The world faces a conundrum as demand climbs for the minerals necessary to manufacture batteries. The expansion of a renewable energy infrastructure and electrification necessary to save the environment has as its main source of material an industry with a terrible environmental track record.
A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the demand for minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel for renewable energy uses such as batteries will double or quadruple by 2040. Compared to a conventional vehicle that uses less than 50 kg of minerals, electric cars need more than 200 kg, according to the IEA. Although renewable energy technologies are presented as more sustainable than their fossil fueled counterparts, there’s increasing concern about the lack of sustainability in the materials needed to reduce our carbon footprint.
There are, however, ways to lessen mining’s negative impact and tightening operational efficiency is one way to accomplish this. The rise of new industry technologies like 3D modeling and X-ray vision is promising to enable mining with less energy and waste and to provide safer working conditions in the mines.
Optics company ZEISS launched Mineralogic 3D software in November, providing automated quantitative mineralogy to boost industry productivity. The software provides a virtual 3D model that strips away material to reveal desirable minerals and their ores as well as determine what it would take to excavate them. This gives geologists a better understanding of the composition and mineral relationships of the ore samples.
“ZEISS Mineralogic 3D has the potential to be a game-changer for our customers, especially as requirements for new energy production and storage will ultimately require even higher yields from commodities,” said Allister McBride, head of Materials Research Marketing at ZEISS Research Microscopy Solutions. “Greater efficiency and a faster time to results will be paramount. The intelligence built into these platforms enables the automation that has the potential to liberate individuals and organizations from arduous, time-consuming tasks, freeing them to be more strategic and productive.”
ZEISS Mineralogic 3D is designed to maximize the efficient recovery of deposits by giving miners more detailed information about the ore bodies. The software was developed based on the ZEISS Xradia 3D X-ray microscope and microCT platforms using ZEISS DeepRecon Pro. It relies on machine learning protocols to recognize target mineral particles when bound within and around other particles within an ore sample. Once a sample is identified, the system analyses each particle for modal mineralogy, volume, porosity, Feret dimensional measurements, association and liberation requirements. The software yields a 3D view of each particle and data that can guide miners’ decision making. By using X-ray, the technology also functions without disturbing the samples, which could be important for sensitive samples such as meteorites or samples that potentially have significance for geological research.
“The arrival of a rapid scanning 3D system for mining and metallurgical applications opens the next chapter in process mineralogy,” said James Strongman, technical director for geometallurgical lab Petrolab Ltd in the UK. “For our critical and precious metals projects, which are absolutely vital in the shift to low carbon, this will be a step change, as they are typically hosted in low-grade ores. It has been notoriously difficult to get robust datasets from traditional techniques. ZEISS Mineralogic 3D is going to make those issues a thing of the past.”
According to B2B digital solutions marketplace company Axora, real-time 3D imaging for mining results in a 2 percent increase in recovery of high-grade minerals. Additionally, the technology reduces the need for explosives, enhances drilling and blasting accuracy, increases production, improves ore recovery, improves waste sorting, and extends the life of mining equipment.
ZEISS Mineralogic 3D is part of a push to increase mining efficiency, sustainability and safety to meet the booming need for resources. Earlier this year, an international consortium funded by the European Commission began an initiative to advance 3D and X-ray imaging technologies, particularly for European copper and gold miners, to help bolster mining yields on the continent with less waste and environmental impact. However, most mining of rare earth minerals for renewable energy production occurs in China, Vietnam, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, the U.S. and Greenland. Europe produces about 3 percent of rare earth minerals while consuming 20 percent.
The X-MINE project grew out of the European Commission’s desire to bridge the gap between the rare earth mineral supply and demand for those minerals in Europe through sensing technologies and 3D ore deposit modeling used at four existing mining operations in Sweden, Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus that targeted zinc, lead, silver, gold and copper. The project’s sensing technologies are designed to help enhance mineral exploration and extraction efficiency, lowering the need for blasting. The sensors will also reduce the energy, water, chemicals and human labor needed for processing the minerals.
The X-MINE project also uses an X-Analyser tool, which harnesses 3D imaging and X-ray analysis to drill a core sample and analyze it within 30 minutes. This way, geologists can determine the composition of the ore without taking samples off-site. This allows for more precise blasting of sites and less energy consumption, transportation costs and carbon emissions. Another tool used is the X-AnalySorters, which provides automated ore identification and sorting using 3D and X-ray imaging. A prototype tool demonstrated high accuracy in sorting waste rock from ore. Combined, the two tools could reduce transport costs by 20 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 30 percent.
Other companies are ramping up their 3D modeling technology to take mining to the next level. For example, Australia-based Orica recently announced its OREPro 3D blast modeling software, which can accurately model blast movement. Orica hopes to provide its mining partners with a better tool for separating ore from waste by showing where rock masses land after a blast.
The need for technological advances in the mining industry goes beyond rocks. A team from the University of Queensland, the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, Plotlogic Pty Ltd, Citic Pacific Mining and AngloGold Ashanti collaborated to develop a hyperspectral imaging OreSense system to generate terrain and ore grade maps that could pave the way for autonomous mining excavators. The system contains a camera and a VLP-16 LiDAR scanner to create 3D point clouds of the area to be mined.
Even a health technology company, Singular Health, is delving into advanced mining tech. The company has tweaked its medical virtual reality software for a 3D mine modeling system with virtual reality headsets through a partnership with FlowCentric Technologies, a mining supply business.
“The ability to visualize, in near real-time, on-site data from sensors and core imagery, on a mobile device will revolutionize the mining industry and bring a new life to 3D mining visualization,” said Elliot Cooper, project lead developer at Singular Health.
These and other technologies may be a step in the right direction to make mining more environmentally sustainable and help reach decarbonization targets. They could also play a critical role in bolstering safety. Mining is still considered one of the most dangerous professions, with injuries occurring from cave-ins, explosions and poor air quality. To make the occupation safer, drones are being used to survey areas and automated machinery can relieve humans from some of the riskier labor. In addition, wearables equipped with Internet of Things (IoT), radio frequency identification (RFID) and GPS devices can assist with location tracking and, in the worst cases, can also get help to workers in emergencies.