Information technologies for solid mineral extraction in the Arctic

Introduction. The research of the industrial information technologies (IT) is relevant for an active implementation of innovations into solid mineral extraction. The low human adaptation level to the hostile Arctic environmental conditions explains the high relevance of the IT in terms of breadth of their functional application. The aim of this research was to study the international and domestic experience of the IT deployment and the attempt to identify their role. Research methods and materials. Results of geophysical, physical, and environmental research as well as production mining and operations made by Russian and foreign scientists served as the material for analysis. The research was fulfilled with the use of the following methods: the analysis of scientific and technical findings, the study of core business activities, the classification and comparison of digital data. Research results. The main trend is the intention of a complete automation of the mining process, which has led to the emergence of multiple achievements in the technological process automation. The second trend is the elimination of workers’ participation on extraction sites. The third trend is the environmental maintenance in the mining area. Conclusions. It was found that the development of algorithmized systems for complete automation of the solid mineral extraction process is a highly relevant task. Nowadays, the IT are predominantly used at the stage of solids mineral exploration, the prediction of mineral deposit size, and the economic evaluation of mining operations. In the process of solid mineral extraction IT are used to a lower extent, due to high risks of cyber security and robotized integration of all technological objects and processes. At the completion stage of mineral excavation, IT have a significant value for landscape modeling and environmental parameter measuring.