Gold Fields to create digitally connected mine with ABB

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The collaboration will enable Gold Fields to connect and coordinate its operators, workforce, equipment and mining activities at Granny Smith in real time.

Gold Fields began launching the project last year to increase Granny Smith’s production throughput.

Now, it is engaging ABB and ETP to build the integrated business process and achieve a fully connected mine, according to Gold Fields technical service manager Michael Place.

“The system architecture has been designed to allow deployment across various operations both open pit and underground,” Place said.

“This deployment will be the major phase of the technology strategy for the Granny Smith and will be a pilot for integrated platforms across Gold Fields Australia.”

ABB Australia head of industrial automation process industries Stuart Cowie said digital transformation and Industry 4.0 were huge opportunities for the sector.

“This partnership underlines ABB’s commitment to ensuring Industry 4.0 concepts influence its product roadmaps into the future and demonstrates the significant value that can be delivered to customers through interoperability and automation across both processes and systems,” Cowie said.

“It will give ABB valuable insights into digital transformation and Industry 4.0 concepts for mining. Through our work with the ERDi TestLab, the platform has become an even more powerful tool with reliable real-time access to operational data.”

ABB has also teamed up with UWA to launch its new Energy and Resources Digital Interoperability Industry 4.0 (ERDi i4.0) TestLab.

The TestLab will advance open process automation standards to digitalise Australian mines.

This initiative will allow for off-site laboratory testing at mines to test the efficacy of the technology without disturbing mining activities.