic viability of an operation in raw materials production. Nowadays, most planning and investment decisions are still only using experience and test data collected at the start of an operation as decision support. A comprehensive data collection using the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) not only allows to ...

The particle size distribution of ground minerals is of decisive importance for downstream processes like flotation, separation, drying or others. In order to optimize process efficiency on one hand and final product quality on the other hand, early control of the grinding or classification stage is essential. The ultrasound-based particle size analyser OPUS of Sympatec GmbH, Clausthal-Zellerfeld/Germany is capable of ...

Given the ongoing corona crisis this is perhaps an appropriate moment to examine what is happening in the overseas mining sector in these uncertain economic times. The German economy continues to require increasing quantities of raw materials, a demand that simply cannot be met from indigenous sources. Moreover, Germany will also be faced with logistical difficulties if the shutdown that ...