Russia – Scientists at the Ural University of Mining Engineering and Ore Extraction have come up with a design solution for extracting mineral ores from mines, including surface ones flooded with water.
According to experts, water caused the cessation of extraction operations in a third of the world’s mines discovered during the past 150 years.
Researchers suggest using unconventional technologies to work in these mines, such as drones, robots, and artificial intelligence systems and algorithms.
Researcher Vadim Minin, advisor to the university’s presidency, says: “Some robots will work in the working facades of flooded mines to crush rocks underwater, and others will use pumps to collect them and then transport them using special hoses to submersible platforms or directly to processing plants on the surface.”
According to him, specialists will manage all these operations remotely without being exposed to any risks. Many operations will also be entrusted to artificial intelligence. Thanks to a neural network and computer vision algorithms, the devices will be able to navigate in the water and distinguish rocks from each other.
He added, explaining that when implementing this project, engineering solutions will be provided for each mine individually according to its characteristics, relying on Russian equipment, devices and technology. The results are expected to appear within the next five years.
Source: “Izvestia” newspaper
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2024-05-02 21:15:49
