Compared with existing mining equipment capable of self‑adaptation and autonomous learning, AI can further understand the logical relationships among information, conduct autonomous reasoning beyond the limits of existing data, and drive mines from “intelligent” toward “wisdom‑driven”.
At the recently‑held China International Coal Mining Technology Exchange and Equipment Exhibition, a host of state‑of‑the‑art technologies and equipment were showcased covering intelligent coal‑mine construction, green and low‑carbon transition, and clean and efficient utilization. Intelligent equipment constitutes a pivotal force reshaping the industry landscape. The intelligent level of China’s full‑process equipment for fully‑mechanized mining, roadway excavation and transportation has reached world‑leading standards.
Reporters from *China Energy News* learned at the exhibition that new technologies including large‑scale models, intelligent cloud platforms and digital‑twin systems have emerged intensively across the coal sector in recent years. In the future, as digital‑twin systems are gradually improved and human‑machine collaboration is further enhanced, intelligent mine equipment will become more user‑friendly. With the accelerated advancement of AI and embodied intelligence technologies, mining intelligent equipment will evolve into agents “capable of perception, thinking and execution”, upgrading intelligent mines into wisdom‑driven mines.
Intelligent Mining Has Become an Industry Highlight
“At present, scientific and technological innovation oriented toward coal‑mine intelligence is speeding up, with in‑depth integration of science‑technology and industrial innovation. In recent years, the first national‑level blockchain platform, the industry‑wide intelligent cloud platform and the coal‑industry large‑scale model have been put into operation. Significant progress has been achieved in intelligent mining,” stated Liang Jiakun, Chairman of the China National Coal Association. Currently, intelligent manufacturing of coal‑mining machinery has become an industry highlight, and the intelligent, digital and informational equipment covering “mining, excavation and transportation” has attained the world’s top level.
In the Shendong Mining Area, “coal‑sea dragons” travel underground. The three‑in‑one integration of complicated working procedures including excavation, support and transportation has achieved a monthly advance of 3,088 meters, setting a world record for monthly drivage of a single roadway. Intelligent technologies have also been applied extensively to fully‑mechanized mining scenarios, supporting mining from thin coal seams to extra‑high mining‑height seams. Yang Peng, Deputy General Manager of China Energy Investment Corporation, remarked: “We have built the world’s first 8.8‑meter extra‑high‑cut intelligent working face, which maintains continuous stable and high‑yield production. The first unmanned intelligent working face for thin coal seams has also been commissioned, lifting production efficiency by 16.7%.”
It is understood that as of April this year, there have been 1,806 intelligent mining and excavation working faces nationwide, and 907 coal mines equipped with intelligent working faces. The proportion of China’s intelligent coal‑mining capacity has exceeded 50%. The advancement of mine intelligent construction has realized unattended operation for over 16,000 fixed posts. For key coal‑mine enterprises, the number of on‑site workers per shift at intelligent fully‑mechanized working faces has been cut by more than six, and labor efficiency has increased by 20%.
With the commissioning of a batch of intelligent coal mines of diverse types and modes, the development of coal‑mine intelligence has shifted from demonstration‑oriented construction to large‑scale popularization in recent years. Nevertheless, China’s coal‑mine intelligent development still faces a series of problems including unbalanced construction progress, weak foundations and low routine‑operation levels. Among them, the routine operation rate of high‑grade intelligent working faces is persistently below 60%, which still falls short of the target of “no less than 80% for the routine‑operation rate of intelligent working faces by 2026”.
“Human‑Machine Collaboration” to Tackle Routine‑Operation Difficulties
Ge Shirong, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, holds that the fundamental goal of mine intellectualization is to realize “manpower reduction, safety enhancement and efficiency improvement”. However, under complex and variable geological conditions, current intelligent equipment still suffers from drawbacks such as unsatisfactory reliability, inaccurate perception and insufficient data interaction, making full‑autonomous operation hard to achieve. Digitizing geological bodies, intellectualizing equipment and improving human‑machine collaboration represent effective ways to address this challenge.
“If the development of intelligent mines pursues unmanned operation excessively while setting aside human experience and wisdom, it will inadvertently raise the technical requirements and operational difficulty for wisdom‑driven mines,” according to Ge Shirong. Intelligent equipment serves as the hardware while geological data acts as the software; combining the two via human‑machine collaboration offers a feasible direction for the future development of wisdom‑driven mines. “Human‑machine collaboration can not only accomplish designated unmanned assignments, but also make up for the shortcomings of intelligent technologies.”
Improving human‑machine collaboration relies heavily on digital‑twin technology. By constructing a virtual mine highly consistent with its physical counterpart, the real‑time operating status of the physical mine can be reflected. Data analysis and simulation prediction further provide scientific support for production decision‑making. According to Ge Shirong, the greatest strength of digital twins lies in “controlling the physical entity via its virtual counterpart”, enabling operators to implement beyond‑visual‑range remote control over equipment. Mine‑equipment control is transformed from “being on‑site” to “virtually being on‑site”. “In some mines, digital‑twin systems have taken initial shape. With precise mine modeling, unmanned mining trucks can travel along planned routes. Operators are able to start and stop mining trucks remotely from a location 1,000 kilometers away from the mine.” Meanwhile, digital‑twin systems need to embed large‑scale models, expert systems and knowledge graphs to autonomously analyze real‑time sensor data including coal‑rock identification, mine pressure monitoring and coal‑flow surveillance. Optimized decisions generated by algorithms are then fed back to the equipment.
AI Propels Mines toward “Wisdom‑Driven” Operation
Following the successive release of multiple mine‑oriented large‑scale models in recent years, mining enterprises have set off an “AI integration boom” this year. AI is leading a new trend in the intelligent transformation of the mining industry. Compared with existing mining equipment capable of self‑adaptation and autonomous learning, AI can further interpret logical relationships within information and conduct autonomous reasoning beyond the constraints of existing data, enabling mines to evolve from “intelligent” to “wisdom‑driven”.
For instance, Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group has integrated AI with its risk‑management‑and‑control system. While leveraging the NOSA system’s strengths of establishing standardized, inspectable and sustainable safety management, AI delivers more accurate risk identification and timelier early‑warning. Yuan Guangjin, Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, stated: “Since the deployment of the AI+NOSA intelligent risk‑control system, the Group has 33 pairs of mines with a safety cycle exceeding 1,000 days; staff work efficiency has risen by 40%, and the death rate per million tons of coal output has dropped by 92%.”
Ma Shizhi, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of China National Coal Energy Group, pointed out that cultivating new productive forces within the coal industry centers on the deep integration of artificial intelligence into the whole production workflow. In recent years, China National Coal Energy Group has promoted the full‑scale implementation of “AI Plus”. Its production subsidiaries have deployed more than 160 computer‑vision‑based application scenarios and 1,080 edge‑side small‑scale models. Beyond underground mines, AI has also achieved favorable application results in power‑plant operation & inspection and intelligent chemical production.
Ge Shirong forecasts that with further advances in AI in the future, embodied intelligence will become a development trend for mining machinery. AI will endow conventional equipment with “vitality” and turn them into autonomous‑perception and self‑decision‑making intelligent agents. Roadheaders will act like “pangolins”, with well‑coordinated motion mechanisms, cutting heads and rock‑crushing‑transport subsystems. Hydraulic supports will become underground “elephants”, autonomously perceiving roof pressure, adaptively adjusting supporting force, and moving synchronously with shearers for surrounding‑rock support. In the future, a growing number of perceptive, thinking and executive intelligent agents will replace underground human workers, and coal mines will shift from “human‑supervised equipment” to “equipment‑supervising‑equipment”
