Whether it is providing in-depth safety information or alerts, or even exploring flooded mining sites, the use of robotics has skyrocketed in the world of mining over the last few years.

One of the ways in which the use of robotics has helped change the underground mining industry in recent years can be seen in the area of exploring flooded mines for rare minerals.

Flooded Mines And Rare Minerals

Throughout Europe and a lot of other areas in the world, there are countless abandoned mines that have ended up becoming flooded over time. There are roughly 8,500 of these mining sites in Europe alone.

These abandoned and flooded mines have found themselves being evaluated because of a recent policy in Europe related to fostering a sustainable supply of localized raw materials. As such, a lot of eyes have turned to these old, abandoned mines to see what their mineral potential is. However, exploring these flooded mines using standard methods would result in increased investments for safety as well as technology without a promised return on investment. This is where robotics is helping change the mining industry.

There are a few mining companies that are using robotics to help aid in evaluating these abandoned, flooded mines to get a better read on their mineral potential without the exasperated costs of sending in an exploration team.

These robots can also help reevaluate the potential of old mines that were shuttered because they were tapped of everything the technology of the time could get out of them. However, our modern technology and mining methods could bring renewed potential to these sites. Robotic technology can help assess the potential of these mines for a fraction of the cost and time investment of setting up a full site and exploring them with traditional methods.

This post was written by Justin Tidd, Director at https://beckersmcusa.com/. For nearly a half a century, Becker Mining has been at the forefront of industry safety. Becker/SMC is the industry’s leader in increasingly more sophisticated electrical control systems. Most of the major innovations, design features and specialized electrical components have been developed by Becker/SMC.