NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS
IWT has a Mine Rescue System which has been adopted by US federal mine rescue teams and is now fully deployed and in use by MSHA at each of its five mine rescue stations around the country
remotely analyse the customer ’ s IWT network underground and troubleshoot any potential problems . “ We use this capability to remotely run network health assessments and provide customers with recommendations on steps to optimise system performance . We focus on training the customer in all technical interactions and continue to provide technical support for times when customers want us to come on-site . We have shown annual cost savings of 50 % or more when compared to actual expenses incurred for legacy systems , and we have near- 100 % recoverability of our equipment for mains , development and longwall sections .”
IWT says it continues to introduce new products to the market that improve safety and efficiency for mining customers . “ One of our most significant new products is the SENTINEL™ Wireless Gas Monitor , which is battery-operated and wireless , using four D-cell user-replaceable batteries that can provide up to six months of operation and can be used as a standalone system or integrated with IWT ’ s SENTINEL™ communications and tracking system . It has single and multi-gas configurations and is MSHA approved and intrinsically safe . A high resolution , easy-to-read , backlit display provides sensor gas readings as well as status indicators for battery life and communications range . Wired backhaul options allow integration with legacy wired systems ; while it has analogue and digital I / O to support control and third party equipment interfaces .”
Other new products include the SENTINEL™ Multi-Access Gateway . The wireless mesh extends voice communications into the stopes / working areas wirelessly and bridges to the mine ’ s existing leaky feeder network . It can also extend IP network connectivity for critical data into the stopes / working areas at three times the range of a WiFi access point .
IWT also has a Mine Rescue System which has been adopted by US federal mine rescue teams and is now fully deployed and in use by MSHA at each of its five mine rescue stations around the country as well as in mine rescue training centres across the US . “ More and more state teams have purchased systems , and improvements and new features continue to be developed to further simplify use and enhance capabilities .”
Collaboration cost savings at Kidd
Innovation in mining technologies has created opportunities to significantly improve the efficiency of mining processes . Recently , Newtrax , Conspec , and MDT collaborated at Glencore Kidd Operations to enable battery-powered wireless gas and geotechnical monitoring in active mining areas , with real-time data acquisition to a front end display on surface . This new capability has enabled Glencore Kidd to reduce post-blasting re-entry delays for underground workers , creating a more efficient mining process . Generally , mines rely on a fixed-time strategy to deal with the post-blast re-entry time . This fixed re-entry delay is determined from previous observations and experiences . For example , if a blast is delayed , then re-entry is delayed as well , no matter what the actual conditions are underground .
Using the simple post-blast re-entry system mentioned , Glencore Kidd Operations was able to quickly set up various wireless sensors to remotely measure undiluted concentrations of different gasses ( CO , SO 2 ) from seismically active
work areas , which along with geotechnical data has allowed ventilation and safety supervisory personnel to remotely determine when atmospheric and seismic conditions may be declared safe for a return to work while minimising the risks from these hazards to the safety personnel . This has allowed for an operational change of procedures that better mitigates any potential risks post-blast and to prepare more effectively for any potential damage to the ventilation systems which may affect a potential return to work site by the miners at Kidd Operations .
In order to verify the effectiveness of this postblast re-entry system , a study compared conventional post blast re-entry methodologies with the Conspec / MDT / Newtrax wireless gas and geotechnical monitoring system as implemented at Glencore Kidd Operations to confirm the substantial benefits derived from the implementation of this technology and accompanying post-blast operational procedure changes that have resulted from the adoption of this technology .
“ Whether it is through releasing areas for production are no longer seismically active immediately upon remote confirmation of dissipation of gases to safe levels in these areas , or through the redeployment of miners involved in mucking , drilling and development to other non-affected production areas , productivity has been increased by 5-6 production man hours per shift . As a skilled operator can move approximately 20 buckets of 10 t each from a stope to the pass over this period , increased productivity of an average of 200 t of extraction of rock containing on average 3 % copper has been measured since implementing the remote post-blast monitoring system when it has been detected that the ventilation system survived the blast intact .” At current copper prices , this has resulted in significant increases ( at the time of the paper publication approximately US $ 35,000 ) in copper yields from the mine in the shift immediately post-blast since they began the utilisation of Conspec ’ s Smart Head Wireless Gas Transmitters operating over their Newtrax MineHop wireless network .
Further increases in productivity have been measured through earlier awareness of any potential damage to mine ventilation systems , allowing Kidd mine ventilation personnel to respond in a more efficient manner to repair this damaged infrastructure while simultaneously minimising the risks to their safety due to the exposure of potentially toxic levels of remaining blasting gases . This has allowed ventilation repair personnel to reduce the time required to conduct inspections and necessary repairs to this ventilation infrastructure , thus allowing areas that have no longer been deemed a seismic risk
96 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2016