CSIRO's technological innovations towards the mining industry's sustainable future

Mining, like many other industries faces the challenges of needing higher production, improved quality, reduced unit costs and higher safety and environmental standards. This is further compounded by the fact that mineral deposit grades are reducing, deposits are getting deeper and more highly stressed and that generally fewer people are prepared to work on remote mine sites. To overcome these problems, just getting bigger equipment is no longer a viable solution; the way the future mine operates will need to change towards remote/automated operation and smart sensing at the mine face to ensure that a high quality product can be efficiently produced.