Pangang Group was selected into the recommended catalog of the steel industry, and Boonray Technology helped build smart mines

Relying on the rich vanadium-titanium magnetite resources of the Panxi region, Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group, after more than 50 years of development, has become a world leader in the comprehensive utilization of these resources, becoming a leading vanadium producer. The establishment of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group represents a major strategic decision made by the Party and the State to develop Panzhihua's resources, transform the layout of my country's steel industry, and build the Third Front. Since joining Panzhihua Iron and Steel in 2021 to participate in research on remote intelligent applications for mining and transportation equipment, Boray Technology has jointly won numerous awards with Panzhihua Iron and Steel, Huawei, China Mobile, and Nebula Intelligence, among other industry stakeholders.

The China Iron and Steel Association released the review results of the "Recommended Catalog of Intelligent Manufacturing Solutions for the Steel Industry (2022)". The "5G Remote Intelligent Mining in Metallurgical Open-pit Mines" jointly submitted by Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group Mining Co., Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., China Mobile Communications Group Sichuan Co., Ltd., and Chengdu Xingyun Zhilian Technology Co., Ltd. was successfully selected into the recommended list of "Smart Factory Construction (Renovation) Projects".

A total of 73 recommended projects were selected for the 2022 Smart Manufacturing Solutions for the Steel Industry, covering six key areas: smart production, smart factory construction (renovation), smart services, industrial information security, smart operations, and smart equipment. The initiative is dedicated to promoting the integrated application of advanced technologies such as automation, 5G, edge computing, big data, and artificial intelligence in the steel industry, guiding enterprises to deepen the integration of new technologies with manufacturing, developing and strengthening the smart manufacturing service support system, and striving to establish a number of benchmark cases and build an outstanding corporate brand image.

"5G Remote Intelligent Mining in Metallurgical Open-pit Mines" pioneered the field of metallurgical mining in China. A pilot project exploratory and implemented by Panzhihua Iron and Steel, the project utilizes unmanned remote centralized operations at the Zhulan Iron Mine stope of the mining company. The project has implemented intelligent transformation for a YZ-35B rotary drill, a WK-4B electric shovel, and two TR60 mining trucks. A dedicated 5G network, an edge data center, and a remote control center are also deployed to enable remote semi-autonomous unmanned drilling operations in the stope, remote-controlled combined shovel-loading operations, and autonomous mixed-use operations for transport. This project has accumulated valuable experience in addressing the pain points and challenges of metallurgical open-pit mining operations nationwide, achieving three firsts: the world's first unmanned on-site vehicle-shovel-drilling operation and vehicle-shovel collaboration in a metallurgical mine; the world's first application of 5G cloud-network integration for unmanned operations in a mine stope; and the domestic first unmanned operations in a mine stope operating in a high-temperature electromagnetic environment. Furthermore, the project also pioneered two areas of advancement: the domestically leading mixed manned and unmanned vehicle-shovel operations and the integrated application of automatic cable reeling equipment for electric shovels and drills.

The project leader and general manager of the mining company's corporate management department said that being selected into the recommended catalog of intelligent manufacturing solutions for the steel industry is a high recognition of the project's technological exploration and production applications by the market and industry authorities, which has inspired the confidence and determination of mining professionals to continue to advance the construction of digital mines.

The project was reportedly planned in March 2021, implemented in September, and put into trial operation in June 2022. During this period, leaders from Ansteel Group and Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group provided on-site supervision to ensure the high-quality progress of the project. The project has been recognized by the Global Mobile Communications Association as a "China 5G Vertical Industry Application Case," Sichuan Province's "5G + Industrial Internet" benchmark, and second place in the Second Sichuan Province 5G Innovation and Application Competition. It has also attracted peer companies and research institutes such as Magang Nanshan Mine and Changsha Mining Research Institute to Panzhihua for learning and exchange.