Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
- AI tools can predict equipment breakdowns and flag unsafe behaviour underground in real time.
- Local firms like PROXICOM are building AI systems designed for South Africa’s tough mining conditions.
South African mines are turning to artificial intelligence to stop rockfalls and other dangers before they happen.
For more than a century, mines have measured success by tonnes dug, metres drilled and shifts worked. Those numbers still matter, but they no longer decide which mines survive.
Intelligent sensors can now detect dangers such as rockfalls before they turn deadly. Computer vision can also spot unsafe behaviour on site while it happens, giving managers a chance to step in before someone gets hurt, iAfrica reported.
Mining bosses have always been cautious about new technology, and for good reason. A wrong decision underground can cost a worker’s life.
But that caution has also slowed down tools that could make mines safer and more productive at the same time. When prices drop, many mines respond by cutting jobs, delaying maintenance and pausing expansion.
AI offers another way. Predictive maintenance can warn managers when equipment is about to fail. Digital models of ore bodies help companies understand what lies underground before they drill. Together, these tools cut down on unexpected stoppages and give managers real time information about what is happening on site.
The shift to AI is also opening doors for South African tech companies. Mining technology used to be controlled only by large multinational firms. Now smaller, local businesses, including PROXICOM, are proving they can build AI and computer vision systems designed for the tough conditions found in South African mines.
AI only delivers value when a mine has reliable data and a disciplined plan to use it.
Pictured above: A mine.
Image source: Pexels
