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New technologies can unlock assets for decarbonisation

13th August 2021

By: Cameron Mackay

Creamer Media Senior Online Writer

     

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Using modern technologies to provide better orebody knowledge can potentially unlock millions of tonnes of copper in stranded assets globally, which, in turn, could help to counter the predicted copper supply shortage, states mining technology company IMDEX chief geoscientist Dave Lawie.

“Copper is not the only metal under demand pressure in the shift to a decarbonised world, but it is one of the most critical, owing to the vast array of applications in which it is used. Unlocking stranded assets in already identified deposits worldwide could be the best option for meeting increasing world demand,” he explains.

Lawie stresses that miners are currently prioritising finding, defining and mining critical minerals such as copper.

He adds that, in terms of stranded copper assets, the resources have already been found, which is often the more difficult part of the extraction process.

These resources must now be redefined, and Lawie notes that the recent development of technologies that allow for resources to be assessed provide a significant advantage.

He highlights IMDEX’s aiSIRIS solution, a cloud-based artificial intelligence spectral interpretation software for portable spectrometer data, as such a technology.

The near-infrared technology can be used to determine mineral types and associations, mineral chemistry and crystallinity, as well as for life-of-mine studies and mine planning.

“Comprehensive orebody knowledge can reduce risks in terms of grade, variability, arsenic materials, tailings, biodiversity and infrastructure. Work programmes could reacquire data at much higher spatial fidelity that could, in turn, unlock low-capital precision mining strategies,” he explains.

Lawie suggests that IMDEX’s portfolio of mining technology solutions is also changing how drill and blasting activities are undertaken through the use of digital and automated technologies.

This includes using the latest in “best-in-breed” gyro-technologies, stabilising the walls of the blast hole using the IMDEX BHS drilling fluid and delivery method for drilling and blasting, and obtaining rock knowledge using IMDEX’s Internet of Geosensing solution to optimise the blast in openpit and underground mining, for which the IMDEX Blast Dog system is used.

Blast Dog is an autonomous system for multiparameter measurements of blast holes, which allows for automated “spatial domaining” of material characteristics and fracturing in ore and waste.

The solution provides higher-resolution data to allow for better blast outcomes through more consistent fragmentation while lowering the amount of vibration, dust and fumes, consequently improving safety.

“We are looking forward to introducing IMDEX Blast Dog to Africa in the next 12 to 18 months. Considerable advances have been made in developing the tool, despite access restrictions at mine sites as a result of Covid-19.

Using Technology to Decarbonise

“As the threat of Covid-19 recedes, we should expect African mining to strengthen and flourish, but the sector globally is facing a trust deficit. The trend of decarbonisation is growing, and miners must show evidence of their own reduction targets and how these will be achieved while mining the metals for a decarbonised future,” says Lawie.

He cites Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland’s predicting a future where commodity inputs are priced according to their carbon footprint, and that there will no longer be one price for gold or copper and, by extension, other commodity-based inputs.

Rather, commodities will be priced based on the amount of carbon emissions produced during their extraction, processing and beneficiation.

Further, economic organisation the European Union is considering mechanisms for a carbon border tax that would reflect the amount of carbon emissions attributed to goods. Should this materialise, individual mining operations will face considerable pressure to reduce their carbon footprints.

“Technology establishes the pathway to achieving this reduction by providing the data that makes informed decisions possible. This can allow for precision mining, processing intensity, intelligent use of mine materials, controlling fragmentation so that there is less waste and reduced power consumption, all of which have an impact on an operation’s carbon footprint.”

Lawie states that knowing more by having more valuable data about a resource in the ground can enable miners to approach extraction more strategically, which, in turn, can allow for a lower carbon footprint strategy to bring the asset into production.

“The key to making the journey is the provision of reliable data delivered in near real-time to allow for informed decision-making as early as possible. This can be achieved through the adoption of mining technology solutions, such as those provided by IMDEX, which deliver key data upstream when critical decisions must be made, from exploration to production,” he concludes.

Edited by Nadine James
Features Deputy Editor

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