How to build green mining for the future?

As a traditional energy-intensive industry, the mining industry is not facing easy challenges in the global energy transition. According to research by consultancy Wood Mackenzie, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from mining activities account for 4 to 7 per cent of total global emissions, a figure that cannot be ignored. In addition to high energy consumption and high emissions, the mining industry can often involve environmental pollution, water shortages and biodiversity problems.

In fact, the rapid growth of the mining industry is closely linked to the rise of renewable energy technologies around the world. The International Energy Agency reports that as the world shifts to renewable energy technologies, demand for important minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel could increase by nearly 500% by 2050. It can be seen that accelerating the green transformation of the mining industry is also an important way to "promote green with green".

Digitalisation and electrification: powerful engines driving mining transformation

In the process of green transformation of the mining industry, innovation is a crucial driving force. The mining industry must not only optimize its own energy strategy, but also align with stakeholders on carbon reduction goals. Digital and electrification technologies are playing a central role in this process, enabling mining to achieve unprecedented efficiency gains, operational flexibility and environmental friendliness.

First, the digital and electrification transition is driving the widespread adoption of renewable energy in the mining industry, which can significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with the mining industry and reduce the impact of volatile fossil energy prices. Mining companies can also use smart grids to precisely control when and how they use electricity, better manage energy consumption and reduce waste, and improve the safety and independence of energy use.

The digital transformation of the mining production process itself is particularly important. Using technologies such as sensors, data analytics, iot devices and artificial intelligence can help mining companies optimize operations and increase automation, creating a "smart mine" where data-driven decisions are made. Technologies such as remote monitoring and artificial intelligence can also help reduce the risk of accidents and environmental pollution, and improve safety while minimizing environmental hazards caused by mining, thereby significantly improving sustainability.

From consulting to landing, to create integrated solutions for mining transformation

As a global expert in digital transformation in energy management and automation, Schneider Electric has been actively helping to drive sustainable transformation in the mining industry. To address the many challenges of this process, Schneider Electric takes a holistic view and integrates its expertise in power, process, digital design and execution capabilities to provide integrated energy management and process automation solutions for the mining industry "from consulting to landing".

With such comprehensive solutions, mining companies can accelerate decarbonization by integrating more renewable energy sources on the one hand, and increase production efficiency through data analytics, artificial intelligence and automation on the other. In addition, companies can take advantage of Schneider Electric's expertise in top design, lean consulting, artificial intelligence and digital consulting, and sustainability consulting to pre-plan a future-oriented construction or transformation roadmap.

Take mineral processing as an example, which is the most energy-intensive stage in the mining industry. In particular, the mineral crushing process, whose energy consumption accounts for about 60% of the total energy consumption of the entire mine, has become the focus of energy consumption optimization. The key challenge is that mining companies need to optimize energy consumption while maintaining or even increasing production, rather than simply reducing or shutting down production.

Schneider Electric is able to provide mining companies with a cost-effective solution to reduce energy consumption at multiple levels.

In beneficiation, by eliminating low-grade sub-economic wastes at the pre-treatment stage, unnecessary further processing of these wastes can be avoided, thereby improving energy efficiency, which can be achieved through the digital transformation of beneficiation processes. Specifically, by establishing a centralized data platform, a large number of meaningful mineral processing data is collected, and these data are integrated with the data of the downstream treatment plant to provide a basis for data analysis and optimization. Through this initiative, the mineral processing capacity can be increased by 4% to 6% while reducing energy consumption by 10% to 15%.

At the same time, technological approaches such as advanced process control (APC) can also be used to optimize the grinding process. Due to the inherent complexity of the grinding process, this process is often not performed under optimal operating conditions. In order to solve this multivariable problem, the introduction of advanced process control and optimization technology can increase production while reducing energy consumption. In addition, these initiatives help improve the uniformity of particle size distribution, standardize operations across functions, and minimize process instability.

For example, under changing ore and process conditions, operators often choose to perform grinding operations within a "safe zone" of operating conditions to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime of mill equipment. However, this conservative operation strategy is difficult to maximize production. In this case, adaptive advanced process control systems can use machine learning algorithms to predict and model operating conditions and optimize process constraints to adapt to different ore and process conditions, increasing production and reducing energy consumption while ensuring production continuity.

In addition, improvements in production and energy efficiency, as well as return on investment, can be measured and evaluated through a consultative approach, thus providing a reference for subsequent production strategy adjustment and technological transformation measures. This process not only helps stakeholders agree on the transformation process and solution framework, but also lays the foundation for a long-term response to industry change and continuous improvement.

Today, sustainability is at the heart of strategy and innovation in the mining industry, a shift not only in response to increasingly stringent compliance requirements, but also to ensure that mining companies remain competitive and viable over the long term. Looking ahead, with the growing demand for mineral raw materials needed for green technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, the trend towards green development and sustainable transformation of the mining industry will become even more significant, and companies must be prepared for this.