A role of information technology in geotechnical and mining engineering for the past, present, and future

Abstract

In this paper, the development of information technology is divided into three parts: 1975- 2000 (past), 2000-2025 (present), and beyond 2025 (future). During the last century, mainframes were considered topmost in terms of processing power. However, with the evolution of personal computers and laptops, computational power has increased in an exponential manner, and at the same time cost of hardware has dropped substantially. Various tech giants are famous for their specific products, such as Microsoft for their MS Office, Oracle for databases, routers from CISCO, and SAP for ERP. In the mining industry, information technology has always been used as a supportive role in various functions such as exploration, drilling and blasting, production and quality monitoring, financial accounting, inventory management, and dispatch of the minerals. The computer science department or information technology department has become crucial to support all functions in geotechnical and mining engineering. Various exploratory and mine planning software such as Surpac and Data Mine are commonly used for exploration and short to long-term mine planning. With the increase in processing power, even the mobile phone has become a powerful and essential device for communication. With enhanced power of the camera and increased data storage, internet connectivity, several useful applications are developed on mobile phones. Various OEMs have their own software for monitoring mining equipment which has benefited mining companies. In the future, artificial intelligence and machine learning models shall be applied in a geotechnical mining operation to improve productivity, safety, and sustained mining operation.