SLOPE STABILITY
has been identified, it facilitates quicker decision making. This is key to successfully managing the risk associated with a ground-fall event.”
GPR has been used to help identify fault structures since the mid-1980s. However, adoption in the mining industry has been slow, because traditional GPR systems are heavy( weighing more than 20 kg) and difficult to use in the small confined spaces, since they often require more than one person to drag a heavy box along an underground tunnel.
Reutech Mining says it sat down with the client and started thinking of how it could make this better.“ How can we rethink an old problem and reimagine a new solution? How can we design an affordable product that improves on the standard set by the costly, impractical and power-hungry systems which do not make use of up-to-date, readily-available communication technologies?” They started mapping the production process, which typically comprises the five phases of planning, drilling, blasting, support and loading.
“ If you can improve the turnaround time on any one of those phases without compromising on safety, the entire operation becomes more productive. But it was in optimising the support phase that they experienced their biggest challenge,” says De Beer.“ The support phase is a critical step in the entire process where the ground-fall risks are identified and managed through implementing roof support mechanisms. This is how the convenient, cost-effective and efficient Sub Surface Profiler came about.”
De Beer concludes:“ Reutech Mining continues to be a successful provider of world-leading movement and surveying radar systems for the surface mining industry in 24 countries on six continents. We have provided information that has saved numerous lives and enhanced safety in the surface mining workspace. We now bring the same quality and ingenuity to the underground environment, and look forward to contribute even more to this new mining segment.”
Enter IDS HYDRA-U for underground
IDS GeoRadar, now part of Hexagon and a leading provider of interferometric technology solutions, and multi-frequency, multi-channel Ground Penetrating Radar( GPR) worldwide, has recently introduced HYDRA-U, a radar-based technology solution specifically designed and developed to support geotechnical engineers in the underground mining industry.
HYDRA-U is a remote sensing monitoring system able to provide real time monitoring of surface deformations as well as management of ground fall hazards over large areas. The system is designed to trigger earlywarning alerts based on specific velocity thresholds in case of impending collapses to evacuate people and machinery at-risk.
“ The system has the potential to be deployed during stope bogging cycles, as demonstrated in early underground tests in operating mines. The natural evolution of the system will be in supplying early warning signals to the underground operators to retrieve personnel and remote-controlled equipment from the stope area,” said Marco Orunesu Preiata, an experienced underground geotechnical engineer who had the initial idea to try this technology underground.
HYDRA-U can fit narrow spaces typical of underground operations and is designed for quick and easy transport and deployment in critical areas by one single person. With a scan range of 200 m, even non-accessible areas of underground openings can be safely monitored for elements at risk.
“ HYDRA-U provides the high-accuracy(< 0.1 mm) and high resolution typical of radar technology and perfectly meets the needs of geotechnical engineers to guarantee safe access to working places of the complete mine structure, protect the major service openings throughout their designed duty life, and assess the performance of ground supports,” said Niccolò Coli, manager of the IDS GeoRadar mining business unit.
Full integration with the IDS GeoRadar IBIS Guardian industry-leading
®
RIEGL
VZ-4000
Very Long Range 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner with Online Waveform Processing
RIEGL ®
VZ-4000
3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner
With the RIEGL VZ-4000 Laser Scanner and specifically designed software packages, RIEGL provides a perfect solution for the demanding fieldwork in open pit mining and topography.
| up to 4,000 m range | eyesafe Laser Class 1 | accuracy 15 mm, precision 10 mm | Laser Pulse Repetition Rate up to 300 kHz( 222,000 meas./ sec) | multiple target capability | multiple-time-around( MTA) processing | full waveform export capability( optional) | built-in camera, on-board inclination sensors, GPS receiver and compass integrated, external GNSS receiver( optional) | stand-alone operation
www. riegl. com
Visit us at
September 13-16 Jakarta | Indonesia booth A-3105
RIEGL LMS GmbH, Austria RIEGL USA Inc. RIEGL Japan Ltd. RIEGL China Ltd.
AUGUST 2017 | International Mining 67