In one of the most recent episodes of the Satellite World Briefing, John McCann, Director of Natural Resources & Telecom Practices at SES discussed the digital transformation occurring within the mining industry. From autonomous equipment and remote operations to IT/OT convergence and multi-orbit architectures, John talked about how satellite connectivity is enabling more effective, connected, and data-driven mining operations in some of the world’s most remote locations.
Satellite World Briefing (SWB): Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at SES? How does your role connect to the mining industry?
John McCann (JM): My name is John McCann, and SES recently decided that there are certain industries we need to learn more about and better understand where the value is with regard to what we do, which is satellite connectivity. As a result, SES started an entirely new department called the Practices team, and I run the mining practice.
SWB: Since mining is one of the oldest industries and is currently undergoing a digital transformation, what are some of the biggest technology shifts you are seeing across mining operations today?
JM: That’s a big question.
One of the biggest shifts I’m seeing right now is that mines have been adopting technology for a very long time. They’ve been adopting technology in a very tactical way, solving one problem at a time by implementing technologies that address specific challenges. Whether it’s information technology involving data collection and analysis, or operational technologies that support drilling, blasting, and production activities, mines have been implementing these solutions for years.
The big shift today is not introducing new technology. The big shift is figuring out how to bring all of these separate technologies that have been accumulated over the past 10 to 20 years into a unified management and visibility structure. Mining companies want to be able to see what’s happening across the entire mine from anywhere.
SWB: Many sites operate in extremely remote locations. Why is satellite connectivity becoming an important part of the communications infrastructure for these operations?
JM: If we go back to what I said before about information technology and operational technology, all of these technologies require data to be transmitted from the mine to another location, whether that’s a private cloud or a public cloud.
The amount of information being generated is increasing every time a new technology is implemented, a new version is introduced, or new tools are brought in to solve problems. Take sensors as an example. Sensors used in autonomous haulage systems help ensure trucks are operating efficiently. Environmental sensors monitor things like carbon dioxide levels in underground mines. All of these systems are generating data rapidly and in increasing volumes.
Satellite communications are necessary to keep remote mines connected, particularly those located far away from terrestrial network infrastructure. Satellite connectivity supports not only sensors, but also automated systems and collaboration tools like the digital podcast we’re doing right now. Similar software can be used between a mine operations center and corporate headquarters. Digital connectivity supports all kinds of communications, applications, and operational requirements.
SWB: Can you discuss how reliable connectivity is enabling technologies like autonomous equipment, remote operation centers, and real-time monitoring?
JM: That’s another big question.
Before answering, it’s important to understand why these technologies are being implemented. Autonomous equipment, remote operation centers, and real-time monitoring are all designed to ensure mines operate as efficiently as possible and achieve maximum uptime. They help reduce production costs by minimizing downtime and eliminating unnecessary steps in the production process.
Reliable connectivity ensures autonomous equipment, such as autonomous drills and haul trucks, can operate 24/7. It helps ensure not only continuous operation, but highly efficient operation. It also supports predictive maintenance by allowing downtime to be scheduled before a critical failure occurs. For example, it’s far better to schedule maintenance on a truck than to have it break down on the only road carrying ore out of an open pit mine and create a major bottleneck.
Remote operation centers often incorporate digital twins, which are digital representations of everything happening within a mine. These systems allow operators to see exactly what’s happening in real time and make informed decisions about maintenance, production, and operational planning.
Real-time monitoring provides visibility into everything from weather conditions to worker safety. Wearable devices can monitor a worker’s heart rate, detect potential exposure to hazardous substances, and help ensure employees remain safe while performing their jobs. Reliable connectivity is what makes all of these outcomes possible.
SWB: Environmental compliance, labor shortages, and worker safety are just a few challenges mining organizations must deal with. In what ways can improved connectivity help operators address these challenges?
JM: Let’s start with labor shortages.
One reason labor shortages exist is that mining and extractive industries have historically developed a reputation for being dirty, environmentally harmful, and unsafe. While those perceptions were often accurate decades ago, the industry has changed significantly. However, some of that reputation still remains.
Technology has played a major role in improving worker safety and environmental compliance. Many of the technologies deployed today were originally implemented specifically to address these concerns.
Let’s go back to sensors. Mines use sensors throughout their operations to ensure activities are not negatively affecting the surrounding environment. These sensors continue to play an important role even when a mine reaches closure and enters the reclamation phase. Monitoring systems help ensure that toxic gases, contaminated water, or other harmful environmental impacts do not occur as the site is returned to the surrounding community and ecosystem.
Labor shortages also create operational challenges because there are fewer people available to operate equipment. Technologies such as autonomous haulage systems, drones equipped with radar and LiDAR, and geological monitoring sensors help compensate for workforce shortages. These systems perform tasks that previously required human involvement.
Worker safety remains a top priority. Connected technologies can monitor worker health, track environmental conditions, and help ensure employees are physically capable of performing potentially hazardous tasks. All of these capabilities are supported by reliable connectivity.
SWB: Can you talk about the role multi-orbit connectivity plays in mining operations?
JM: Now that’s a big topic.
Let’s break it down. There are three main orbits for data communications over satellite. There’s the traditional GEO, or geostationary orbit, which provides a very large, wide view of the Earth. It’s lower bandwidth and higher latency, but incredibly reliable. We’ve been using GEO communications for decades, so it’s a very mature and dependable way of communicating.
Then, if we come down to Medium Earth Orbit, or MEO, you get very high bandwidth and near real-time communications. There aren’t many MEO constellations out there, but they do a very good job of bringing carrier-grade connectivity to wherever they’re providing coverage around the planet.
The last one is LEO. LEO is the new kid on the block. It does a really good job supporting what I would call small-to-medium office communications. It’s well suited for applications like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, ERP systems, and other day-to-day business communications.
If we look at it from the perspective of a typical mine and map applications to the different orbits, it starts to fall into place.
Things like IoT sensors that don’t necessarily need real-time updates, or seismic monitoring data from blasting activities, could run over a GEO network. Those types of applications can often be updated every five, 10, or 15 minutes and don’t require real-time communications.
Applications that require large amounts of bandwidth and very low latency, such as autonomous haulage, autonomous drilling, processing systems, and operational technology applications, are a good fit for MEO. These are often high-value machines and systems that depend on near real-time communications.
LEO is often a good fit for office applications and general communications between the mine and headquarters. Teams calls, video conferencing, ERP platforms, and other business applications can operate very effectively over LEO.
The real value of multi-orbit comes from bringing all of those different orbits together into a single architecture, almost like an SD-WAN environment. It ensures that applications running at the mine and at headquarters are using the orbit best suited for what they’re trying to accomplish.
Generally, applications will run over the orbit that makes the most sense for their requirements. But the intelligence behind multi-orbit also provides resiliency. If one service becomes unavailable, applications can be shifted to another orbit and continue operating.
The idea is simple: use the orbit that’s best suited for the application being served.
SWB: How would multi-orbit connectivity help address the challenges associated with IT/OT convergence?
JM: That’s another big question.
Let’s set the stage.
IT is all about taking data, processing data, analyzing data, and presenting data to make better business decisions. That’s its number one purpose, especially in industries like mining and other extractive industries.
OT, or operational technology, is all about machines working with technology to maximize uptime and reduce the cost of production.
The thing that’s been happening is there’s been a lot of fragmentation in the industry because IT has been working on its own things, and OT has been working on its own things. They’re both starting to realize that they need to come together. They have to come together to provide a single visibility. They have to come together to provide a single pane of glass so people across the mining company can look at the entire operation and understand what’s happening.
They can look at the mine and ask, “Is the mine producing today? Is it backed up with tailings? Has it cleared its backlog of material that needs to be processed?” All of those things affect the overall operation of the mining company.
The challenge from an IT/OT convergence perspective has been how to ensure all of these systems can communicate with one another. One of the areas where we’re becoming part of the solution is connectivity.
Reliable connectivity has been a major challenge because all of the IT tools need to get data from the mine and send data back to the mine. At the same time, OT systems and machines need to send data to headquarters and receive information back about how to optimize operations, improve production, or adapt to new directions within the mine.
There’s an enormous amount of data moving back and forth between the two environments, and one of the biggest bottlenecks, especially for remote mines, has been the lack of reliable, high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity when fiber isn’t available.
I was speaking with somebody at a mining event a couple of years ago. Two people came up to me and said, “Interesting connectivity pitch. We thought we could use GEO for everything, and we just bought a $10 million automated drill. It won’t work over GEO because the latency is too high. Would your solution solve that problem?”
Of course, I said yes, but it’s a good example of how connectivity was often treated as a given. For a long time, many CIOs and CTOs in mining didn’t necessarily think about connectivity as a limiting factor when making decisions about IT and OT technologies.
I think that’s changing now because organizations understand there are non-terrestrial options, including satellite, that can solve these problems. We’re helping remove connectivity as a challenge and allowing data to move freely between the mine and headquarters, which is a key part of enabling IT/OT convergence.
SWB: Looking ahead, what role do you think satellite connectivity will play in the future as organizations continue to modernize and expand?
JM: I believe satellite connectivity has come a long way from being viewed as a very boutique form of connectivity. Today, it’s becoming much more mainstream.
We’re not 100 percent there yet. There are still things we’re working on within the satellite industry to fully and seamlessly integrate satellite into the broader fabric of global connectivity, but we’re getting very close.
What’s interesting is that many of the future connectivity concepts people talk about today are already being tested in real-world environments. We’re seeing that in mines, oil rigs, and ships around the world.
In the future, satellite connectivity and the path data takes through satellite networks will become almost indistinguishable from terrestrial connectivity. The business outcomes that depend on that data won’t really care whether the traffic is moving over satellite or fiber.
I see mines, oil rigs, and ships all being connected through multiple forms of connectivity, with satellite being one of those options. Satellite will work alongside other networks, accepting new traffic flows, supporting new applications, and adapting to changing business requirements as needed.
I think it will eventually become even more granular than that. A haul truck could be operating at the bottom of a pit using one type of connectivity. As it moves up the pit, it could transition to another type of connectivity, and by the time it’s unloading material it could be using yet another. That entire process might take only 15 minutes, and satellite could be one of those connectivity options at multiple points along the way.
Ultimately, satellite will simply be viewed as another path for moving data. It will be as natural as part of the communications environment as private 5G inside a mine or public networks connecting the mine to the rest of the world. As long as it meets the requirements of the application, satellite will be considered an equal part of the connectivity ecosystem.
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