Automated mining

Australia’s industrial research and development organisation CSIRO has signed a Letter of Intent to commercialise new mining automation technology with one of the world’s largest mining original equipment manufacturers.

Both CSIRO and Joy Global agree that the Letter of Intent is expected to result in a licensing agreement between them for the commercialisation of CSIRO’s underground longwall automation technologies.

In underground longwall coal mining, a large shearing machine with rotating cutting heads is driven back and forth across the coal face. Each run across the face removes a massive ‘slice’ of coal.

This form of underground coal mining accounts for about 90 per cent of underground coal production in Australia, which is about 70 million tonnes a year. CSIRO has been working on a long-term Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) funded project to develop new technology to locate and guide coal cutting equipment in longwall mines.

“The goal was to provide automated systems that would allow people to move away from hazardous equipment,” Dr David Hainsworth, Senior Principal Research Engineer with CSIRO Exploration & Mining.