Contract mining major BUMA Australia says it has implemented Carlson machine guidance technology across all of its sites. BUMA Australia was established in 2021 to acquire the open cut mining business of Downer and is part of Indonesian company Delta Dunia Group. Its current sites include the Blackwater, Broadmeadow East, Burton, Commodore, Goonyella, Meandu and Saraji coal mines.

BUMA Australia said the positioning technology “provides centimetre-accurate location data for our operators and supervisors, utilising existing systems for HPGPS corrections. This powerful tool improves overall mining operations including safety, productivity, costs and mine planning. HPGPS, or machine guidance, improves safety by providing real-time visibility of the location of the fleet vehicles.”

It added that it “ensures that ramps, batters, and benches are constructed to design to mitigate risk in open-pit mining. Additionally, HPGPS delivers accurate dig-to-plan compliance to track the movement of materials, improving mine planning and ongoing decision making.”

BUMA says it is confident this solution will deliver even better results for its customers. “We are committed to using the latest technology to improve the safety, efficiency, and profitability of our mining operations.”

The technology comes under Carlson Software’s Machine Control solutions. Carlson states: “Carlson Machine Control provides solutions that adhere to Open Positioning Architecture (OPA). We believe in promoting open support for data files, sensors, etc. We have the world’s most extensive GNSS/GPS library connecting to most GPS receivers.”

Solutions include Carlson Grade for excavators and shovels allows operators to visualise cut/fill with positioning using an onboard, ruggedised, Windows-based tablet known as the MC8 or MC10. Operators are able to view a cut/fill color map in real-time, dig to design, build simple or complex pads and slops in the field, and more.