Industries that rely on equipment, such as mining, manufacturing, and oil and gas companies, are shifting towards IoT. Amongst these industries, mining and mineral extraction productivity has declined by around 15% in the last decade. The Internet of Things controls or senses objects remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct consolidation of the physical world into computer-based systems. This would improve efficiency, precision, and economic benefit with reduced human intervention. For the mining industry, this transformation is important. This would help improve performance, boost productivity, and increase profitability while eliminating unnecessary mining costs and waste. Here are a few benefits of using IoT in the mining industry.
Time-saving technology
The Internet of Things technology helps in maintaining and developing a mine site. Data is collected before starting the initial digging. This ensures the process is being managed properly and with reduced risk. This technology completes The tasks in very little time, thus saving the workers precious time. Some mining companies use technologies without human intervention, such as driverless vehicles or autonomous drilling systems.
Improving safety
The operations taking place in mines are mostly in far-flung areas with hazardous conditions. Therefore, the safety and security of the employees and the equipment become important. IoT can benefit a lot in this aspect, such as:
- It can provide real-time analysis of the mine and send warning signals to workers anytime.
- Gas detection and airflow and ventilation monitoring sensors can be used to check the mine’s environment.
- With automated machinery, such technology can assess a new or unexplored environment and protect miners from injury or long-term health hazards.
- This technology can also predict which machinery will likely require repairs or maintenance, hence removing the danger of equipment malfunctioning while used.
Cost and energy-saving
Mining operations use a lot of energy while working, and any fault in some equipment can greatly exacerbate the waste of energy. Th IoT results in reduced asset downtime as workers work proactively, and consequently, costs can be reduced. By following preventive measures, the supervisor can ensure that the right machine is available at the right moment and place, preventing production delay costs.
Improve traceability and visibility.
With the help of IoT, data is automatically transferred and received over a network without human intervention. Remote monitoring of operations ensures maximum efficiency, improved traceability, decreased variability, and better identification of performance problems.
Move from preventive to predictive maintenance.
Using the Internet of Things approach, monitoring every mining operation becomes easier, leading to greater productivity and safety. This helps predict the problems in advance, thus ensuring the supervisors know their next step. This IoT technology has changed the working method; we can shift from preventive to predictive maintenance and improve the quality of work.
