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‘ Remote ’ no longer means ‘ disconnected ’ when it comes to operating mines today , Dan Gleeson reports
The location of your average mine site is no closer to city centres today than it was decades ago ; in fact , it is probably further away .
This reality has meant the technology required to connect these operations to HQ , regional operational hubs or increasingly Remote Operating Centres ( ROCs ) has had to come to them .
IM takes its annual look at the supply side of the market that is ensuring any mine site – regardless of location – stays connected .
The satellite backbone
At remote operations , satellite-based communication systems are increasingly being called upon to fill the voids that terrestrial connectivity would normally take at established mining camps .
Several solutions have come to the market in recent years looking to showcase the capabilities of satellite-based systems , going some way to defying the perception that they only provide a temporary fix for mines being developed or in the initial phases of production ahead of more ‘ permanent ’ communications infrastructure .
Inmarsat , a leader in global mobile satellite communications , has been proving this point regularly through many mining-focused deployments .
At the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , for instance , it helped Ivanhoe Mines , the operator and 39.6 % owner of Kamoa-Kakula , understand where vehicles are and how quickly they are moving , to ensure safety and security at the mine site .
It did this through providing access to its Skywave IDP-780 solution , powered by its L-band connectivity service , to enable a mission-critical telemetry solution for tracking assets .
The L-band powered IDP communication service is billed as offering low latency , consistent data transmission , as well as worldwide coverage . It also offers 99.9 % network availability over the I-4 global satellite network , according to Inmarsat .
The solution at Kamoa-Kakula allows the control centre to visualise the vehicles and includes several geofences that were set up to enforce policies introduced by Ivanhoe Mines to improve driver and public safety and security .
Matthieu Bos , Vice-President , Corporate Development at Ivanhoe Mines , explained some of the measures introduced by the company : “ We wanted to reduce the speed at which our drivers travel on the roads , to reduce the damage done to vehicles if they hit potholes or other obstructions and the risk of an accident . Inmarsat ’ s solution enables us to track the speed of every vehicle every minute , and , if this speed
exceeds 80 km / h over a period of time or over 30 km / h in certain zones , the office is notified and can contact the driver to instruct them to slow down .
“ We can also monitor location with pinpoint accuracy , so that if a vehicle hasn ’ t moved in some time , we can contact the driver to establish whether they ’ ve had an accident or a breakdown .”
Inmarsat says its satellite connectivity has been critical to the success of Ivanhoe ’ s Kamoa-Kakula driver safety project . The fleet management solution required consistent connectivity across the entire field of operations , large areas of which are not covered by cellular networks . It , therefore , provided a dual satellite-cellular tracking device and fleet management solution , using GSM connectivity where available and then switching to Inmarsat ’ s satellite connectivity when required .
“ This provides a consistent and reliable communications network between control centre and vehicles , delivering real-time updates to Ivanhoe Mines on vehicle status and location , enabling the company to act to secure the safety and security of their staff and assets , if necessary ,” Inmarsat said .
Bos concluded : “ We have seen a notable decrease in issues for our drivers out on the roads , and the speed of resolution of these
At the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Inmarsat helped Ivanhoe Mines understand where vehicles are and how quickly they are moving , to ensure safety and security at the mine site
90 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2022