CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY
Redline Communication Group’s Louis Lambert
thinks private underground LTE is the “biggest
game changer in underground mining
communications since the very first Land
Mobile Radio implementation”
to deliver broadband wireless data for people
and machines. Wi-Fi is still commonly used in
underground mines and will be used for many
years to come; just like it will be in our houses,
workplaces, public places, event spaces and
anywhere people or machines gather.”
Yet, although Wi-Fi has evolved significantly,
and the user density and data flow (capacity)
have significantly increased, it is still a fixed
wireless technology, and, according to Lambert,
does not deliver mobility like the old Land
Mobile Radio (LMR)/Digital Mobile Radio (DMR)
systems.
This is where private industrial LTE comes in,
according to Lambert.
“Private industrial LTE is the biggest game-
changer in underground mining communications
since the very first LMR implementation,” he
said.
“Private underground LTE delivers full
underground mobility for: voice, data, video,
dispatch systems, HSE systems, drones and any
other system or applications the new digital mine
requires. The transition to a private industrial LTE
network underground is the single largest
enablement foundation, delivering a full suite of
new employee safety and digital transformation
applications.”
According to Lambert, private industrial LTE
infrastructure can save lives, and pays for itself in
the first year when considering the savings these
new digital transformation applications are
supplementing on the new underground LTE
infrastructure.
It also allows real traffic prioritisation and to
set throughput and latency by applications,
80 International Mining | APRIL 2019
ensuring priority traffic such as distress call,
ventilation and water sensors to truly have
priority on the wireless network, Lambert said.
Some of these new digital transformation
applications enabled by the new private
Industrial LTE, Lambert said, are:
n New dispatch management systems;
n Autonomous vehicles and machinery;
n People, machine, and asset tracking;
n LMR/DMR transition to LTE Push-to-talk;
n Voice, data, video applications;
n Drone communications;
n Equipment health monitoring;
n Automated collection such as mine slope wall
data;
n Emergency notification system;
n Collision awareness systems;
n Ventilation fan monitoring;
n Fatigue monitoring;
n Security surveillance camera monitoring;
n Access control systems;
n Treatment plant monitoring;
n Power network monitoring;
n Conveyor monitoring and interlock;
n Alarm monitoring of portable machinery;
n Gas detection systems;
n Water level monitoring and supply control
systems;
n Remote control and alarm for emergency
generators, and;
n Remote control operation of fixed and mobile
mining machinery.
Electric dreams
The Borden gold project has similar lofty
ambitions when it comes to innovation.
The project, located in Chapleau, Ontario, is
owned by Goldcorp and expected to be the first
underground mine in Canada to replace all diesel
mobile equipment with battery-electric vehicles.
In the most recent quarterly results, Goldcorp
said ramp development at the project reached
2,244 m, on schedule, with a corresponding
depth of 374 m hit by the end of the December
quarter.
Part one of the bulk sample extraction was
completed from August to November 2018 with a
first zone of extraction on levels 225 and 240, the
company added, explaining that finalised results
from this sample were expected shortly.
“The mine closure plan for the future
operation was filed in late October, which
enabled commencement of construction of the
second egress and air intake, which are expected
to be completed in the first (March) quarter of
2019,” the company said.
In January, the project received all remaining
operating permits, allowing for an increased rate
of development and commencement of
construction for the remaining critical mine
infrastructure.
Borden’s output will soon be seen on the
market, with commercial production slated for
the second half of 2019.
In order to achieve this all-electric feat at
Borden, Goldcorp has partnered with technology
suppliers like Maclean Engineering and Sandvik,
provincial and federal governments and First
Nations to commercialise clean technologies,
improve health and safety performance, and
reduce greenhouse emissions with the aim of
improving the viability, sustainability and
profitability of its mines, the company said.
The fleet is comprised of Sandvik DD422IE
automated battery/electric jumbos and MacLean
Engineering 975 Omnia Bolter battery bolters as
well as Sandvik LH514E electric LHDs. All
services vehicles are electrified, including a
conventional Caterpillar 12M3 grader converted
into a battery-operated unit by MEDATECH
Engineering.
The digital destination
At the recent SME Annual Conference & Expo, in
Denver, Colorado, Maestro Digital Mine launched
its latest digital solution, the EthernetI/O™.
Maestro Digital Mine manufactures Internet of
Things (IoT) measurement and control
instrumentation for the optimisation of
underground mine ventilation and underground
digital networks for “last mile communication”, it
said.
Maestro’s EthernetI/O, the company said,
“provides both remote I/O functions as well as
two full proportional integral derivative control
loops over standard industrial Ethernet
communication protocols. EthernetI/O helps to
reduce or eliminate the use of complex and
expensive programmable logic controllers (PLC)
in the underground mine environment, saving
both time and money.”
Michael Gribbons, Vice President Sales and