TELF AG examines some of the latest innovations in the mineral industry
A new era
Automation and artificial intelligence are increasingly establishing themselves in the mineral industry, contributing directly to the simplification of some processes and to a general overall improvement in efficiency. In several parts of the world, autonomous vehicles and machine learning linked to artificial intelligence are increasingly used during the various phases of sourcing and processing geological resources, projecting the entire sector toward a future dominated by efficiency and technological innovation. These innovations, as stated in a recent report dedicated to the topic, guarantee new standards of safety and efficiency, thus facilitating the valorization of some precious resources used to produce several important components of electric cars, smartphones, and electricity networks.
Among the technologies that establish themselves with particular evidence, there are undoubtedly autonomous vehicles in the minerals sector, which allow the mine to remain operational 24 hours a day without any breaks, thus increasing its efficiency and productivity. As Charlotte Gibson, head of the Critical Minerals Processing Lab at Queen’s University in Kingston, recently pointed out, these vehicles also contribute directly to the efficiency of operations, in particular for their ability to move and operate underground. Automation is also establishing itself strongly in the transport sector: in various parts of the world, according to Gibson, several mines are already using entire autonomous haul truck fleets.
Beyond exploration
In recent months, the impact of artificial intelligence in the mineral industry has manifested itself above all in the exploration sector, particularly for the ability of these new systems to identify with extreme precision the location of deposits and the exact location of geological resources. However, there is another area where new AI-related technologies are also focused, namely the actual processing of minerals. For decades, mineral industries have meticulously collected large amounts of data in real-time regarding the processes and different phases of resource processing, and nowadays, thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, this enormous amount of information can be valorized to increase the overall efficiency of processing.
The efforts of the Critical Minerals Processing Lab also focus precisely on the processing phases, particularly on flotation, which nowadays represents one of the possible methods for operating the separation of minerals. After the actual sourcing of resources, it is necessary to separate the waste materials from the agglomerates that contain precious resources. Through flotation, Gibson explains, it is now possible to induce minerals to repel water and to develop an attraction for air, which allows them to attach themselves to air bubbles and be recovered more quickly.
Currently, the Critical Minerals Processing Lab focuses on the flotation of lithium, one of the most sought-after materials due to its direct use in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems linked to renewable energy. Other research areas at the lab include copper-nickel flotation, in which they are trying to use artificial intelligence and improve processes for separating graphite from waste materials.
