Intelligent software to decarbonize mining: development of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and integrations with existing GUIs of other software packages

采矿脱碳智能软件：开发图形用户界面 (GUI) 并与其他软件包的现有 GUI 集成

• 批准号: 10045700
• 金额: $ 6.37万
• 依托单位: OPTIMALSLOPE LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Grant for R&D
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10045700
• 关键词: Intelligent; software; decarbonize; mining; development

To achieve net zero by 2050 it is crucial that the mining industry reduces its carbon footprint since mining is one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide, currently emitting around 4.5Gt of CO2 equivalent per year. Most metals needed for clean technologies (e.g. copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium) are extracted by open pit mining. Open pit mines are large excavations made in the ground to mine minerals. The overall steepness of mine slopes (also called pit-walls) has a substantial influence on the carbon footprint of an open pit mine since carbon footprint is broadly proportional to the amount of rock excavated (carbon footprint being due to activities like drilling and blasting, material haulage and handling). OptimalSlope (the innovation) is a new geotechnical software programme which determines optimal pitwall profiles of depth varying inclination so that the overall steepness of the pitwall, from crest to toe, is maximized for the given lithology and rock properties.The benefits brought by OptimalSlope to mine design can be summarised as follows: 1) less waste rock implies reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP) emissions and energy consumption so measurable environmental benefits in terms of mining decarbonisation 2) significant excavation cost reductions for the mine project which increases profitability of the mine and can result in the mining of some deposits to become economically viable 3) reducing the time needed from mining teams for mine design.This project aims to develop a sleek new Graphical User Interface (GUI) featuring functionalities typical of Computer Aided Design programmes with the aim to enable the input of the mine stratigraphy into our software OptimalSlope. Also we want to develop the innovative ability for our GUI to import files produced by existing commercial geotechnical and mining software packages as input data. The new GUI will add a new dimension to our product for its users, bringing a significant step change to the chances of its commercial success.

为了到2050年实现净零排放，采矿业减少碳足迹至关重要，因为采矿业是最大的二氧化碳生产者之一，目前每年排放约4.5 Gt二氧化碳当量。清洁技术所需的大多数金属（如铜、铁、镍、钴、锂）都是通过露天开采提取的。露天矿是在地下进行的大型挖掘，以开采矿物。矿山边坡（也称为坑壁）的整体陡度对露天矿的碳足迹有重大影响，因为碳足迹与挖掘的岩石量大致成比例（碳足迹是由于钻孔和爆破，材料运输和处理等活动）。最佳斜率（创新）是一个新的岩土工程软件程序，它确定深度变化倾斜的最佳坑壁剖面，以便在给定的岩性和岩石特性下，最大限度地提高坑壁从顶部到底部的整体陡度。OptimalSlope为矿山设计带来的好处总结如下：1）减少废石意味着减少全球变暖潜能值（GWP）排放和能源消耗，因此在采矿脱碳方面可衡量的环境效益2）矿山项目的挖掘成本显著降低，这增加了矿山的盈利能力，并可能导致某些矿床的开采在经济上可行3）减少采矿团队进行矿山设计所需的时间。该项目旨在开发一个时尚的新图形用户界面（GUI）具有典型的计算机辅助设计程序的功能，旨在将矿山地层输入我们的软件OptimalSlope。此外，我们还希望开发GUI的创新能力，以导入现有商业岩土工程和采矿软件包生成的文件作为输入数据。新的图形用户界面将为我们的产品为其用户添加一个新的维度，为其商业成功的机会带来重大转变。