Automation in mining and quarrying is being driven less by technology trends than by operational pressures. According to Charl Marais, Local Business Line Manager Mining & Materials at ABB South Africa, mining companies are being asked to produce more from existing assets while dealing with higher energy costs, deeper and more complex operations, ageing equipment and a shortage of specialised skills.
Automation addresses these pressures by making processes more predictable. It can keep equipment closer to its optimum operating range, identify abnormal conditions earlier and allow operators to supervise operations remotely.
“There is also a very strong safety argument. If a task can be monitored, controlled or diagnosed remotely, there is less reason to put a person next to the hazard. After decades of automation, I would put it simply: the industry is not automating because automation is fashionable. It is automating because variability, downtime and unnecessary human exposure have become too expensive,” says Marais.
Change and impact
The biggest shift in surface mining and quarrying is that automation has moved beyond individual machines towards controlling the process as an integrated system.
“We are now controlling the process as a system. In a surface mine or quarry, a crusher, conveyor, feeder, pump or mill does not operate independently. A change in one part of the process affects everything downstream,” he says.
Modern automation continuously monitors variables such as motor load, belt speed, flow, pressure, temperature, level and equipment condition, allowing the process to be adjusted accordingly. The result can be more stable throughput, better asset utilisation, lower energy consumption and fewer unplanned interruptions.
ABB delivered its first mine automation system in 1975 and has since installed more than 1 200 distributed control systems in the mining industry. For ABB, Marais says, the direction is clear: moving from automating machines to optimising the entire operation.
Productivity and costs
The need to improve productivity while reducing operating costs remains a major driver of automation. For Marais, the starting point is identifying where an operation is losing money. An oversized motor, an over-speeding pump, a conveyor that frequently stops, or a crusher that is starved or overloaded can create inefficiencies that accumulate continuously.
Automation allows operators to identify and address these conditions. Variable speed drives can match motor speed to process demand, while advanced process control can manage multiple interacting variables rather than relying on fixed set points. Condition monitoring can identify equipment degradation before it becomes a failure.
“ABB’s Advanced Process Control, for example, uses model predictive control to handle multivariable processes and optimise throughput, constraints and process performance,” he says.
Out of harm’s way
Safety remains another important driver. Automation enables operators to monitor and control equipment from safe locations, reducing the need to work alongside crushers, conveyors, electrical substations and other hazards.
“We can also use cameras, sensors, interlocks, proximity detection systems and geofencing to improve situational awareness,” says Marais.
“Our approach goes further by integrating electrical and processing information into the same control environment. ABB’s Power Control Library allows electrical equipment and substations to be monitored and managed remotely, helping maintenance teams troubleshoot electrical problems without working directly in the electrical hazard zone.”
Technology accessibility
For smaller mining and quarrying operations, the challenge has traditionally been less about whether automation technology exists and more about whether it can be justified, financed and supported.
Marais argues that automation does not have to be an all-or-nothing investment. Smaller operations can begin by targeting a specific production or cost problem, such as inefficient pumping, an unreliable conveyor, excessive energy consumption or a critical motor responsible for repeated downtime.
Operators should establish a baseline, quantify the loss and automate the area where there is a measurable return.
“The biggest barriers are usually capital, skills, legacy equipment and integration rather than the technology itself. This is why modernisation needs to be progressive. Operators should not rip out a working plant simply because newer technology exists. Our latest Distributed Control System 800xA 7.0 is specifically designed to support modernisation while maintaining continuity and providing a pathway towards newer automation capabilities,” he says.
Marais says automation is still often perceived as expensive, complex and suited only to large, greenfield operations. Modern systems, however, can be introduced progressively, integrated with existing equipment and scaled to suit the operation.
“There is also a misconception that automation is primarily about replacing people. In reality, it is about removing people from hazardous or repetitive tasks, improving process consistency and giving operators better control of the operation,” he says.
The greater misconception, he adds, is viewing automation as a standalone technology. Its value comes from connecting electrification, drives, process control, safety systems and digital data.
Available technologies
At the centre of ABB’s automation offering is its Distributed Control System – ABB Ability™ System 800xA – which integrates process, electrical and safety control within a single automation environment.
For mining, the ABB Ability Minerals Process Control Library is operating at more than 400 mining and cement sites worldwide. It provides mining-specific control functionality and supports integration between field devices, electrical systems and operator environments.
“The other important layer is digitalisation. ABB’s mining platform can use operational data for asset monitoring, predictive maintenance, operations management and optimisation. In one ABB mining application, data from the automation system is used to monitor the condition of more than 6 000 assets,” says Marais.
The value, he says, is not in having a good DCS, drive or electrical system in isolation, but in making these systems work together.
Making sense of data
Data is a critical pillar of automation, but its value lies in turning information into actionable decisions rather than simply collecting more of it.
Equipment data can identify changes in motor load, temperature or operating conditions before they lead to failures. Combined with process and production data, it can also highlight inefficiencies and support plant optimisation.
ABB has demonstrated this through its digital mining and operations management solution. In one deployment, integrating planning and operational control delivered 25% cost savings, a 25% reduction in scheduling time and 20% less personnel overtime annually.
“That is where digitalisation starts to deliver real value: using operational data to improve productivity, reduce costs and make better decisions before a problem affects production,” says Marais.
Skills matter
Technology alone does not guarantee an effective automation project. People need the skills to implement, operate, maintain and improve the systems.
Marais says the focus should be on retraining technicians rather than replacing them. They increasingly need an understanding of motors, drives, instrumentation, control systems, communications networks and the processes these systems control.
“We are seeing electrical, instrumentation, automation, IT and data skills coming together. That changes the maintenance role from simply replacing a failed component to diagnosing why it failed and understanding what the operating data is telling you,” says Marais.
Training is therefore an important part of the technology investment. ABB has trained more than 160 000 youths through its global ABB University network, providing product, technology, operational and management training.
“In Africa, this skills component is particularly important. Technology must be supported by people who can operate, maintain and troubleshoot it locally. Automation does not eliminate the need for skilled people. It increases the value of having skilled people,” says Marais.
The future
Looking ahead, Marais expects electrification, automation, digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and autonomous operation to increasingly converge. This will bring greater use of remote operation, advanced process control, predictive maintenance, intelligent energy management and autonomous equipment.
“But I would caution against putting AI ahead of the fundamentals. Mining companies should first need reliable electrical infrastructure, good instrumentation, robust control, secure communications and quality operational data. Once those foundations are in place, AI can add another level of intelligence,” he says.
ABB’s mining automation architecture already integrates electrical, process and safety control, while its digital solutions add analytics, operations management and increasingly autonomous decision support. Its roadmap spans multiple levels of autonomy, from operator assistance to systems capable of making and executing decisions in defined operating conditions.
“So, over the next five to ten years, I do not think the winning mines will simply be the ones with the most automation. They will be the ones that connect their electrical infrastructure, process control, equipment, people and data into one operating system and then progressively increase the level of intelligence,” concludes Marais.
