According to the top-priority trends and challenges in the mineral sector, and as per the mining science strategy, it is highly critical to arrange enhanced control, prediction and safety of production objects and their functioning for the preservation of automation sustainability. Improved control of databases, regulatory bonds, management, logistics and principles of sustainable development in mining makes it possible to reduce technological deviations and accidents at large mining and processing plants. Most procedural violations and accidents in surface and underground mines occur because of the unskilled actions of process flow operators. Damage in this case can be considerable, especially as compared with the expenses connected with qualitative training and persistent development of personnel engaged with supervisory control and data acquisition for the efficient operation of SCADA-systems within the automation framework of mining and processing plants. Definition of digital systems and their interrelation with multilevel automated control can be incorrect. The review of new principles can awaken interest in the conceptual assessment of digitalization processes using such notions as: numerical models, simulator, and artificial intel-ligence. Often applied formulations and principles of a digital model are substituted without justification of functional connections. On the other hand, a digital system today can be assumed as robotic lines and other numerical models and smart technologies, for instance, machining sta-tions with numerical program control. It is necessary to define the practical significance of conceptual modifications and digital transformation regarding objects of the mineral sector, using Big Data; to understand how a digital twin can influence a changeable process situation; to provide prompt prediction; to eliminate an accident; and to preserve the physical balance in the whole production system. Such intelligent and flexible productions particularly need computer-based simulators and digital twins based on technologies of Industry 4.0–extended and virtual reality on the basis of digital twins. Digital twins allow maximal simulation of real-life activity of process flow operators. The skills acquired by personnel after such simulation training enable operators to master the optimized procedure for functioning in emergency situations in mineral mining and processing. This paper exemplifies the remote training and control of process flows, which is of concern in the current international situation.

There is a tendency to increase the use of demand response technology in the Russian Federation along with other developing countries, covering not only large industries, but also individual households and organizations. Reducing peak loads of electricity consumption and increasing energy efficient use of equipment in the power system is achieved by applying demand management technology based on modeling and predicting consumer behavior in an educational institution. The study proposes to consider the possibility of participating in the concept of demand management of educational institutions with a typical workload schedule of the work week. For the study, statistical data of open services and sources, Russian and foreign research on the use of digital and information technologies, analytical methods, methods of mathematical modeling, methods of analysis, and generalization of data and statistical methods of data processing are used. An algorithm for collecting and processing power consumption data and a load planning algorithm were developed, including all levels of interaction between devices. A comparison was made between the values of the maximum daily consumption before and after optimization, as well as the magnitude of the decrease in the maximum consumption after applying the genetic algorithm. The developed algorithm has the ability to scale, which will increase the effect of using the results of this study to more significant values. Load switching helps to reduce peak consumption charges, which often represent a significant portion of the electricity cost.

The article covers the issues of increasing the efficiency of tunneling&cleaning combines “Ural”, widely applied at domestic potash mines. It is pointed out that it is possible to provide rational parameters of the process of destroying potash arrays with cutting tools of the executive bodies of mining combines. This assumption is based on the assessment of the drivers load which will reduce the specific energy consumption for ore extraction and will reduce the number of small unenriched classes in breakage products. The authors substantiate rational regime parameters of the operation of the planetary-disk executive bodies in the Ural combines. A method for automatic control of the tunnel&cleaning combine “Ural” is proposed, which ensures the implementation of the process of destruction of the potash massif with rational cutting parameters on the basis of information on the drivers load.