Mining Goes Digital – Mueller et al. (Eds)
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-367-33604-2
xi
Preface
The abbreviation “APCOM” stands for “Applications for Computers and Operations Research
in the Minerals Industry”. When the conference started in 1964, it was an informal meeting
of scientists from different universities in the USA together with the “Society of Mining
Engineers” (SME) of the United States. During the years the APCOM conference was
performed in a mostly bi-annual rhythm. Up to today APCOM maintained its original logo
formed around a punch card clearly remembering the historic origin of the conference from
the times prior to the revolution caused by the era of semiconductors.
In the beginning, APCOM focused on the optimization of geostatistics and resource
estimation and a number of methods used in these fields were initially presented and discussed
on APCOM conferences. This field still today is an important part of any APCOM.
During the years, information technology has dramatically developed, new algorithmic
methods evolved and the entire fields of electronic communication, machine automation,
autonomous machines and process optimization developed. Consequently, today, APCOM
is much more than a meeting of specialists in geostatistics and resource estimation: The
APCOM has expanded to a conference covering all kinds of Information and Communication
Technology in the mineral industry: Already in 2005 on the conference in Tuscon/AZ, the
term “Mining Process Optimization” was presented as the next paradigm shift in mining
after mechanization and automation, which marked another example of the continued
innovative impact of the APCOM. Well ahead of the current discussions about “Digital
Transformation”.
In this tradition the 39th APCOM 2019 is performed in Wroclaw (Poland), a town with
innovative tradition from the early times of industrialization when the town was German
Breslau. A few examples can only give a glimpse of the importance of the town’s historic
industrial and academic achievements:
• 10 Nobel prize winners (out of 102 Germans) were born or working in Breslau.
• The first publicly owned electric power station in Germany went in operation in 1882.
• Electric public trams were introduced 1892.
• The world’s biggest free span concrete hall (“Jahrhunderthalle” – “Hala Stulecia”) was
built in 1912 (it is an Unesco world cultural heritage site today).
• Diesel electric fast trains “Flying Silesian” featuring a top speed of 205 km/h were
developed 1935 at Linke-Hoffmann Werke in Breslau, running abt. 500 km Berlin-Bytom
(Beuthen) in 4 hrs 17 min!
Today Wroclaw again is a leading innovation hub in Middle-Eastern Europe hosting the
internationally highly acknowledged Wroclaw University of Technology. A large number
of big and small innovative companies are active not only in the area of Information and
Communication Technology, but also in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Engineering. World
known names like Google, Nokia, IBM, Bombardier or Volvo Buses are just few examples.
Also KGHM as a world leading copper producer operates a research center in the city.
In this tradition the 39th APCOM conference titled “Mining Goes Digital” presents
innovative IT related papers from Resource estimation and geostatistics, Mine Planning,
Robotics, equipment automation, autonomous guidance and many other integrative aspects
of digital transformation in the minerals industry. A few papers also provide inputs from
other industries into the mining community to create potential synergies. This evolution of
the APCOM from its origins in resource estimation to a general mining IT related conference
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-367-33604-2
xi
Preface
The abbreviation “APCOM” stands for “Applications for Computers and Operations Research
in the Minerals Industry”. When the conference started in 1964, it was an informal meeting
of scientists from different universities in the USA together with the “Society of Mining
Engineers” (SME) of the United States. During the years the APCOM conference was
performed in a mostly bi-annual rhythm. Up to today APCOM maintained its original logo
formed around a punch card clearly remembering the historic origin of the conference from
the times prior to the revolution caused by the era of semiconductors.
In the beginning, APCOM focused on the optimization of geostatistics and resource
estimation and a number of methods used in these fields were initially presented and discussed
on APCOM conferences. This field still today is an important part of any APCOM.
During the years, information technology has dramatically developed, new algorithmic
methods evolved and the entire fields of electronic communication, machine automation,
autonomous machines and process optimization developed. Consequently, today, APCOM
is much more than a meeting of specialists in geostatistics and resource estimation: The
APCOM has expanded to a conference covering all kinds of Information and Communication
Technology in the mineral industry: Already in 2005 on the conference in Tuscon/AZ, the
term “Mining Process Optimization” was presented as the next paradigm shift in mining
after mechanization and automation, which marked another example of the continued
innovative impact of the APCOM. Well ahead of the current discussions about “Digital
Transformation”.
In this tradition the 39th APCOM 2019 is performed in Wroclaw (Poland), a town with
innovative tradition from the early times of industrialization when the town was German
Breslau. A few examples can only give a glimpse of the importance of the town’s historic
industrial and academic achievements:
• 10 Nobel prize winners (out of 102 Germans) were born or working in Breslau.
• The first publicly owned electric power station in Germany went in operation in 1882.
• Electric public trams were introduced 1892.
• The world’s biggest free span concrete hall (“Jahrhunderthalle” – “Hala Stulecia”) was
built in 1912 (it is an Unesco world cultural heritage site today).
• Diesel electric fast trains “Flying Silesian” featuring a top speed of 205 km/h were
developed 1935 at Linke-Hoffmann Werke in Breslau, running abt. 500 km Berlin-Bytom
(Beuthen) in 4 hrs 17 min!
Today Wroclaw again is a leading innovation hub in Middle-Eastern Europe hosting the
internationally highly acknowledged Wroclaw University of Technology. A large number
of big and small innovative companies are active not only in the area of Information and
Communication Technology, but also in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Engineering. World
known names like Google, Nokia, IBM, Bombardier or Volvo Buses are just few examples.
Also KGHM as a world leading copper producer operates a research center in the city.
In this tradition the 39th APCOM conference titled “Mining Goes Digital” presents
innovative IT related papers from Resource estimation and geostatistics, Mine Planning,
Robotics, equipment automation, autonomous guidance and many other integrative aspects
of digital transformation in the minerals industry. A few papers also provide inputs from
other industries into the mining community to create potential synergies. This evolution of
the APCOM from its origins in resource estimation to a general mining IT related conference