A new mining life for non-feasible mineral deposits?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balazs Bodo ◽  
Luis Lopes ◽  
Claudio Rossi ◽  
Giorgia Stasi ◽  
Christian Burlet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Biological Inspiration ◽  
Social License To Operate ◽  
Social License ◽  
New Vision ◽  
And Control

<p>ROBOMINERS is developing an innovative approach for the exploitation of currently non-feasible mineral deposits. The approach entails the use of a robot-miner - a bio-inspired reconfigurable robot with a modular nature - in a new mining setting where the activities are nearly invisible and where mining presents less socio-environmental constraints, thus contributing to a more safe and sustainable supply of mineral raw materials.</p><p>The main aim is to design and develop a robotic prototype that is able to perform mining related tasks in settings including both abandoned, currently flooded mines not accessible anymore for conventional mining techniques; or places that have formerly been explored, but whose exploitation was considered as uneconomic due to the small-size of deposits, or their difficulty to access.</p><p>ROBOMINERS’ innovative approach combines the creation of a new mining ecosystem with novel ideas from other sectors, particularly robotics. At this point, work has been done to understand the best methods for the robotminer’s development in 1) biological inspiration, 2) perception and localisation tools, 3) behaviour, navigation and control, 4) actuation methods, 5) modularity, 6)autonomy and resilience, and 7) the selective mining ability. All these aspects combined aim to provide the robotminer XXI Century tools for mineral exploration and exploitation of (currently) unfeasible deposits.</p><p>At the same time, for the vision of a new vision of a mining ecosystem, work is involving studies on 1) developing computer models and simulations, 2) data management and visualisation, 3) rock-mechanical and geotechnical characterisation studies, 4) analysing ground/rock support methods, bulk transportation methods, backfilling types and methods, and 5) sketching relevant upstream and downstream mining industry analogues for the ROBOMINERS concept.  </p><p>After design and development, based on the previously mentioned studies, the robot-miner is set to be tested at targeted areas representatives which include abandoned and/or operating mines, small but high-grade mineral deposits, unexplored/explored non-economic occurrences and ultra depth, not  easily accessible environments. Possible candidates for testing purposes include mines in the regions of Cornwall (UK), mines in the Kupferschiefer Formation (e.g. Poland) or coal mines in Belgium.</p><p>When compared to usual mining methods the ROBOMINERS approach shows: 1) no presence of people in the mine, 2) less mining waste produced, 3) less mining infrastructure, 4) less investment, 5) possibility to explore currently uneconomic resources and 6) new underground small-sized mines, practically “invisible”. Altogether, ROBOMINERS can contribute to solve some of the main issues that make mining’s social license to operate so difficult to get in Europe: land-use, environmental limitations, and socio-economic aspects.</p>

Making exploration of underground flooded mines a reality - the UNEXUP solution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcio Pinto ◽  
Norbert Zajzon ◽  
Luís Lopes ◽  
Balazs Bodo ◽  
Stephen Henley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Mine Development

<p>The UNEXUP project, funded under EIT Raw Materials, is a direct continuation of the Horizon 2020 UNEXMIN project. While in UNEXMIN efforts were made towards the design, development and testing of an innovative exploration technology for underground flooded mines, in UNEXUP the main goal is to push the UNEXMIN technology into the market, while further improving the system’s hardware, software and capabilities. In parallel, the aim is to make a strong business case for the improved UNEXUP technology, as a result of tests and data collection from previous testing. Improvements to the UX-1 research prototypes will raise technology readiness levels from TRL 6, as verified at the end of the UNEXMIN project, to TRL 7/8 by 2022. A "real service-to-real client" approach will be demonstrated, supporting mineral exploration and mine surveying efforts in Europe with unique data from flooded environments that cannot be obtained without high costs, or risks to human lives, in any other ways.</p><p>The specific purpose of UNEXUP is to commercially deploy a new raw materials exploration / mine mapping service based on a new class of mine explorer robots, for non-invasive resurveying of flooded mines. The inaccessibility of the environment makes autonomy a critical and primary objective of the project, which will present a substantial effort in resurveying mineral deposits in Europe where the major challenges are the geological uncertainty, and technological / economic feasibility of mine development. The robot’s ability to gather high-quality and high-resolution information from currently inaccessible mine sites will increase the knowledge of mineral deposits in Europe, whilst decreasing exploration costs – such as the number of deep exploration drillholes needed. This can potentially become a game changing technology in the mining panorama, where the struggle for resources is ever increasing.</p><p>On the technical side, a fourth robot, modular in nature, will be added to the current multi-robot platform, providing additional functionalities to the exploration system, including better range and depth performance. Hardware and software upgrades, as well as new capabilities delivered by the platform will greatly extend the usefulness of the platform in different environments and applications. Among these: rock sampling, better data acquisition and management, further downsizing, extended range, improved self-awareness and decision making, mature post-processing (such as the deployment of 3D virtual reality models), ability to rescue other robots, and interaction with the data will be targeted during the next years. Upgrading the overall technology with these tools, and possibly additional ones, will allow the system to operate with more reliability and security, with reduced costs.</p><p>These added functions arise from different stakeholders’ feedbacks from the UNEXMIN project. UNEXUP targets parties from the mining, robotics and mineral exploration sectors, as well as all other sectors that have any kind of underwater structure that needs to be surveyed – caves, underground reservoirs, water pipelines and fisheries are among them. For the purpose of exploitation of the technology, a joint company was founded, “UNEXMIN GeoRobotics Ltd”, which is part of the UNEXUP consortium, and is responsible for selling the service to the market.</p>

scholarly journals Social License to Operate and Adaptive Co-Marketing: Exchange, Social Capital and Community-Based Social Marketing

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Michael Hall ◽  
Helena Power
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Marketing Orientation ◽  
Marketing Models ◽  
Marketing Exchange ◽  
Social License To Operate ◽  
Social License ◽  
Mining Projects

The concept of a Social License to Operate (SLO) has become increasingly important in the sustainability literature in recent years. Having its origins in the business discourse of the mining industry with respect to limiting opposition to mining projects, the notion of a social contract above and beyond legal requirements has since become applied across a number of different industries. Despite the concepts adoption confusion exists over the practices and outcomes of SLO, and particularly the nature of engagement. Given this situation it is surprising that not more attention to the role of marketing, and social marketing in particular, in operationalizing the concept. The paper discusses the potential of social marketing to contribute to SLO. Economic, political and social relations are complex in SLO and exchange is intricate in such relational environments. A community-based social marketing orientation is proposed as a means to improve exchange relations and enhance engagement. Seven models of SLO related social marketing models are discussed with community-based social marketing and adaptive co-marketing models being regarded as the most positive for the achievement of an SLO. Potential barriers to adoption of these approaches are noted.

scholarly journals CLUSTERS OF MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHERN EAST SIBERIA AND PROSPECTS FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT: AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3S) ◽  
pp. 754-768
Author(s):  
Zh. V. Seminsky
Keyword(s):  
Siberian Platform ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Far East ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
East Siberia ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Stage Of Development

This study aims to identify the groups of closely spaced mineral deposits located in the Southern East Siberia and to describe these clusters. The mineral resource base of this region includes the deposits of lead, zinc, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, uranium, copper, gold, lithium, tantalum, niobium, silver, fluorite, zirconium, rare-earth metals, iron, mica, precious and semi-precious stones, oil, gas, and coal. Many of these deposits contain a significant part of the explored mineral reserves of Russia. The deposits are located in the tectonic structures of the Siberian platform (Tunguska syncline, Nepa arch, Cheremkhovo and Priangarie depressions), as well as in the fold belts framing the platform from the south and southeast (Baikal-Patom, Dzhida-Vitim, etc.). These structures and belts formed under the influence of plate tectonic and plume tectonic processes. This article describes the clusters of mineral deposits of the Angara, Sayan, Baikal and Transbaikalia regions. Currently, the most developed are the clusters located in the southern part of the study area (Shilka, Argun, Yeravnino, etc.). In the northern part (Mama-Bodaibo, etc.), the clusters have been either partially developed within the existing mining areas or are at the initial stage of development. In these territories, the road infrastructure, power supply and other facilities required for mining industry are either underdeveloped or lacking. Prospects for the regional development are related to the economic development of the territories adjacent to the Baikal-Amur railroad (BAM) and hydrocarbons production in the zone near the East Siberia – Far East oil pipeline. On the Siberian platform, mineral deposits formed during the stages of formation of its basement (Aldan, Anabar, and Sharyzhalgai shields) and platform cover (Tunguska syncline, and Nepa-Botuoba anticline). Within the fold frame, ore formation was associated with subduction, spreading, collision, and plume tectonic intraplate settings. To start the development of small-size deposits and mining of technogenic raw materials, it is advisable to establish exploration and production enterprises that can operate and manage expeditions and use compact ore-dressing plants.

Methodological bases of mineral resource potential assessment: international and Russian experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 61-70
Author(s):  
I.G. Burtseva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resource ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Resource Potential

Тhe paper considers the main approaches to the valuation of mineral deposits. The valuation of mineral resources is widely used in countries with developed mining industry, such as the USA, Canada, Australia, etc. Monitoring the value of mineral assets allows you to track current changes in their structure and serves as a basis for the fair withdrawal of mining rent. The methods of financial and economic evaluation of mineral deposits are based on the standard methodology for investment projects assessment. The most widely used is the net present value method, which is used only for the estimation of commercial reserves. The resource assessment can be carried out using comparative methods and be used to improve the infor-mativeness of the assessment. The paper reviews the methods used to access the mineral resource potential of Russian regions, forms of statistical observation, and standards of the Russian Society of Appraisers. Contemporary Russian legislation in the field of mineral raw material valuation is based on international experience, where the main valuation method of mineral assets is the method of net present value. With the approval in 2017 of the statistical form "Information on the current market value of mineral reserves”, official annual data on the value of mineral raw materials in the subsurface appeared in Russia for the first time. The methodology for assessing the mineral resource potential of the region should include such stages as ranking mineral deposits according to their investment attractiveness, evaluating selected deposits with approved reserves using the net present value method with determining the budget efficiency of projects, and evaluating the gross potential value of resources of promising mineral resource objects.

scholarly journals The regionalization of territorial combinations of mineral deposits and mining territories of Ukraine

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resource ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Mineral Raw Materials ◽  
Current State

The purpose of the article is using the data of Geoinform of Ukraine on the current state of the mineral resource base of the country, to regionalize its territory by combining explored mineral deposits and production-territorial complexes formed on their basis with a mineral raw material orientation. Research results. The article is written in the context of the constructive-geographical direction of studying the geography of mineral resources, which has been developing in the last decades in Ukraine. In particular, three approaches to regionalization of territorial combinations of mineral deposits are compared and analyzed: geological, economic-geographical and mining, which will contribute to their interconnection in characterizing the mineral-raw materials complexes of individual regions. The authors’ own interpretations of discussion definitions of mining terminology are proposed. Based on the results of previous studies and taking into account the current state of the mineral resource base, economic-geographical and mining zoning of the territory of Ukraine has been carried out for groups of explored mineral deposits. Within Ukraine, four mineral resource zones are allocated: Prydniprovsko-Pryazovska, Eastern Ukrainian, Donetsko-Slovianska and Prykarpatska, as well as several territorially separate structures: Zakarpatskyi, Lvivsko-Volynskyi, Podilskyi, Kerchenskyi, Krymskyi macrodistricts, Zhytomyrskyi and Pobuzkyi districts. A detailed description of the mineral and raw material specifications of these structures and their constituent parts, the features and prospects of their exploitation, the formation of territorial-production complexes of mineral and raw materials orientation are submitted. Scientific novelty. For the first time, various approaches to the regionalization of territorial groupings of mineral deposits and mining territories are compared, the basic definitions of mining regionalization are presented, and on this basis their own variant of zoning the territory of Ukraine on mineral resources is proposed. Practical value. The economic, geographical and mining zoning of the territory of Ukraine according to the forms of concentration of mineral deposits and mining areas will help create the scientific basis for optimizing the structure of the mining industry, ensuring the effective use of mineral raw materials, and developing the country's raw material complex.

CEO letters: Social license to operate and community involvement in the mining industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca de-Miguel-Molina ◽  
Vicente Chirivella-González ◽  
Beatriz García-Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Social License To Operate ◽  
Social License
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