"At present, the domestic and foreign mining industry has entered the best period of rapid development of intelligent business." Zhang Da, deputy director of the Mine Engineering Research and Design Institute of Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, said in an interview with reporters a few days ago. It is understood that the mine engineering research and design institute represents the national level in the research and development of safe, efficient and clean mining technology in mines, and the intelligent mining technology, equipment and engineering application of mines have become the main research direction of the institute.

 

Reporter: Under what background did the intelligent mining technology develop? What is the significance of its development?

 

Zhang Da: With the increase in global demand for mineral resources, the entry of high-yield, high-efficiency, high-quality, and low-cost mineral products from the international market, as well as the mining of some unconventional and predatory mineral products in China, have enabled mining companies to manage resources and management The increasingly fierce competition with the market forces mining companies to make changes in resource utilization, environmental protection, mining technology, technical equipment, safety management, etc., in order to cope with the current severe challenges.

 

My country's metal mines are mainly underground mining, and many mines have gradually shifted from shallow mining to deep mining. Due to the differences in resource endowment conditions, mining techniques, production processes, and production equipment of underground metal mines, as well as the uncertainty and dynamics of resources, the discrete type of workplace, the mobility of productivity factors, and the high risk of the production environment. , Has formed many problems, resulting in low production efficiency of mining enterprises and frequent accidents. In this case, in order to improve the technical strength of our country's mines, it is particularly important to carry out research on the intelligent mining technology of underground metal mines with the goal of safety, high efficiency and economy.

 

Intelligent mining refers to the use of intelligent and automated mining equipment as the core, high-speed, large-capacity, two-way integrated digital communication network as the carrier, and intelligent design and production management software system as the platform, through real-time and dynamic mining production objects and processes , Intelligent monitoring and control to realize the safety, high efficiency and maximum economic benefits of mining.

 

The intelligent mining technology of the mine is composed of a series of interdependent and connected functional modules, which are integrated through real-time data streams, and finally form an organic whole. Its core functions include mine production planning, mine production system operation, mine operation status monitoring and intelligent underground mining equipment.

 

The significance of intelligent mining is mainly to use modern high-tech to upgrade traditional industries, promote the development of my country's mineral resources to an efficient, safe, green and sustainable development, and enhance the core competitiveness of my country's mining industry. Intelligent mining technology in mines is also of great significance to promote the revitalization of the non-ferrous metal and steel metallurgical industries.

 

Reporter: What are the development stages of foreign intelligent mining technology?

 

Zhang Da: The application and development of modern information technology makes it possible to automate or intelligently mine mines. Since the 1990s, Finland, Canada, Sweden and other countries have successively formulated development plans for "intelligent mines" and "unmanned mines" in order to gain a competitive advantage in the mining industry.

 

Finland proposed the Intelligent Mining Technology Research Program (IM), led by the Finnish Technology Development Center (TEKES), Outokumpu Mining Service Company, Tan Rok Rock Drill Company and Loader Company, Normet Olion Company, Rockmore It was jointly completed by the company and the Rock Research Institute of Helsinki University of Technology, which lasted 5 years from 1992 to 1997. The plan is divided into 28 research projects with a budget of 12 million U.S. dollars. Through research in three areas: real-time management of resources and production, equipment automation and production maintenance automation, a preliminary intelligent mining technology system is established to improve the production of open-pit and underground mines. Efficiency and economic benefits.

 

On this basis, Finland further proposed the Intelligent Mine Implementation Research and Development Technology Plan (IMI). Starting in 1997, it took 3 years to develop mechanical equipment and systems through the implementation of advanced technology and technology. Underground mines have been developed and tested, which increased the mine’s labor productivity, reduced production costs, and improved working conditions.

 

In addition, Canada has completed the demonstration and started to implement the Mining Automation Project (MAP) five-year plan with a budget of nearly 20 million U.S. dollars. It is undertaken by Canadian International Nickel Co., Ltd., Eagle Bridge Nickel Mine Co., Ltd., Canadian Automation and Robot Technology Center, etc., based on international The underground high-frequency broadband communication system developed by Nickel Corporation has developed core technologies such as remote operation, autonomous operation and self-adjusting systems. The ore body delineation robot device is connected to the intelligent geological model through the communication system. The development process is based on the ore body delineation results to establish a model . The automation engineering development model directly provides information to the remote control equipment that is working, and the information of the remote control equipment is also provided to the mine model at the same time, and it acts on the production process. The device that realizes the above-mentioned functions is the mining robot controller, which is not only a computing device connecting monitoring sensors and local remote control actuators, but also a radio frequency modem. On the other hand, basic mine auxiliary systems have been established, such as ventilation, pumping, stratum control, power distribution, mine drainage, compressed air, and process water. In these auxiliary systems, sensors deployed on site send information to the central control computer through a control device connected to the communication system. The computer processes the data according to the model and sends signals to various levels of remote remote control actuators for adjustment. Through the research and development of the above content, Canada has been in the international leading position in mining automation technology, maintained the competitive advantage of the mining industry, and formed a new pillar technology industry. Canada has also formulated a long-term plan to be realized in 2050, which is to build an unmanned mine in a remote area of ​​northern Canada, and control all the mine equipment through satellites to realize mechanical crushing and automatic mining.

 

The Canadian International Nickel Corporation has developed an underground communication system based on a combination of cable television and radio transmission technology, and is being tested in the Stobie mine. This powerful broadband network is combined with the radio unit in each middle section of the mine, which can transmit multi-channel video signals and operate each device. In addition to the automation of fixed equipment in the mine, scrapers, rock drilling rigs, and underground vehicles have all achieved unmanned driving. Workers remotely control these equipment on the ground. Basically, there is no need to set up staff in the underground.

 

At the same time, other countries are also simultaneously implementing strategies for mine automation and intelligence. Sweden has also formulated a strategic plan for this purpose, focusing on improving the level of mine automation. Australia Micromine has developed a web-based online remote mining control system PITRAM for mining applications, which can reduce mining costs by 10%. The Rajant Company of Pennsylvania, USA has developed a highly flexible, broadband wireless mesh network for mobile targets in harsh environments, achieving reliable and fast access to mobile targets.

 

In the past 10 years, several internationally renowned mining equipment companies have been vigorously developing smart mining equipment and related technologies, such as Sweden’s Sandvik and Atlas Copco. They not only developed a large number of mining equipment with very good Automated or intelligent functions, and developed a variety of smart mining technology and equipment systems, such as the AotoMine system, OptiMine system and MineLan system. Using these technologies, these companies are gradually changing from a single equipment supplier to a technical solution supplier change.

 

Reporter: Could you please talk about the current development status and existing problems of my country's intelligent mining technology?

 

Zhang Da: Western developed countries have been studying smart mining technology since the 1990s. Compared with this, my country's related technology research has been behind for a long time. But at the same time, it should also be noted that due to the rapid development of high and new technology represented by network information technology, my country has laid a good foundation for information technology. In this respect, the gap with foreign countries is not large, at least much higher than that of foreign countries. The technological level, therefore, our country is launching research on intelligent mining technology at a new starting point, and it is entirely possible to reach or surpass the international advanced level in a short period of time.

 

In recent years, with the development of my country's society and economy and the recovery of the mining industry, many high-tech applications related to intelligent mining have made great progress. For example, our institute has developed BLSS-PE mine-used three-dimensional laser scanner, mine high-bandwidth wireless communication system and mine intelligent dispatching and control system, which can provide technical support for intelligent mining. Most of our country’s six major mine systems and other information construction have built underground optical fiber backbone communication networks. Video monitoring, environmental monitoring, and automation control have been applied in some large and medium-sized mines, and remote control scrapers, mainly imported equipment, have been widely used. , Some advanced personnel and equipment positioning systems and underground ground pressure disaster monitoring systems have been applied, and advanced mining software such as foreign DataMine and Surpac and domestic Dimine and 3Dmine have also been promoted and applied. The state has initiated a number of key or special scientific and technological projects related to intelligent mining, such as "key digital mining technology and software development", "high-precision positioning technology for underground unmanned mining equipment and intelligent unmanned scraper Projects such as "Model Technology Research", "Development of Key Technologies and Equipment for Underground (Unmanned Faces) Mining Remote Control", "Kilometer Deep Well Ground Pressure and High Temperature Disaster Monitoring Technology and Equipment" have laid a solid foundation.

 

At present, the main problems in the development of intelligence in our country are: The technical level of domestic mining equipment is relatively backward, especially its automation and information level cannot meet the requirements of intelligent mining; lack of integrated underground communication, positioning and navigation with independent intellectual property rights. The supporting technology and software platform for intelligent mining; the research strength of related technologies is scattered, and a strong R&D team has not been formed.

 

Intelligent mining technology research is a huge systematic project. From the experience of foreign countries, it is all funded by the state to set up special projects, organize a number of research institutions and related enterprises to jointly tackle key problems, and then further improve by enterprises.

 

Reporter: What is the development trend of smart mining technology?

 

Zhang Da: The overall trend of foreign countries in underground intelligent mining is underground broadband communication network, underground data collection real-time, underground production equipment automation, underground production management information, to achieve large-scale intelligence, automated comprehensive optimization scheduling and production management , So as to achieve the goal of economy, safety and efficiency.

 

The overall development trend of intelligent mining technology is mainly manifested in the following 10 characteristics: one is the three-dimensional visualization system of the mine surface, deposits and engineering environmental models; the other is an effective production and operation management information system, including mine planning, mining plans, production plans, Statistical scheduling, production monitoring, geological survey management, business management, etc., and form an enterprise local area network; the third is a network system for video and data transmission on the same network, and a multimedia communication network with optical fiber or radio communication as the main body, realizing distributed sharing of mine data ; The fourth is to realize the automatic collection and processing of data in the mine production process, using sensor network technology to realize the monitoring of the production process, mine safety, equipment operation, and automatic data collection and visual processing; the fifth is to realize the centralized control of the mine production system through an intelligent control system , Centralized remote control of lifting, transportation, ventilation, drainage, etc.; Sixth, the use of computer software systems to realize the digitization, modeling and visualization of mining resources, design optimization, production planning and mining environment; Seventh, mining blasting based on digital mining platforms Integrated design system and process monitoring system; eight is the use of multimedia, simulation, simulation, and virtual technology to reproduce the overall mine and production activity process, including scheduling, process monitoring, disaster warning, etc.; nine is the information that responds dynamically in real time through the entire production process Integration, to achieve centralized control of the main mining equipment, or programmatic control of unmanned driving; tenth, the use of intelligent mining equipment automatic positioning and navigation system, so that the mine can realize remote operation of the production process from a single process to the entire system.

 

Reporter: In terms of intelligent mining of mines, what research does the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy mainly carry out?

 

Zhang Da: Our institute is one of the first domestic units to carry out research on intelligent mining technology for underground metal mines. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, our institute took the lead in carrying out the national "863" theme project "Underground Metal Mine Intelligent Mining Technology" research. Aiming at the particularity of underground metal mines, it uses information collection, underground high-frequency broadband real-time communication network, and underground positioning. Technology, scheduling and control systems, etc. as technical means, taking underground rock-drilling and blasting equipment as the control object, through multi-level, online real-time scheduling and control, optimizing the mine production process, and forming an industry-specific and versatile underground metal mine intelligence The mining platform lays the foundation for the efficient, safe, green and sustainable mining of underground metal mines. The task setting of the project not only considers the goal of solving the key technical problems of intelligent mining of underground metal mines, but also considers the feasibility of realizing the project with limited funds and time.

 

After many discussions and demonstrations by experts, the project is finally formulated with intelligent downhole equipment, ubiquitous information collection and high-frequency broadband communication, mine high-simulation three-dimensional display information platform, and intelligent navigation, scheduling and control based on the platform. Typical and urgent applications are the research objects, and the intelligent medium and deep hole full hydraulic rock drilling rig, the underground high-pressure intelligent down-the-hole drill, the underground intelligent scraper, the underground intelligent mining vehicle, and the intelligent precision of underground metal mines are specified. The research of chemical mining blasting technology and equipment, intelligent mining ubiquitous information collection and communication system, intelligent mining support software and intelligent dispatching and control system, precise positioning and intelligent navigation of underground equipment total 8 research and development tasks.

 

At present, the research results of the project are undergoing on-site industrial tests in domestic mines, and the relevant results have begun to be promoted and applied in domestic mines. It should be noted that, in the near future, my country's mining industry will gradually develop from mechanization, informationization, digitization, and automation to intelligentization and rapid development by leveraging the trend of "deep integration of the two industrializations", and build China's intelligent mining power.