Are full-scale digital solutions for small- to medium-sized mining operations talk of the future or have they already become a reality? The OEM agnostic smartQuarry suite by German start-up firm talpasolutions uses automated data acquisition from networked mining machines and analytics tools to help operate the quarry of tomorrow. By Dr Michael Suciu and Alexey Shalashinski, talpasolutions, Germany.
When it comes to quarry operations, who would not be interested in answers to questions such as:
• what route do the dump trucks take?
• how many haulage cycles are needed to meet production targets?
• what are the idle times of the fleet?
• how many tonnes have been hauled?
• what is the volume of fuel consumption?
• when is the next maintenance due?
• are vehicles being driven in a safe manner?
To answer all these questions without having to leave one’s desk requires an intelligent solution.
