Virtual mining

The Kemi chromium mine in Finland is the first Intelligent Mine insofar as it is charting the course toward a system in which routine operations are automated and unmanned, machines are remote-operated, and production is controlled in real time with the help of a fast, mine-wide information network.

The operation, owned by Outokumpu, lies just south of the Arctic Circle. It is the only source of chromium in the European Union and one of the few major sources outside of South Africa, the world’s biggest producer. The mine forms the basis of Outokumpu’s integrated chromium-to-stainless-steel chain, whose efficiency has earned the company a place at the forefront of stainless steel producers.

Kemi has about 190 million tonnes in combined ore reserves and mineral resources, as well as a life expectancy of 100 years. Although it remains an open-pit operation, Outokumpu began building an underground operation in 1999. Gradually, starting in 2003, all ore will be mined from underground. The guaranteed continuity of mining at Kemi makes it an ideal choice for the first application of Intelligent Mine technology.

The chief objective of intelligent mining is to raise productivity and thereby boost competitiveness; another is to improve occupational safety and working conditions.

The technology was developed jointly over five years, ending in 1996, by Outokumpu, other Finnish equipment manufacturers, the Helsinki University of Technology. and the Technology Development Centre. During that time, the consortium strove to attain real-time remote-controllability, which required developing underground telecommunications systems to facilitate high-speed transmission of digital data. Outokumpu also developed proprietary technology, including the OMS-logg grade control system, which determines ore boundaries and grades on-site and without delay. This core technology for real-time production control is aimed at optimizing waste-rock dilution by automated processes.

With the groundwork completed in 1996, the partners embarked on a 3-year implementation program, the objective being to build an operational mine-wide information network, as well as related software, machinery and equipment. This second program focused on technologies and concepts applicable to underground mining at Kemi.

The program comprised 14 research and development projects. Outokumpu — the brains of the operation, as it were — was specifically responsible for gathering information and transferring it to data-processing points.

Today, the Kemi mine is the test-ground where all individual components of Intelligent Mine technology are combined into a single operational unit.

The task ahead is to build the underground mine on the same “intelligent” principles, so that real-time information can benefit the operation. The result will be financially competitive production methods combined with a safe working environment.

Already, the Intelligent Mine concept has roused interest in many countries where mines could potentially be developed in a manner similar to that employed at Kemi.

— The following is extracted from a recent issue of Outokumpu News.