Embracing new
technology is not new to PYBAR as evidenced by our current drive towards
increased automation.
Chief Technology
Officer, Andrew Rouse, says the company’s approach has always been to get the
basics right using traditional means and then adding technology to enhance our
capabilities. This guiding principle is being applied to several current
automation projects.
New Cat® R1700
underground loaders being deployed at Dargues Gold Mine are undergoing staged
testing that will result in them moving towards improved automation in early
2020.
Testing has featured the use of Cat’s next generation Command technology, which includes Traction Control and Autodig, where the machine digs the load instead of the operator. Both technologies have made an impact with full buckets consistently being achieved.
The next step in the process will involve setting up tele-remoting from the surface in time for stoping in early 2020.
Another project
has seen PYBAR collaborate with Emesent to test automated drones at the Dargues
and Woodlawn operations.
LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging) and SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping)
technology is used to track the drones underground and keep them away from
obstacles.
The trials have
delivered some favourable outcomes; among them the swift processing of
information gathered by the drones. The technology has great potential and PYBAR
is investigating how best it can be applied to our business.