3
Consequently, the industry is forced to shift its focus
towards smaller deposits that are located at greater distances
from mining facilities. This shift in resource availability
presents a set of unique challenges and considerations for
mining companies.
The primary issue associated with mining smaller,
more remote deposits is the inability to take full advan-
tage of economies of scale. Large operations could spread
fixed costs over a larger volume of resources to be extracted.
However, with smaller and more distant deposits, achieving
these economies of scale becomes even more challenging
due to higher transportation costs, additional infrastruc-
ture, and an increased dependency on commodity prices.
The innovation and adoption of new technologies can
therefore play a crucial role in making these smaller, remote
deposits economically viable to mine.
Environmental Impact
ESG, the collection of corporate performance evaluation
criteria that assess the robustness of a company’s gover-
nance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage its
environmental and social impacts* is top of mind for min-
ing companies.†
The issue of lower grades and harder access to depos-
its makes addressing these environmental challenges even
more difficult.
As mentioned previously, the deeper the mine, the
higher the stripping ratio. This results in a corresponding
*www.gartner.com/en/finance/glossary/environmental-social
-and-governance-esg-#
† MDPI Electrification Alternatives for Open Pit Mine Haulage
January 2023
growth in the necessary truck fleet and each additional
truck means a subsequent increase in diesel consump-
tion. As grades decrease, more ore needs to be processed to
achieve similar production. A decrease in copper ore grade
between 0.2% to 0.4% requires seven times more energy
than present-day operations.
The challenge of mining these low ore grades within
hard to access deposits in an environmentally responsible
and economically viable manner will require innovations in
energy efficiency, logistics, and automation.
THE CLOSED-STACK PROBLEM
In the evolving landscape of the mining industry, there’s
a noticeable shift towards open standards, with initiatives
led by organizations like ISO, ISA, EMESRT, and GMG.
These efforts are aimed at creating a more collaborative and
interoperable environment within the sector. However,
when it comes to implementing autonomous solutions, a
different trend emerges—closed-stack solutions.
Major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
offer autonomous solutions, but these solutions come
with a significant limitation. They require mining opera-
tions to commit to their entire technology stack, from the
equipment such as autonomous mining trucks to the Fleet
Management System (FMS) and other software used to
oversee site operations.
Currently, with these OEM autonomy systems all
autonomous equipment within a mine must originate from
their specific OEM, and only select equipment models
are supported for autonomy. Transitioning to this singu-
lar make and model requirement is a significant financial
hurdle for existing mining operations that maintain mixed
fleets from various manufacturers.
The same is true with being forced to use their FMS.
Fleet Management Systems vary in their capabilities and
sophistication and are central to the efficient functioning of
a mining operation. Monitoring and controlling real-time
pit operations, FMS often evolve into a central hub shar-
ing contextual information with various systems, such as
Planning, Maintenance, HRIS and Finance Systems, Plant
operations, and many more.
Replacing an FMS necessitates the severing and rebuild-
ing of these integrations, resulting in extensive change man-
agement, training, and significant software development to
rebuild the various upstream and downstream integrations.
A SOLUTION: OPEN AUTONOMY
The solution is Open Autonomy. Open Autonomy is
essentially a universally recognized standard Application
Programming Interface (API) that functions as a conduit
Consequently, the industry is forced to shift its focus
towards smaller deposits that are located at greater distances
from mining facilities. This shift in resource availability
presents a set of unique challenges and considerations for
mining companies.
The primary issue associated with mining smaller,
more remote deposits is the inability to take full advan-
tage of economies of scale. Large operations could spread
fixed costs over a larger volume of resources to be extracted.
However, with smaller and more distant deposits, achieving
these economies of scale becomes even more challenging
due to higher transportation costs, additional infrastruc-
ture, and an increased dependency on commodity prices.
The innovation and adoption of new technologies can
therefore play a crucial role in making these smaller, remote
deposits economically viable to mine.
Environmental Impact
ESG, the collection of corporate performance evaluation
criteria that assess the robustness of a company’s gover-
nance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage its
environmental and social impacts* is top of mind for min-
ing companies.†
The issue of lower grades and harder access to depos-
its makes addressing these environmental challenges even
more difficult.
As mentioned previously, the deeper the mine, the
higher the stripping ratio. This results in a corresponding
*www.gartner.com/en/finance/glossary/environmental-social
-and-governance-esg-#
† MDPI Electrification Alternatives for Open Pit Mine Haulage
January 2023
growth in the necessary truck fleet and each additional
truck means a subsequent increase in diesel consump-
tion. As grades decrease, more ore needs to be processed to
achieve similar production. A decrease in copper ore grade
between 0.2% to 0.4% requires seven times more energy
than present-day operations.
The challenge of mining these low ore grades within
hard to access deposits in an environmentally responsible
and economically viable manner will require innovations in
energy efficiency, logistics, and automation.
THE CLOSED-STACK PROBLEM
In the evolving landscape of the mining industry, there’s
a noticeable shift towards open standards, with initiatives
led by organizations like ISO, ISA, EMESRT, and GMG.
These efforts are aimed at creating a more collaborative and
interoperable environment within the sector. However,
when it comes to implementing autonomous solutions, a
different trend emerges—closed-stack solutions.
Major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
offer autonomous solutions, but these solutions come
with a significant limitation. They require mining opera-
tions to commit to their entire technology stack, from the
equipment such as autonomous mining trucks to the Fleet
Management System (FMS) and other software used to
oversee site operations.
Currently, with these OEM autonomy systems all
autonomous equipment within a mine must originate from
their specific OEM, and only select equipment models
are supported for autonomy. Transitioning to this singu-
lar make and model requirement is a significant financial
hurdle for existing mining operations that maintain mixed
fleets from various manufacturers.
The same is true with being forced to use their FMS.
Fleet Management Systems vary in their capabilities and
sophistication and are central to the efficient functioning of
a mining operation. Monitoring and controlling real-time
pit operations, FMS often evolve into a central hub shar-
ing contextual information with various systems, such as
Planning, Maintenance, HRIS and Finance Systems, Plant
operations, and many more.
Replacing an FMS necessitates the severing and rebuild-
ing of these integrations, resulting in extensive change man-
agement, training, and significant software development to
rebuild the various upstream and downstream integrations.
A SOLUTION: OPEN AUTONOMY
The solution is Open Autonomy. Open Autonomy is
essentially a universally recognized standard Application
Programming Interface (API) that functions as a conduit