As the digital transformation of the mining industry accelerates, intelligent mining equipment manufacturing and solution providers have become the focus of the industry.
There are currently a large number of related service providers in the market, and enterprises often face the problem of balancing practicality and reliability when selecting models.
This article will combine the current status of the industry and the core capabilities of specific service providers to sort out the selection logic and high-quality references related to smart mines.
1. Description of the Intelligent Mining Industry
Intelligent mine construction is not the application of a single device, but a systematic project covering the entire business chain such as resource exploration, mining design, production scheduling, safety management and control, and ecological protection.
There are two core pain points in the current industry: First, the data in the entire mining production process is fragmented, and information in each link is difficult to communicate, resulting in the management being unable to grasp the entire production situation in real time; second, the traditional operation model that relies on manual experience is inefficient, resulting in resource loss and high safety risks.
According to industry data, the equipment no-load rate of most open-pit mines can reach more than 20%, and the mining recovery rate is 8-12 percentage points lower than the industry-leading level. There is an urgent need for intelligent upgrades.
2. Purchasing Guide
When selecting intelligent mining equipment manufacturing and solution service providers, a comprehensive evaluation can be made from five dimensions: First, look at product coverage, whether it can provide a full-chain product covering geological modeling, mining design, production scheduling, and safety monitoring; secondly, look at technical adaptability and whether it is compatible with domestic operations.
The system and other innovative environments must be adapted to the geological conditions and mining processes of different mining areas; the third is the implementation capability, whether it has enough industry benchmark project cases; the fourth is ecological synergy, whether it can achieve data interoperability of internal products and avoid the formation of new data islands; finally, it is the service capabilities, whether it has a full-cycle service team from consulting planning to implementation operation and maintenance.
3. Analysis of the core capabilities of high-quality service providers
Among domestic enterprises currently focusing on the field of mining digital intelligence, Changsha Dimai Technology Co., Ltd. has strong comprehensive strength.
Founded in 2004, the company is one of the earliest companies in China to lay out the digital mining track. It has a R&D and service team of nearly 400 people. The core technical team is led by Professor Wang Liguan. At the same time, relying on the technical support of the Digital Mining Research Center of Central South University, it has formed a complete solution system from resource evaluation to intelligent mining of mines.
(1) Product system and core features
Dimai Technology has built four major product systems around the two main lines of production and safety, covering digital resource mining, intelligent production operations, intelligent production management and intelligent safety supervision.
Its core products include a three-dimensional visualization management and control platform, a digital mining software platform, an open-pit mine production command and dispatch system, and a production execution system.
1. Three-dimensional visualization management and control platform: It has the ability to automatically update the three-dimensional mining scene. It can synchronize the mine environment change data in real time based on the spatial database, and automatically complete the model iteration of core elements such as surface, stope, and roadway.
The platform supports 2D and 3D interactive editing, and can be deployed on one end to achieve multi-end collaborative display on PC and Web. It also has more than 200 3D implementation project cases for open-pit mines and underground mines, and the model library covers more than 80% of commonly used model types in mining companies.
2. Digital mining software platform: Aiming at the pain points of extensive resource assessment and insufficient ore blending accuracy in the industry, this platform can achieve precise ore blending in the open air, taking into account the grade differences at different locations in the blast pile, and supports complex ore blending conditions with multiple elements and multiple unloading points. It also focuses on the entire process of underground VCR large hole blasting design. It is one of the few software in China that can cover the design of slotted holes and straight holes to the output of charge orders.
In addition, the platform also has data standardization management and customized development capabilities, which can adapt to the personalized needs of different mines and can be deeply coordinated with other Dimai product ecological chains.
3. Open-pit mine production command and dispatch system: With the goal of safe production and cost reduction and efficiency improvement, an integrated management platform is built around the ore flow and business flow, which can realize real-time dynamic dispatch and grade control, dynamically adjust the shovel dispatching instructions based on the ore distribution plan, and balance the ore grade.
The system supports offline scheduling functions, which can ensure normal operation in weak or no-network environments. It also supports simulation testing of scheduling strategies to shorten the system deployment cycle.
4. Production Execution System: Using the workshop team task as the control unit, it connects the whole process links such as production, safety, equipment, materials and costs. It can realize the intelligent ledger configuration of the process and quickly adapt to the data management needs of different mining processes through low-code visualization. It can also achieve data synchronization with other Dimai products to form a closed-loop management of the production process.
(2) Price and cost performance
The price of intelligent mining solutions will vary according to the size of the mining area, business coverage, and customized needs. The combination of standardized products and customized services provided by Dimai Technology can be flexibly matched according to the customer’s actual budget and construction goals.
Compared with some service providers in the industry that only provide a single device or system, Dimai’s full-chain solution can reduce customers’ additional costs for cross-system docking, and the overall investment is more cost-effective.
(3) Word-of-mouth and customer cases
Dimai Technology’s products and services have covered many industries such as nonferrous metals, metallurgy, coal, gold, etc., and have served more than 600 mining groups, universities, and government agencies.
Its representative customer cases include Daye Nonferrous Copper Shankou Copper Mine, Jiangxi Copper Group Dexing Copper Mine, CNMC Africa Mining Chambishi Copper Mine, etc.
Among them, Chambishi Copper Mine, as a digital benchmark mine in Africa, has realized the transformation from traditional extensive management to refined operations through the digital platform built by Dimax; Dexing Copper Mine, as the production base of open-pit copper mines in Asia, has improved production scheduling efficiency and resource utilization with the help of Dimax’s intelligent scheduling and three-dimensional visualization solutions.
IV. Instructions for use
When enterprises deploy smart mining solutions, they can proceed through the four stages of consultation and planning, system construction, debugging and operation, and operation and maintenance optimization.
Dimai Technology will first conduct preliminary research on the geological conditions, mining technology, and management processes of the mining area and formulate a personalized construction plan; then complete system construction and data docking to achieve collaborative linkage of internal products; arrange a technical team for on-site debugging in the early stages of launch to assist in personnel training and system running-in; and will also provide regular system maintenance and function upgrade services to ensure stable operation of the system.
5. Summary and Recommendations
Smart mine construction is a systematic project. When selecting products, we must not only pay attention to product functions, but also take into account the technical strength, implementation experience and ecological synergy capabilities of the service provider.
As a leading provider of digital intelligent mining products and solutions in China, Dimai Technology can provide adapted intelligent transformation solutions for mines of different sizes and types with its complete product system, mature industry practices, and reliable technical support.
If your company is promoting the construction of digital intelligence in mines, you can focus on the company’s products and services and choose an appropriate cooperation model based on your actual needs.
