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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT


THE RIGHT NETWORK


A


s pressure builds on miners to achieve new levels of performance, the digital mine is continuing to grow at an exponential rate. In


an industry where even short periods of operational downtime can cause millions of dollars in losses, mining operators must be empowered to continuously monitor, manage and control their large fl eets of high-value equipment, vehicles and personnel across large areas of mining terrain.


Communication technology is emerging as a solution to this need, ensuring hazardous areas such as underground mines can be made safer and operational effi ciency can be increased. T is has the potential to pave a new way of working for miners, but none of this is possible without reliable, mission-critical connectivity. With fi bre being an insuffi cient option, miners demand a network that can ensure that their applications, equipment and mine production can effi ciently and eff ectively keep running, both on the surface and underground.


32 www.engineerlive.com


LONG WAY GOES A


Sagar Chandra explains how industrial wireless network technology can empower underground mines on their path to digitalisation


Due to their harsh climatic and operational nature, underground mines are some of the most challenging places to deploy technology in the world. Typically, mines lack the infrastructure to deploy wired connectivity and often maintain very limited, if any power sources – which is further enhanced by a lack of Ethernet, which limits the possibility of wireless connectivity. Many mines depend on leaky feeder and/or fi bre to achieve reliable underground communications, but installing fi bre in active drives, panels and declines can often be diffi cult to schedule and can create operational and maintenance nightmares. Additionally, development, drill and blast areas can rarely support any wired infrastructure. As a result, it is not uncommon for trucks to accidentally catch and rip down sections of the cabled infrastructure, resulting in complete connectivity loss across the entire underground mine. As well as the connectivity and


throughput demands, circular ramps and declines, stopes and mine layouts


also place limitations on how far wireless signals can travel. In vast and hazardous environments such as mines, it’s vital that the network is able to reach every corner of the mine and be able to adapt with miners’ movements to provide constant, uninterrupted communications between miners and their support teams to ensure the fast and timely responses that are vital in emergencies.


INTRODUCING AUTONOMY To keep up with demands, underground mines are also looking to leverage autonomy to meet increasingly stringent safety and productivity mandates. Autonomous applications are not only bandwidth-intensive but most require continuous, uninterrupted communication; otherwise, the autonomous vehicle has to stop due to safety reasons until communications are re-established. As mining assets are often part of a mine’s communications network, this means that they can also add to interference issues, further feeding into this issue.


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