Mining Robotics

Abstract

Mining is the process of extracting mineral resources
from the Earth for commercial value. It
is an ancient human activity which can be traced
back to Palaeolithic times (43 000 years ago), where
for example the mineral hematite was mined to
produce the red pigment ochre. The importance
of many mined minerals is reflected in the names
of the major milestones in human civilizations:
the stone, copper, bronze, and iron ages. Much
later coal provided the energy that was critical
to the industrial revolution and still underpins
modern society, creating 38% of world energy
generation today. Ancient mines used human and
later animal labor and broke rock using stone
tools, heat, and water, and later iron tools. Today’s
mines are heavily mechanized with large
diesel and electrically powered vehicles, and rock
is broken with explosives or rock cutting machines.