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While tunnel boring itself is a concept

that ’ s familiar to the industry , automating the process increases several beneficial verticals : precision , particularly in areas where excavation poses stability risks , miner safety , and that all-important efficiency metric , speed . While the world isn ’ t quite ready for a push-button solution to tunnel creation , automated borers are getting the possibility closer than ever before . In fact , global mining group Rio Tinto and the Centre of Excellence in Mining Innovation ( CEMI ) have already teamed up to put this innovation to good use : visit the Northparkes Mine in Australia and you might just catch a glimpse of a borer in action .

Energy and water are two of the biggest demands required of ore processing , but new processes are gradually changing that . Rio Tinto is using a new method , called Copper NuWave™ , in Utah at its Kennecott Copper mine . The process uses microwaves to determine the copper content of ore , allowing them to quickly determine rich ore and discard worthless ore , cutting back on the resources wasted on fruitless searches .

22 July 2017