Fire-Prevention Drone Deployed at Tulunugol Open-Pit Mine
At the Mugunsky production site in the Irkutsk region, a UAV equipped with a thermal imager has been put into operation to prevent coal stockpile fires. The drone detects early-stage heating and hidden smoldering in lignite, which is prone to spontaneous combustion.
Lignite can ignite spontaneously under exposure to precipitation, oxygen, and solar heating. In industrial-scale stockpiles, smoldering can begin deep within the material mass. The use of a UAV with thermal imaging helps identify these risks early and prevent ignition.
Airborne Inspector
The UAV at the Tulunugol open-pit mine operates in automated mode. In a single flight, it captures up to 400 images. The data is compiled into a unified dataset, compared with previous inspections, and then delivered to technical teams and management as a concise report. The system aggregates operational data and supports timely decision-making.
Solutions like this can be scaled across other assets within the group and the broader coal sector. The Tulun project is already part of a broader digital transformation program across the company’s coal operations, alongside LTE infrastructure, digital radio communications, positioning systems, and railcar movement automation.
Management has also indicated plans to equip the UAV system with surveying tools. Commissioning work is underway to install measurement frames for assessing haul truck load levels, and an automated railcar traffic management system is being deployed.
The project delivers measurable gains. It reduces operational risk, improves industrial safety, lowers raw material losses, and speeds up incident response, while shifting inspection from manual checks to machine-based monitoring. For Russia’s IT sector, this serves as a practical example of digital deployment in heavy industry.
Amid Industry Pressures
As the coal sector faces structural challenges, operational successes like this matter more than ever. En+ Coal, which operates the Mugunsky site, has supplied coal for more than 80 years to the Irkutsk region, as well as to Krasnoyarsk, Trans-Baikal, and the Republic of Tuva. The company is currently executing a range of maintenance and investment programs aimed at long-term development.
Its primary supply commitments are tied to Baikal Energy Company, whose demand must be met regardless of market conditions. In response, production volumes are adjusted accordingly: output has increased by nearly 15% over the past three years, exceeding 13 million tonnes in 2025.
To improve efficiency, the company has adopted a digital transformation strategy focused on infrastructure development. LTE connectivity is now being deployed across all remote sites in partnership with En+ Telecom. Reliable communications infrastructure is a prerequisite for implementing digital tools, enabling operational control, performance analytics, and safety monitoring.
In partnership with En+ Digital, a multifunctional safety system has been deployed at the Kasyanovskaya processing plant and is being prepared for scaling. The site is also implementing an electronic work permit system and a personnel positioning system. These solutions are designed to improve worker safety and increase productivity.
Policy Direction
In 2020, Russia approved an updated coal industry development program through 2035, prioritizing technological modernization, improved safety, and higher operational efficiency. The current project can be seen as a practical implementation of that strategy at the asset level. It reflects a mature stage of applied digitalization, with clear pathways for scaling across coal and mining operations, integration with industrial AI, and expansion of use cases for the same UAV platform. This trajectory aligns with both the company’s roadmap and broader industry trends toward digital mining and processing.
