IoT and Mining - Responsible Tailings Storage Facility Management with Orange Business

In the ever-evolving landscape of the mining industry, the management of tailings dams has emerged as a critical concern as ESG factors receive more scrutiny from investors (as highlighted in the EY Metal & Mining 2024 Report). Consequently, mining companies have committed to improved governance of tailings storage facilities (TSF) throughout each phase of the TSF lifecycle, in line with guidelines established by the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), the Canadian Dam Association (CDA), and the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD).

Image by Pathfounder - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, File

The Challenge of Tailings Dam Management

Tailings dams are complex structures that require meticulous management throughout their lifecycles. This includes site design and construction, operation, maintenance, and eventually closure. Failures can result from various factors, including foundation failures, seepage, flooding, and seismic activity. The consequences of such failures are dire: Around 20 tailings dams fail per decade, with recent incidents causing catastrophic consequences, including loss of life and severe environmental damage. Even if the worst outcomes are avoided, the mining companies' reputations and finances are heavily affected by these events.

The Orange Business Solution

Orange Business is a leading network and digital services integrator dedicated to businesses and large organizations. They offer a comprehensive solution integrating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), data analytics, and workflow automation to provide an end-to-end holistic operational view of tailings dams.

Key Features and Benefits

1. Real-Time Data Collection and Monitoring:
   • The platform utilizes a network of connected sensors to continuously monitor various parameters of a tailings dam, including dam wall deformation, movement, seismic activity, pore pressures, water table levels, and water quality.
   • Automated data collection and processing ensures that near real-time data is available to engineers for analysis, enabling timely and informed decision-making.
2. Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning:
   • By leveraging predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities, the platform can identify patterns and trends in the data, providing early warning signs of potential issues.
   • This proactive approach allows for the implementation of corrective actions before problems escalate, significantly reducing the risk of dam failures.
3. Integrated Information and Insights:
   • The platform aggregates data from various sources, including third-party data such as meteorological information, to enhance the risk assessment profile.
   • Customizable dashboards and visualizations present the right data to the right person at the right time, whether it's an operations center console, an engineer's laptop, or a mobile phone alert.
4. Enhanced Governance and Compliance:
   
   • The solution supports the implementation of best practices for tailings management, including defined documentation and processes, roles and responsibilities, and independent reviews.
   • Automated reporting and compliance functionality streamlines regulatory requirements, ensuring adherence to global standards such as the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).
5. Operational Efficiency and Safety:
   • Seamless connectivity between the monitoring system, site data, and personnel optimizes operational efficiency.
   • Actionable insights derived from real-time data enables early indicators for end-users to analyze and take immediate corrective actions, enhancing overall safety.

Migration to Losant

Orange Business's legacy tailings facility management solution was a full-code .NET application hosted on Microsoft Azure. We were keen to migrate the solution to a low-code platform for several reasons:

• Less time for development and maintenance of the backend services, as well as troubleshooting and testing, which led to more time focused on a better user experience.
• Cost savings from the reduced need to manage platform services, databases, and other components.
• Faster turnaround times for customer requirements including dashboard and visualization changes.
• Easier set up for demos and proof of concepts.

The initial step towards a Losant migration was to educate the team on the Losant platform. Losant University and the online forums helped us gear up quickly. We got a good idea of the tools and components using templates and started designing our application using Losant’s building blocks.

We created our first version using Losant's workflows, resource jobs, time-series database, pre-built experience components from their Template Library, and easy-to-build dashboards. Among other features, the team liked the drag-and-drop workflows, online debugging, configuration management, out-of-the-box dashboard blocks, and end-user experiences. Orange also utilizes an external database to store historical data, and we easily integrated it with the new Losant solution. Our primary aim was to maximize the use of Losant's out-of-the-box platform features.

In a few months, we completely ported our application to Losant and imported our production data. Our previous application took years to achieve the same result.

We can now set up multiple POC dashboards, clone the application to quickly showcase our capabilities, and collect customer feedback.

As our solution continues to grow, Losant's automated backups, built-in version management, online debugging, application exporting, and so much more really helps to streamline the ongoing support and maintenance of our solution.

Learn More About Orange Business

To learn more about Orange Business's tailing dam management solution or other solutions provided by Orange Business, please contact junaid.afzal@orange.com.

Learn More About Losant

Losant's IoT platform helps organizations of all sizes get their solution into market faster. Whether it's a new IoT application or to migrate an existing application, Losant is here to help. If you'd like to learn more, please contact us.