By Camilo Rojas
Beneath the Earth’s surface, a composition of rocks and fluids capture the evolution of time, punctuated by mineral deposits and analogous to hidden harmonies within the stratified layers. Geoscientists interpret these cryptic notes to trace Earth’s history. Miners delve into shafts and tunnels, with their drills resonating through the rock to uncover hidden treasures. Artificial Intelligence (AI), a digital canary revolutionizing mining practices, heralds a new renAIssance through data-driven insights and technological advancements.
For those in the potash industry, staying ahead of the curve means embracing innovation, particularly the kind that AI ushers. AI can potentially transform the potash industry, offering practical applications that streamline operations, enhance safety, and promote sustainability.
The first value-chain step of potash production is exploration—a phase where precision equates to cost savings and reduced environmental impact. AI promises to excel in this phase of your operation, with the ability to analyze geological data to delineate potash deposits, helping geologists and engineers make informed decisions to increase resource definition and utilization. Three-dimensional, hyperspectral systems capture the mine walls and ceiling in underground spaces like mine shafts and tunnels, offering valuable mineral composition and distribution data. This application merges spectral imaging with the geometric information collected using instruments such as Stonex’s X120 SLAM laser scanner, currently used by RESPEC geologists and engineers, which can produce colourized point clouds and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) without the aid of light or global positioning systems. With less guesswork and more efficient drilling, you can allocate resources wisely and get the most out of your exploration budget.
From exploration to extraction, the role of AI becomes even more pronounced. AI-enabled technologies easily navigate the harsh underground environment, resulting in a significant uptick in productivity and safer work environments, as they reduce the need for human presence in potentially dangerous mining conditions. Major corporations, such as Rio Tinto, leverage mine automation systems to oversee operations, while predictive maintenance algorithms preemptively identify equipment failures.
With safety as a top priority, AI’s impact exceeds efficiency. AI-powered ventilation systems optimize airflow in your mines, providing clean air where needed most while conserving energy. RESPEC’s mine ventilation system experts aid operators in making intelligent, data-driven decisions that prioritize safe conditions by forecasting energy peaks and developing predictive models for underground airflow patterns. These models guide the mine ventilation strategies, ensuring fresh air reaches critical areas and contaminants are extracted, creating a healthier environment for your miners and translating to savings on energy bills.
The effects of AI are not confined to the mines—they extend to the broader environmental context of potash production. AI-driven tools monitor and predict the ecological impacts of mining, helping producers operate within regulatory standards and public expectations. RESPEC applies geospatial AI, satellite imagery, and advanced rock mechanics to assist North American underground mine operators manage surface damage induced by subsidence from evaporite extraction. RESPEC engineers have devised 100-year subsidence forecast models to ascertain whether mining operations will breach the vertical displacement limits set by regulators in underground mine lease agreements. Leveraging our technology helps clients avoid the repercussions of non-compliance, such as fines or operational halts, and, instead, establish themselves as proactive, environmentally conscious industry leaders.
Building on environmental stewardship, our clients have also benefited from the ariel advantages of advanced drone technology. Drones equipped with AI, like the Trinity F90X+ used by RESPEC, can map and monitor mining sites efficiently and safely. These drones can cover up to 700 hectares at a ground sampling distance of 3.2 centimetres per pixel from a 120-metre altitude while avoiding other aircrafts, which meets the standards of Transport Canada’s Drone Strategy Plan. RESPEC geoscientists use AI algorithms to analyze hyperspectral and geospatial datasets collected by drones to help identify brine deposits in remote areas and map arid salt flats. AI is also used to model temperature variations, which provides valuable insights into mineral crystallization and accumulation rates, providing clients with the information needed to elevate their operations.
With AI’s ability to transform waste management and transportation logistics, you can improve your operation’s environmental footprint and boost profitability. For example, AI systems are refining transportation routes in the Amazon for resources extracted from secluded areas. By improving route planning and logistics, Brazil will increase its domestic potash production in a manner that supports economic growth and environmental sustainability.
Embracing AI in potash means you are not just keeping up with the industry—you are positioning your operation to lead it. AI’s precision in exploration and extraction processes boosts efficiency and aligns with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) by minimizing environmental impact, improving resource management and worker safety, and ensuring operations are compliant with regulations and sensitive to community concerns.
By adopting AI-driven solutions, potash companies can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world, fulfilling ESG commitments and securing a competitive advantage in a constantly changing marketplace.
