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A Holistic Digital Mine 4.0 Ecosystem

Project description

An Industry 4.0 digital twin for the mining industry: optimisation, automation, and robotisation

Over the last couple of decades, digital twins – virtual representations of real-world entities or processes – have allowed sectors from manufacturing and supply chain logistics to healthcare and retail to test and predict the behaviours of the ‘real’ twin in many scenarios. They support well-informed decision making that enhances product performance, process efficiency, and/or human safety to name only a few. The ambitious EU-funded Mine.io project will extend the application of digital twinning to the mining industry. The manufacturing system architecture in a cloud environment will enable enhanced systematisation of mining industry processes, automation and robotisation of mining exploration and production processes, and sustainable mining and post-mining management.

Objective

In the context of industrialization, informatization and sustainable development of the mining sector, Mine.io solution will build a novel mining digital ecosystem and a systemic structure for the implementation of Industry 4.0 in mining industrial environments. Mine.io solution will embrace the whole mining value chain from resources’ exploration, extraction, and processing to waste management and post mining activity. Our fundamental concept is the provision of a manufacturing system architecture, under cloud environment, to be applied in the digital twin mining “shop floor”. Mine.io envisions an innovative cloud services system and a novel mining ecosystem of sharing, interconnection, and open cooperation. Mine.io will establish a unified data infrastructure and collaborative platform ecosystem to promote the openness and sharing of data and improve the cooperation environment between mining enterprises. Mine.io aims the enhanced systematization of the basic processes of the mining industry, that involve asset and process equipment optimization, through embedded predictive analytics, and optimization procedures based on completely data-driven processes and the integrated cyber-virtual and cyber-physical systems, automation and robotization of mining exploration and production processes, sustainable mining, and post mining management. To meet the increasing social and environmental concerns, Mine.io will enable a resource optimization and digital transformation framework, embedding specific circular economy and “low-impact mining” strategies. Energy innovations, including the transition to autonomous electric vehicles, will lead to socially conscious profit, while creating a safer and cleaner environment for front-line workers, including higher air quality for those working underground. Mine.io ecosystem will be validated in different demonstration sites, involving 4 operational mine facilities and 2 historic mine sites, in 5 EU countries.

Coordinator

GFT ITALIA SRL
Net EU contribution
€ 335 462,51
Address
VIA SILE 18
20139 Milano
Italy

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Region
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
€ 479 232,15

Participants (25)