The smart mining market is on track for substantial growth in the coming years, a new report by Transparency Market Research has found.
According to the report, the global smart mining market was valued at $US5.98 billion in 2014 and is projected to reach $US22.59 billion by 2024. This equates to a growth rate of almost 15 per cent from 2016 to 2024.
“The global mining industry has witnessed as significant transformation in the past few decades,” the report outlines.
“The prime reason behind such transformation is the introduction of numerous smart mining technologies for carrying out mining operations.
“These smart mining technologies include several automated mining equipment, sensors, RFID tags, and various types of mine monitoring and analytics software.”
Key players in the global smart mining market include Rockwell Automation, Trimble Navigation, Hexagon, Komatsu, Sandvik, Joy Global and Hitachi.
The report stated that introduction of smart technologies not only enabled efficient connectivity among miners but also allowed optimal production and recovery with minimum wastage.
“They are also much safer and environment-friendly as compared to the traditional mining technology,” the report continued.
“Operational costs associated with smart mining technology are also very less as compared with the traditional technology. However, deployment of smart technologies in a particular mine involves very high capital cost.
“Mining companies across the world also lack skilled labour force to successfully run such smart technologies and they are investing aggressively in training their existing workforce in order to ensure efficient operations.”
The smart mining market involves automated equipment, hardware and software.