AUTOMATION
South Africa’s Finsch mine – a DeBeers- owned diamond mine – uses the latest AutoMine production technology developed by Sandvik
time observation of underground mining operations using information management solutions providing information online about equipment locations, availability, utilisation, conditions and productivity, as well as possible delays or problems, so that corrective action can be taken quickly. T e company says equipment automation, also off ered, helps increase fl eet utilisation, improve working conditions and safety, increase production, and reduce maintenance costs with optimised tramming speeds and smoother equipment operation, from single equipment to full-fl eet automation. Brian Carroll, company works manager UK & Ireland, reveals that the company is currently beginning its Automine Lite autonomous project at
Tara Mines in Ireland: “Tara Mines is currently kicking off a three-week trial of Automine Lite loader to minimise work stoppages and increase working times of the machine between shifts. Everything has been working well so far (touch wood) but we are in the infancy stages here.” Automine Lite includes a communication system with wireless network coverage, real-time data transfer, wireless network coverage for LHD, network cabling between WiFi access points, operator station and ACS access barriers plus standard IP communications. T e MineLan plug-and-play system is pre-confi gured and simple with WiFi boosted fast- roaming wideband, radio network identifi ers and ruggedised access point and client hardware. Options include rock breaker
interface to prevent autonomous dumping, surface control room connectivity and an interface to its database to report system queries. In addition, the company’s
AutoMine MPM provides safe and optimised mining in panel and block cave mines with a fi eld- proven system featuring: real-time information management; precise draw control for block/panel caving operations; accurate real-time tracking of manually operated fl eet; exact condition and production monitoring; and a seamless integration with external systems.
Remote control As early as 1998 Atlas Copco, another leader in smart mining technology, introduced a computerised rig control system (RCS), which is now the common automation platform for the fi rm’s underground and surface equipment with more than 3,500 fi fth-generation RCS rigs in operation throughout the world. T e company claims its remote
control system, RCS5 (also in its fi fth 36
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