Established long before data mining and bitcoin mining, mining the earth continues to be a major economic driver.

The International organizing committee for the world mining congress issues a yearly World Mining Data report. The 2021report states that world mining production in 2019 was 17.9 billion metric tons(roughly the weight of 96,000 Boeing 747 Jumbo jets). Most of the production(58.9%) was in Asia, followed by North America (15.8%), in terms of countries,China, U.S., Russia and Australia are the four biggest mining nations.

In the last few years, Australia and China have seen the most growth and surpassed Africa, especially in the production of minerals like Lithium,Gallium and Niobium needed for the battery industry, demand for which doubled since 2015. 

Challenges in mining security

The mining industry faces extreme and multi-faceted challenges in both security and safety. The key concern of security managers in the mining sector are keeping employees safe, however, they are also tasked with preventing theft of valuable raw materials and equipment, choosing equipment that can work in extreme environmental conditions, maintaining compliance with health, safety and environmental regulations and more often than not, working in politically unstable countries.

Video surveillance in mine security

Security requirements differ by the mine type. Open-pit mines are based on authority and risk levels and put emphasis on access control, while underground mines — with a higher requirement for safety — put emphasis on people location management. 

The large area of mines poses a challenge to security. Fencing and lighting might be very expensive, and even with the most comprehensive security solution installed, surveillance is not considered as a viable option for many underground mines, due to harsh conditions and extended tunnel length. Large mines can have hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, which simply cannot be effectively monitored by cameras.