Intelligent Mining Development Spearheads Progress in the Energy Industry

China Energy has promoted in-depth integration of traditional industries and information technology and constantly advanced intelligent mining, injecting new momentum into high-quality development. To date, it has built 65 intelligent coal mining faces, 45 intelligent excavation faces, and 18 intelligent coal-dressing plants. Fifty-five percent of its fixed posts have realized unmanned operations, and the coverage rate of intelligent technologies has reached 85 percent. Moreover, it has completed the coal industry’s first underground mine fully covered by 5G+UWB signal, and become the first to release results in commercial use of Harmony OS in the industrial sector, pushing forward the continual upgrading of traditional industries.

Entering the ‘Internet+’ Fast Lane

5G base stations and cell phones that meet MA certification have been widely used in the tunnels as deep as 400 meters underground at Wuhai Energy’s Laoshidan Coal Mine. It has been commonplace that workers use mobile instant messaging apps to carry out real-time communication between aboveground and underground, and conduct remote fault diagnosis and screening. The Harmony OS-based mining system of Shendong Coal has been applied in four mines, six scenarios, 20 kinds of equipment, and 398 application units. Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. (Ningxia Coal) has used cutting-edge technologies such as virtual cloud computing, big data analysis, intelligent patrolling, thin-seam automatic mining, and production-assisting automatic control in pilot coal mines such as Jinfeng and Hongliu, accumulating rich and precious experience in practice.

New Changes Brought by Unmanned Operations

Shendong Coal has employed 153 mining robots in 21 categories, saving 380 human laborers in the fixed posts of its main operation system. Wuhai Energy has achieved unmanned operations in 53 fixed posts and completed the intelligent transformation of Luotuoshan Coal-Washing Plant, reducing 183 human laborers. Unmanned operations are already available to 60 percent of fixed posts in Shenhua Guoneng Group Co., Ltd. After intelligent transformation, 11 coal-washing plants of Ningxia Coal have realized centralized intelligent control, with the average number of workers each shift reducing from 30 to 7 and the unmanned operation rate of fixed posts reaching 80 percent.

In February 2022, the first set of intelligent underground mine online self-cleaning integrated water supply and purification equipment was put into operation at No.22407 mechanized workface in Bulianta Coal Mine of Shendong Coal. Wuhai Energy is rewarded with tangible benefits for advancing intelligent transformation: Its monthly excavation progress increases by 1.5 times, with working efficiency enhanced by 3.5 times; its automatic coal mining rate reaches 60 percent, with working efficiency enhanced by three times; all of its fixed posts realize “one operator for several sets of equipment”, increasing the working efficiency by three times.

Uncovering the Veil of Intelligent Open-pit Mines

Yanbao Energy aligns intelligent mining with local climate, filling the voids in the field of unmanned mining equipment for ultra-cold areas. Zhungeer Energy has put into use an automatic driving system to achieve unmanned loading, transporting and unloading of dump trucks in its mines, significantly increasing the working efficiency. The 220-ton autonomous mining truck developed by Shenyan Coal passed state-class quality authentication at the end of 2021 as China’s first unmanned mining truck mass application project.

At present, Zhungeer Energy under China Energy has become the intelligent mining enterprise equipped with the most unmanned mining trucks of the most diverse brands and types. The unmanned mining trucks grouped operation demonstration project in the ultra-cold environment and the 5GSA open-pit coal mine automatic driving project launched by Yanbao Energy are both the first of their kind in the world.

Rebirth of an Old Coal Enterprise

At the end of 2016, Wuhai Energy started an arduous reform to integrate production and mining and promote the “one mine, one working face” operational mode, with an aim to streamline the production system, strengthen labor management, and advance intelligent mining.

In 2022, China Energy put forward the goal of achieving “five 100%” in terms of intelligent mining, namely 100% coverage of intelligent mining technology, intelligent working faces, intelligent excavation faces, intelligent coal-dressing plants, and unmanned operations of fixed posts, setting a good example for the development of intelligent mining in China.