MINE SAFETY & RESCUE
driver ’ s cab , four in the cassette ) to the emergency location within 60 minutes ; n Performing work in the emergency zone by five mine rescuers ( one member of the unit remains in the driver ’ s cab ) for 120 minutes ; and n The return of the unit of mine rescuers with six people ( together with three injured personnel ) within 60 minutes . PAUS says it is currently working on a “ firefighting version ” of the MRV 9000 .
IMRB 2021
Last month , the International Mines Rescue Body Conference took place in virtual form , with several new safety initiatives and processes coming to light .
One of these was Queensland Mines Rescue Service ’ s mobile winder project , which CEO , David Carey , introduced with his presentation ‘ QMRS Shaft Recovery System with IS Communications ’.
This project , which QMRS has been working closely with Anglo American , the Minerals Council of Australia and Becker Mining Systems on , is expected to be commissioned shortly .
This winder is billed as having a world first intrinsically safe directional Wi-Fi communications system for use in hazardous areas . It has interchangeable cage options including a single bullet cage for boreholes and a five-man cage for shaft recovery / rescue team deployment . It is fitted with over 1,200 m of rope on the drum for use in deep shafts and is designed to have a depth capacity of 600 m for coal operations and 1,200 m for metal mines .
The system is engineered with multiple fail-safe braking systems and is hydraulically powered from the Volvo FMX 10x4 truck engine . A back-up power system is available too . Spare UPS batteries for the communications are interchangeable and can be charged up in the truck for continued operations , according to QMRS .
Another innovation presented at the event was 2RHP Sp . z o . o .’ s RESYS Hazardous Area Wireless Communication System for mine rescue applications .
This intrinsically safe system is intended to provide a quick-to-deploy data communication network that exceeds the capacity and range of existing systems deployed as a temporary measure when mine communication infrastructure is damaged by an emergency , the company says .
Designed to be used in underground mines , including areas susceptible to firedamp and / or combustible dust , the primary components are made up of : n PC1.0 Personal Communicators – personal equipment of a rescuer ; n REP1.0 Repeaters – elements used to form a wireless backbone network ; n M1 Base ( optionally with a PC computer ) – Underground Rescue Action Manager ’ s equipment ; and n MC1.0 Mediaconverters – elements of the
Queensland Mines Rescue Service ’ s mobile winder is billed as having a world first intrinsically safe directional Wi-Fi communications system for use in hazardous areas
network .
Additional devices that can be attached to PC1.0 personal communicators or REP1.0 repeaters via 2.4 GHz air interface include : n Wireless face mask microphones ; n Personal heart rate monitors ; and n Light and sound signalling devices .
The RESYS system is used mostly for wireless voice communication between the manager of the underground rescue action ( equipped with M1 Base ) and the mining rescue teams , the members of which are equipped with PC1 Personal Communicators as well as wireless communication devices .
Voice communication is a full-duplex operation ( in both directions ) just like in mobile telephony .
The new PROVIX RealTrac collision avoidance , positioning and mine management system has been developed for tracking heavy equipment , vehicles and personnel on the surface or underground .
Unique among collision avoidance systems ( CAS ), Real Trac is a standalone CAS for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-personnel proximity detection that is fully expandable to include positioning , tracking , communication , notification and mine management in real time , according to PROVIX .
The system provides audible and visual warnings to the operators of heavy equipment while at the same time providing haptic warnings to personnel . Tags vibrate and illuminate to provide early warning to personnel of their proximity to operating equipment .
The modular system relies on both UHF and UWB technology , which ensures rapid and reliable data transfer rates as well as object positioning with an accuracy of 1 m , PROVIX said . One of the key benefits of the technology is the high-speed data transmission via a radio channel . UWB technology is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard , which combines sensors and actuators into a single wireless network . As a fully scalable system , the CAS can be implemented without any infrastructure deployment , according to PROVIX .
The standalone CAS system can be expanded to a full positioning and tracking program where all data is transmitted through the deployment of Real Trac network nodes that are fully operational in both surface and underground sites . Once Real Trac is deployed , a complete mine map is
presented with all pertinent location data available for use in legacy systems in real time . APIs provide the gateway to interface between existing applications .
“ The Real Trac system becomes the backbone for effective mine planning , determination of ventilation requirements , personnel planning and blasting coordination ,” PROVIX said . “ Real Trac provides object positioning , voice communication and vehicle-to-personnel tag warnings for increased safety and maximising production efficiency .”
Real Trac is a standalone CAS for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-topersonnel proximity detection that is fully expandable to include positioning , tracking , communication , notification and mine management in real time , according to PROVIX
50 International Mining | OCTOBER 2021