Opening its Australian office in March 2021, MIRS Robotics is rapidly elevating its local presence, proving why robotics is an important addition to any mine site.
Robotics is becoming more prominent in the global mining industry as companies seek a safer, more efficient and more reliable operation.
MIRS Robotics is the only global company exclusively dedicated to providing robotic solutions to mining and heavy industries. The company is not only championing robotics on an exciting new scale, but is also educating miners of a new operational approach.
MIRS was established because founder Hugo Salamanca saw robotics as a way to improve many of the mining industry processes where safety concerns and repetitiveness were prevalent.
“MIRS started as a sub-project of HighService and, after signing a commercial agreement with KUKA Roboter in 2005, managed to implement its first robotic solution, a base plate replacement machine in the Radomiro Tomic mine in Chile,” MIRS commercial director – Americas Rodrigo Oyabán told Australian Resources & Investment.
MIRS has developed more than 40 solutions for mining and heavy industries. So what are the key applications for robotics in mining?
According to Oyabán, robotic solutions are best suited to mining’s “repetitive and dangerous” tasks.
“Mining is one of the many sectors in which repetitive and high-risk processes account for most of the operation,” he said.
“This justifies the need to protect personnel by implementing robotic solutions and consequently improving process reliability and final product quality, and reducing operational costs.”
MIRS offers robotic solutions to support various aspects of the mining process, with mining, comminution, shipping, refining and smelting the key focus areas for its customers.
Oyabán said the MI robotic sampler was MIRS’ most mature solution.
“The MI robotic sampler is a specially-developed solution for sampling ore concentrate, whether it be from maxi-bags, drums, trucks or trains,” he said.
MIRS’ haul truck washing and haul truck refuelling solutions have been developed in response to mining’s automation movement.
Oyabán said these products “offer a continuous and autonomous operation with the same known benefits of other MIRS solutions”.
MIRS’ Australian office was opened in March 2021 and despite the Chilean company only having a local presence for a short time, it has already been involved in feasibility and test design projects with a few major miners.
“In preparation of a strengthened presence in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, we have been negotiating and forming up our collaborators in the local market, among them are some multinational and globally reputable firms,” Oyabán said.
“We are working on some serious prospects which we believe will yield in the installation of our solutions in Australia – similar systems that are in use across the Americas mining sector.”
If a customer is interested in installing a MIRS product, the company offers a wide range of services to ensure the solution is as specific as possible. This includes design, detailed engineering, factory tests, final acceptance testing and assembly supervision before the product is commissioned.
MIRS also offers after-sale services to support its customers through a product’s life, as well as customer training.
Oyabán said as the global mining industry embraces the need for greater safety and productivity outcomes, robotics was increasing in popularity.
This includes the Australian mining sector, which, while trailing the Americas for robotic uptake, is beginning to see the strategic advantages.
And considering the labour crisis plaguing the local sector, robotics is not only a strategic solution but also a pertinent one.
This feature appeared in the October issue of Australian Resources & Investment.