ABB : teams with major mining customer in Poland on new ways to use digital technologies

ABB and Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A. are working together to implement technologies that will improve mining efficiency and worker safety

ABB is working closely with major mining customer Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A. (PGG) on new ways to use digital technologies from the ABB Ability^TM MineOptimize portfolio to improve specific operations at PGG sites, as well as in new applications that will benefit the larger mining industry.

Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A. (PGG) is a leader in hard coal mining in the European Union, supplying 32 million tonnes of coal to customers annually. The company is systematically improving its production process and has recently established an office for innovation and implementation of new technologies. It is responsible for acquiring and implementing new technologies, both within the PGG Group and through cooperation with companies and scientific institutions. ABB will support this initiative with its experience in electrification, automation, and digitalization for the mining industry.

The combination of the know-how of Polska Grupa Górnicza and the global experience and capabilities of ABB's specialists expands the potential use for new solutions that will meet the needs of PGG and the larger mining industry.

'Innovation is part of our company's DNA, which is why we are eager to collaborate on the practical use of advanced technologies like those in our ABB Ability MineOptimize portfolio,' said Paweł Łojszczyk, Managing Director of ABB in Poland. 'We are working closely with our customer PGG on new ways digital technology can help improve their efficiency, worker safety, and capability to react to new market demands and conditions.'

These solutions help secure the reliable supply of inexpensive, high quality energy for mining customers by increasing efficiency and optimizing the costs of hard coal production, as well as maintaining high standards of environmental protection and employee safety.

For many decades, ABB has been known as a world-class supplier for turn-key electrification and automation solutions as well as for dedicated mining systems for hoists, gearless or ring-geared mill drives and material handling. Together with its customers and partners, ABB looked at how mining operation and maintenance can be improved and what the next level of mining will look like. These collaborations triggered many innovative development activities for digital applications and services, that are now part of the ABB Ability MineOptimize portfolio. This truly integrated digital mining solution set includes applications and services for unmatched operation, maintenance, process and production optimization.

ABB Ability Mine Optimize digital applications are based on the ABB Ability automation and information management platforms. Their proven standardized building blocks are horizontally and vertically connected and ensure the right people have the right information at the right time.

Process and Power Control increases operator effectiveness by unmatched focus on situational awareness in order to avoid operation errors that cause loss of productivity. Advanced Process Control reduces energy consumption and increases productivity while maintaining the desired quality automatically, 24/7 Asset Management and Condition Monitoring minimizes unplanned down time and increase equipment availability, while helping to optimize maintenance activities. Operation Management Systems create a new level of visibility in mining operations, to allow the operator to react in real time to any disturbance and assist planning with automatic scheduling. The result is a much higher utilization of the mobile fleet. Production Information Management systems consolidate data on plant and enterprise level and provide insight information, as well as KPIs in easy to understand dashboards and reports.

ABB has been providing innovative solutions to Polska Grupa Górnicza for many years. The company's mines Ziemowit and Jankowice use ABB's winding machines, and some of the devices in the Marcel mine are powered by inverters manufactured in ABB's plant in Aleksandrów Łódzki.