Ontario’s minister of northern development and mines, Tim Hudak, recently set off the world’s first underground explosion via a computer stationed above ground at Inco’s experimental mine, near Sudbury.
The blast shattered 250 tons of rock from the 175 orebody, capping a 5-year, $28-million undertaking known as the Mining Automation Program (MAP).
The MAP was formed in 1996 for the purpose of developing robotic mining equipment and “tele-mining.” Besides Inco, the program’s participants include explosives producer Dyno Nobel, Swedish-based equipment manufacturer Sandvik Tamrock, and the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology.
“Computer-controlled blasting is a key element for MAP in creating a fully tele-operated mine that includes mine development, drilling, explosives-loading and ore-hauling,” says Gregory Baiden, Inco’s manager of mines research. “We’ve definitively shown that mining automation has the potential to improve dramatically the safety and economic performance of mining underground orebodies.”
Hudak agrees: “Telemining holds real promise for making low-grade ore reserves and currently unprofitable mines competitive against new rich orebodies around the world.”
Be the first to comment on "Inco proves merits of ‘tele-operated’ mining"