The stage at the 2018 Disrupt Mining live finale. Courtesy of #DisruptMining
Anaconda Mining, Andritz and Voith Turbo will have their shot at a $1-million investment from Goldcorp at the Disrupt Mining live finale during PDAC.
The three companies were announced as the finalists who will pitch Goldcorp chairman Ian Telfer, University of British Columbia mining engineering student Jacob Yeung, KPMG global head of mining consulting Katie Valentine, Chrysalix Venture Capital founder and managing partner Wal van Lierop, and Sue Paish, the CEO of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster.
“These finalists demonstrate break-through thinking and help build digital momentum in mining,” said Todd White, Goldcorp’s chief operating officer and executive vice-president of operations. “The industry needs to help accelerate the development of these kinds of technologies.”
The live finale will take place on Sunday, March 3.
Related: Creating a simulation, or “digital twin,” of a plant or piece of equipment can help operators prepare for any eventuality
Anaconda Mining will pitch its two-stage drilling method, called Sustainable Mining by Drilling (SMD) which it says will make the mining of narrow-vein deposits more economic. The technology was developed in collaboration with Newfoundland’s Memorial University.
Andritz will present on its ability to train artificial intelligence to operate a mineral processing facility by using its digital twin. Andritz trains the AI platform to respond to multiple situations, which it said makes it capable of handling changing inputs, and improving upset recovery time.
Voith Turbo will showcase its IoT application Beltgenius, which creates a digital twin of belt conveyors to offer real-time insight into the operation’s behavior. The information Beltgenius collects can identify potential risks and inefficiencies to the belt, Voith said, which can reduce downtime, improve energy efficiency, and allow for predictive maintenance.
The competition’s six semi-finalists, announced in mid-January, developed technologies around improving site security, reusing mine tailings and modular mining vehicles.
