The Global Mining Automation Market

The global mining automation market is expected to grow at a steady rate during the forecast period. Growing requirement for improving productivity, surging need for worker safety, and the reduction in operating costs are the key factors driving the growth of mining automation market. Moreover, globalization of economics and increasing digitalization of mines further impels the mining automation market growth. Integration of information and operational technologies enables the mining companies to improve mining performances. The key restraints that may hamper the growth of mining automation market are the depletion of natural resources and the reduction in grades at mine sites.

Mining is a process of extracting the mineral and other raw materials from the earth’s crust. Mining technique is divided into two excavation types: surface mining and sub-surface (underground) mining. Underground mining is considered to be more precarious than surface mining due to potential dangers such as adverse health effects, release of toxic gases, collapse, and others. Lack of proper ventilation in sub-surface mining may sometimes led to suffocation. Mining process involves drilling, blasting, loading, hauling and transporting. Automated mining systems have been deployed at a huge rate in underground mines to safeguard mine workers. Applications offered by mining automation market are extraction, transportation, beneficiation, instrumentation, power distribution, and services. Precise measurement, quality, high reliability, optimized processes and monitoring are some of the factors which contribute to environmental protection in global mining automation market.

The global mining automation market is segmented on the basis of technique, type, workflow, and geography. Based on techniques, the global mining automation market is bifurcated into surface mining technique and underground mining technique. The underground mining technique holds the largest mining automation market share, globally. The necessity for advanced automated mining equipment is more for underground mining due to its harmful health effects. On the basis of type, mining automation market is segmented into software, equipment, and communication system.

Workflow segment is divided into mining process, mine maintenance, and mine development. The Hauling mining process segment is attributed for the largest market share. By automating the haulage processes inside a mine contributes certain advantages such as reduced maintenance cost, improved safety and productivity, efficient fuel consumption, and lesser downtime.

Based on geography, the global mining automation market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World. APAC holds the largest share of the mining automation market. This trend owes to the increased use of automated mining equipment globally.

Key players operating in the global mining automation market are Autonomous Solutions Inc., Atlas Copco, Caterpillar, Hitachi, Hexagon, Komatsu, RPMGlobal, Sandvik, MST Global, Trimble, Fluidmesh Networks, Remote Control Technologies, Micromine, Volvo Group, and Symboticware, among others.