Pangang, China Mobile, Huawei and Boonray Technology were selected as GSMA 2022 China 5G Industry Application Cases

Pangang, China Mobile, Huawei and Boonray Technology were selected as GSMA 2022 China 5G Industry Application Cases

In the first quarter of 2022, the "Pangang Mining 5G Remote Mining" project, jointly developed by Pangang Group, China Mobile, Huawei, Boonray Technology and other partners at the Zhulan Iron Mine in Panzhihua, Sichuan, was selected by GSMA as one of the "2022 China 5G Vertical Industry Application Cases". Founded in 1987, GSMA is an industry organization in the global mobile communications field and the organizer of the Mobile World Congress. Its annual "Barcelona Exhibition" held in Barcelona is widely known as the "Oscar" of the ICT field. "We have selected 5G cities, smart manufacturing and smart mines as breakthrough points for the large-scale implementation of 5GtoB... and have selected outstanding application cases to promote them globally and promote large-scale replication, so as to realize the transformation of informatization and automation to digitalization and intelligence in related fields." said Si Han, President of GSMA Greater China.

The "Pangang Mining 5G Remote Mining" project, jointly developed by China Mobile, Huawei, Boonray, and Chuangyuan, is a 5G+ smart mining solution tailored specifically for Pangang Mining's Zhulan Iron Mine. Based on the current status of drilling and mining management at the Panzhihua Iron Mine open-pit mine, and focusing on core development goals such as inherent safety and cost reduction and efficiency improvement, the project addresses three core scenarios: unmanned mining trucks, remote control of electric shovels, and remote control of drilling rigs. Powered by China Mobile and Huawei's 5G and edge computing technologies, the project addresses challenges such as high-definition video, high-bandwidth uplink, and low-latency, high-reliability control commands required for remote control and unmanned operation of open-pit mining equipment. Boonray Technology has enabled autonomous driving of mining dump trucks and remote control of mining trucks and electric shovels. Li Yibing, General Manager of the Corporate Management Department of Pangang Mining Co., Ltd., explained, "Digital transformation is the inevitable path for the future development of Pangang, and especially mining companies. This project is a key component of the company's digital and intelligent transformation of the mine... This project allows our workers to work in a more comfortable environment, in better positions, and with greater dignity."

The Panxi region of Sichuan is one of the richest regions in China and even the world in terms of mineral resources. It is my country's second-largest iron ore region, boasting tens of billions of tons of vanadium-titanium magnetite reserves with extremely high comprehensive utilization value. For a long time, the mining operations of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group Mining Co., Ltd. have faced challenges such as poor working environments and extremely harsh conditions. Mine workers could only return to the city on weekends, and young people were reluctant to work in the mines. The current open-pit mining and transportation process primarily involves drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling. Mining and transportation operations primarily rely on workers operating mobile equipment such as drills, electric shovels, and mining trucks. Due to the harsh working environment (high temperatures and dust), the work is labor-intensive and dangerous, making it difficult to recruit workers for mining and transportation operations. Furthermore, because equipment operation relies heavily on worker experience, overall equipment utilization is relatively low. In response to these situations, in recent years, although some transportation work in mining operations has been solved through socialized means, on the one hand, high-value drilling rigs, electric shovels and other equipment still require experienced workers to operate on-site. On the other hand, the socialized approach only temporarily diverts the problem and does not fundamentally solve the problems of safety in mining and transportation, the "aging" of employees, and "difficulty in recruiting workers". Therefore, mines urgently need new solutions.

Remote control includes remote control systems for mining trucks and electric shovels. These systems collect real-time location, status, and video information from mining trucks and electric shovels, providing control, monitoring, early warning, and task scheduling capabilities. Based on the central control system, the system enables access and monitoring of mining trucks and electric shovels. Furthermore, it provides remote control cabins for related equipment, enabling remote, real-time control of various types of equipment. The remote control center is equipped with a remote cockpit. This remote control and autonomous driving system receives real-time data from all equipment, stores, analyzes, and visualizes the information. It also provides a human-machine interface, enabling remote control of equipment and automatic mining task issuance.

Boonray Technology's remote control center at Pangang Zhulan Iron Mine

The operator can conduct on-site inspections of the mine from a sofa chair.

Monitoring, dispatching and manual intervention in emergencies

On the basis of the current situation, the production application and promotion of 3 drills, 3 shovels and 6 vehicles will be gradually realized in Panzhihua Iron Mine, and a scenario pilot will be carried out in Baima Iron Mine; in 2023, the entire Panzhihua Iron Mine will be covered (16 drilling rigs, 23 electric shovels and 27 mining trucks), and production application promotion will be carried out in Baima Iron Mine; in 2024, the entire Baima Iron Mine will be covered; according to the design progress of Honggenan Mine, relevant scenario practice standards will be incorporated into the design.