• EXCURSION
TWO RIVERS SETS UP UNDERGROUND WI-FI
Edited by Leon Louw
Two Rivers Platinum , a large underground platinum mine located in Steelpoort , Limpopo , has made great strides in setting up a reliable underground Wi-Fi network , providing wireless services to the rock face and full wireless coverage from the face to the tipping area .
( RFID ) technology , require line of sight to be effective . This lack of visibility meant that eLTE connectivity was not a viable option either .” From a safety perspective , Two Rivers already had several underground communications measures in place , such as twoway radios and Bluetooth tracking , enabling early communication in the case of an emergency , but the previous system ' s setup was at a fixed point , some distance away from the operating face of the mine .
DataCentrix
A fully mechanised underground platinum mining operation that employs over 3 200 employees , Two Rivers is a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals ( ARM ) ( 54 %) and Impala Platinum ( 46 %), which is managed by ARM .
This marks the first time in 15 years that the organisation has seen consistent communications from deep within the mine , while realising the benefits to be gained via location-based services , such as the remote monitoring of its underground fleet and real-time location data , as well as information on the health status of these vehicles .
Overcoming unique underground challenges A fully mechanised underground platinum mining operation that employs over 3 200 employees , Two Rivers is a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals ( ARM ) ( 54 %) and Impala Platinum ( 46 %), which is managed by ARM .
According to Two Rivers ' business leader , JJ Joubert , one of the mine ' s overriding strategic objectives is to achieve efficient operations , underpinned by the support of technology . However , due to the complex environment , where challenges include the density of the rock , establishing a stable underground communication network at Two Rivers has been difficult .
“ The use of Wi-Fi communications underground is not new in terms of large mining setups , but our mine specifically is comprised of narrow , dense tabular rock . This posed a unique obstacle for Two Rivers , since many communications networks , like radio-frequency identification
16 • African Mining • September 2021
This meant that to make a simple emergency call , an employee might have had to walk back quite a distance to reach the comms point to inform mine management of any urgent issues or specific needs .
Furthermore , administration within the mine was historically heavily paper-based , adds Reynard Cronje , IT Coordinator at Two Rivers .
“ The miner would go underground and complete the paper requisite forms , which were then only returned to the surface at the end of the shift . This meant that the mine could only respond to information after the shift had been completed . And with our equipment upgrades over time to smart machinery , with the ability to communicate , we needed a network that could facilitate this close to the face .”
Better use of data , improved decision-making “ Data is power ,” Joubert continues . “ And access to data empowers you to make immediate decisions based on real-time information . This has a significant impact on costs for a mining operation and provides endless opportunities in terms of automation with other equipment throughout the business .
“ Live condition monitoring is critical for mining operations . If you can access real-time data on operations , equipment and machinery and respond timeously to this , you can make informed decisions based on the trends uncovered by this data .
“ Therefore , it was important that we introduce live condition monitoring and a live information feed from our smart machines and people underground .” www . africanmining . co . za