Mining and electronics - an overview with reference to a NALCO mine, India

摘要

Mineral demand explosion has led to the needs for higher production, improved productivity and O.M.S. Reliable communication system has become essentially required to support business. In this post industrial age, technology (technique + structure) has been rapidly changing aiming at safe production i.e. accident free mining to get result in quality- ore production at least cost in environment-friendly way so as to survive in competition. After the onset of the industrial revolution, the modes of our industrial production processes and social behaviour etc. had been following a certain pattern. However, over the last few decades, Internet revolution and the information technology have provided a new dimension to many spheres of human activity. At the dawn of this new millennium, we are on the threshold of IT revolution. Mining being the mother industry, provides base for all successes, Therefore, smart mining needs support of advanced technologies. Electronics is the prime mover for development. Mining industry' has incorporated technologies like GPS based truck dispatch system (TDS) in opencast mines, micro processor in blast hole drills, thyrestercontrolled A.C. synchronous motor in long distance cable belt conveyor with programmable logic control (PLC), computerized mine planning, IT and computers for MIS, mine survey by EDM, OFC for telecommunication. Also, walkie-talkies for field co-ordination etc. are the specific use of electronics in mining. Thus, this paper deals with the use of electronics in mining, accrued benefits and with some suggestions for the future.