Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources, RAS (Moscow, Russia):

Trubetskoy K. N., Academician, Councillor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, e-mail: trubetsk@ipkonran.ru

Since mid-to-late 20th century, open pit mining has been the foremost trend of progress in mining industry in Russia, in spite of increasingly complicating geological and mining conditions and harsh environment in Extreme North, Siberia, Far East and other regions where surface mining expands. Higher efficiency of open pit mining decisively depends on brand-new mining and transportation equipment, manual supervision and automated control of mining and transportation operations, as well as on accelerated implementation and extensive introduction of a unique automated mining control system. The “Intelligent Open Pit” Project is the main objective of evolvement of the open pit mining control technologies. The “Intelligent Open Pit,” i.e. completely automated production supported by “intelligent” technologies of decision-making and single remote dispatching control, with robotic and remotely-operated mining and transportation equipment, rests upon innovative high-technology developments and achievements in telecommunications, geonavigation, radiophysics and biotechnologies. Development of control technologies and design of the “Intelligent Open Pit” will promote safety of mining, effectivization of mine productivity and feasibility of mining in arduous natural and weather conditions in some areas of Russia.

The article is based on the presentation at the Plenary Session of the 3rd International Scientific-Technical Conference “Technology, Mining, Metallurgy–21st Century,” held on 15–16 November, 2012, Saint-Petersburg.