Technology leads renowned mine site on smarter, safer path

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows staff members working at Daye Iron Mine in Huangshi, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 2, 2023.(Xinhua/Yuan Quan)

WUHAN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- When it comes to mining, many people may think of it as a dirty, labor-intensive and dangerous industry. But the situation is quite different in Huangshi, an industrial city in central China, as mining here relies on unmanned machines, remote monitoring technologies and intelligent coordination systems.

Dressed in a blue suit and a white T-shirt, Yuan Jianjun, a miner from Daye Iron Mine, was sitting in front of computers in a spacious command center. His eyes were glued to the screens showing live images of underground mining machines and real-time data from sensors placed inside the mine and on the tools.

In the past, Yuan had to perform his job in the middle of roaring machines and a very dusty environment when working underground. "It used to be a challenging job both physically and mentally," Yuan recalled.

The conditions began to change for the better in 2021. After undergoing training, the coal miner who is in his mid-forties resumed his career as a "white-collar" worker. Now, there were remotely-controlled machines to collect minerals operated from an office-like environment.

The use of intelligent technologies has allowed the mining site to reduce the number of people working underground while increasing production levels. The labor efficiency has increased by more than 50 percent, said Tang Xiang, head of the intelligent control center of the iron mine site.

Located in the city of Huangshi in Hubei Province, the Daye Iron Mine is just a dozen kilometers away from the Yangtze River. It used to be Asia's biggest opencast mine. The mouth of its pit area is as large as 150 standard football pitches, stretching over 1.08 million square meters with a depth of 444 meters.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, Daye Iron Mine experienced rapid development, with more than 10,000 workers producing over 5 million tonnes of iron ore a year.

However, after decades of resource exploitation, Huangshi was listed as a resource-exhausted city in 2009. Amid the city's efforts to revitalize the mining industry, local companies also began exploring ways for sustainable growth.

Digital transformation is one of the measures adopted by Daye Iron Mine, as it has the potential to help reduce costs and bolster profits by streamlining work processes and providing greater data insights to drive strategic decisions.

China has stepped up oversight over workplace safety in the mining industry, and using advanced technologies is part of such efforts. Mineral-rich provinces, such as Shanxi and Shandong, are also adopting smart mining practices.

Tech support has also reduced labor intensity and improved safety, enabling more and more mining workers like Yuan to have a safer and healthier working environment than their previous generations.

"It has become a decent job," Yuan said.