Adoption of IOT and AI essential to transform Indian Mining Sector

New Delhi: The benefits and potential applications of AI and IoT are enormous for the mining industry as this industry is still using legacy practices and technologies mentioned Mr. M. Nagaraju, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India in a webinar organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Leveraging IoT & AI in Mining Sector.

Mr. M. Nagaraju mentioned that India is slow to adopt newer technologies as compared to other countries. There is a need for the industry to focus and invest in the technologies, and have collaboration between research bodies and industry. We need to invest in research and applications of AI and IoT for mining as these technologies will be cost-saving leading to more profits; high levels of productivity, improved quality and bring efficiency in the system.  

Dr. Ravi Prakash, Senior Principal and Head of AI/ML and Engineering Data Analytics COE, Infosys Limited, and Mr. Madhu Bharadwaj S, Lead Consultant, Advanced Engineering Group, Infosys Limited in their presentation on Navigate Your Next in Mining - Leveraging Data & Analytics discussed the programs, services and development undertaken by Infosys in leveraging Integrated Product Development; Networking and Communication Engineering; IoT assessment and implementation and incubating emerging technologies. He also discussed vehicle telemetry and operational diagnostics for the mining industry- its business context, approach, and benefits.  

Prof Alok Porwal, Professor and Head, CSRE, IIT Bombay gave an in-depth presentation on AI in Mineral Sector where he deliberated about the challenges and opportunities in the mineral sector; increase in resources; improvement in the viability of mining projects, and harnessing the power of archived data. He discussed the usage of data for streamlining mining operations and processing plants. 

Mr. Anil K. Chaudhary, Chairman, Minerals & Metals Committee, PHD Chamber while giving industry perspective mentioned in India where a lot of mining is happening manually, there is a need to go a step further and leverage AI and IoT for improving mining protecting and bringing inefficiency in this sector. He also mentioned that minerals have been identified as a resource for many sectors of the economy and there will huge demands for minerals in the coming times yet at the same time with the Make in India initiatives, the demand for minerals will grow in the coming times. 

Mr. Naveen Jindal, Co-Chairman, Minerals & Metals Committee, PHD Chamber while proposing a formal vote of thanks to all the delegates and participants lauded the diligent efforts of the government in transforming the working of coal and making it more transparent. Digital mining is a reality now and the sooner we will adopt these technologies, the better it will for the industry. 

Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHD Chamber in his Welcome Remarks complimented the Government of India for announcing bold structural reforms in the Mining sector which have started giving results and we are now on the path towards making India Atma Nirbhar in mining, coal, and steels sectors.While giving a background about the strength of the mining sector in being a strong pillar of the economy, he mentioned that this sector has lagged in the adoption of new technology but the advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer a ray of hope. 

Mr. Sanyal mentioned that AI and IoT will help to facilitate central monitoring and optimizing pit-to-port operations in real-time. Very soon as we start using 5G technology, more applications could be automated. Increasing use of Sensors, Digital Twins, Drones, AI algorithms, Control Systems are some of the examples of new technologies that will help mining companies to reduce manual efforts and errors, increase productivity, speed up decision making, plug gaps in team collaboration, and equipment utilization, address reporting of alarms and reduction of accidents, and better anticipate market demand. AI algorithms streamline ore fragmentation assessment, pre-and post-blast surveys, and site inspections in underground and open-pit mines using satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and 3D maps.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Yogesh Srivastav, Assistant Secretary General, PHD Chamber of Commerce, and was attended by many industry stalwarts around the country. The webinar was followed by a technical session on Leveraging IOT & AI in Mining Sector: Smart Mining 2.0 which was moderated by Mr. Anil K. Chaudhary, Chairman, Minerals & Metals Committee, PHD Chamber and witnessed the deliberations of Mr. Kousik Maiti, Associate Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Mr. Sudip Chaudhuri, Head - Mining Practice, Wipro Limited; Mr. Alok K. Verma, Director - Mining Business, Hexagon Mining, and Dr. Siddhartha Agarwal, Assistant Professor, IIT ISM Dhanbad. The technical session will have the concluding remarks of Mr. Ravi Gupta, Co-Chairman, Minerals & Metals Committee, PHD Chamber. 

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s webinar was supported by Swadesh Green Infra Ltd along with the Annual Sponsors namely DLF India; Multani Pharmaceuticals Ltd; JK Tyre & industries ltd; Marble City; Paramount Cables ltd; SMC Investments and Advisors Limited; Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic; DCM Shriram Industries Ltd; Radico Khaitan ltd; Timberworkz and Synergy Environics Ltd.