Some mines in the next decade will run without humans and instead rely on robots, virtual models and sensors, according to Anglo American Plc.
Anglo is betting on technology, such as computerized drills with “chiseling ability as good as a human” to increase productivity, cut costs and reduce environmental impact, Tony O’Neill, technical director at Anglo, said at the Mines and Money conference in London.
“The industry that everybody currently knows will be unrecognizable” in five to seven years, O’Neill said. With mining processes automated, Anglo’s “employee of the future” will only need to focus on managing the company’s relations with governments and communities that live near its mines, he said.
Anglo operates some of the world’s most valuable copper deposits and employs 87,000 workers from South Africa to Chile.
Bots, or software that can execute instructions, will be increasingly important in underground mining, O’Neill said. Small and self-learning, the technology requires less infrastructure than current methods, and commercial application is five to seven years away.
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