Tag Archives: AIMEX 2019

Rajant makes its underground mining move

Automation, Communications in mining, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining events, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rajant is now looking to leverage the leading wireless network expert status it has built up in the open-pit mining space for the benefit of the underground mining sector.

At the AIMEX 2019 event in Sydney, Australia, last month, Mike Foletti, Sales Director, Asia Pacific, and Geoff Smith, Executive Vice President Global Sales and Marketing, talked IM through the move, explaining that the exclusive provider of Kinetic Mesh® wireless networks had teamed up with other firms to ensure its below ground offering is as complete as can be.

The underground solution the company was pushing for the first time at the event has been made possible by the strategic partnership between Rajant, Poynting Antennas, Extronics, and Australian Droid + Robot, the company said.

In the underground setup, Rajant’s multi-radio, multi-frequency BreadCrumb® nodes combine with Poynting’s wide-band, bi-directional, circular polarised antenna system to create a “complete underground and tunnel-wide wireless network for mission-critical data, video, and voice communications”, the company says.

As part of this, Extronics rugged and intrinsically safe AeroScout Wi-Fi-based active RFID tags for personnel and asset tracking operate in real time over Rajant’s network, never breaking for handoff. With location tracking precision of about 10 m, the tags can be used to identify productivity bottlenecks for improved operational efficiency, Rajant says. And, lastly, Australian Droid + Robot’s Explora droids (one pictured at AIMEX 2019), which Australian Droid says have “ridiculous amounts of traction and agility”, come equipped with Rajant BreadCrumb technology. This allows the small all-terrain robots to carry out underground inspections, enabling the machine to independently scan, sense, and explore locations that may be hazardous to miners.

While this is the first time Rajant has talked about this underground solution, it has already been deployed at one mine site, according to Foletti.

“This is basically an enhancement on any fixed solution that is installed underground,” he said, explaining that the high throughput and low latency network benefits open-pit miners have received above ground for many years, is now be translated into underground mines.

While Rajant will continue to service the open-pit sector as it has beforehand, providing the type of robust network solutions it has for more than a decade, its decision to move underground is easy to understand.

For starters, many of the big open pits are reaching the end of their mine lives, with mining engineers now planning for underground operations.

At the same time as this, underground mines either in development or production are expanding operations at a pace that makes it hard and expensive for fixed or conventional wireless network solutions to keep up with.

Rajant explains: “Underground mines and tunnels are some of the most challenging environments in which to deploy network systems. Connectivity and throughput demands are high, but circular ramps and declines, stopes, and mine layout place limitations on how far wireless signals can travel.

“Many mines, therefore, depend on fibre to achieve reliable underground communications, but installing fibre in active drives, panels and declines is difficult to schedule and can create operational and maintenance nightmares.”

In addition, development plus drill and blast areas can rarely support fibre infrastructure. “It is not uncommon for trucks to accidentally catch and rip down sections of fibre and when that happens connectivity across the entire underground mine can be lost,” Rajant said.

In Rajant’s Wireless Mesh solution, BreadCrumb nodes act independently of each other. This means if one node is damaged or has an issue, the system continues to operate by using another communication route. In addition, the underground solution boasts the highest data throughput on the market, according to Foletti; latency is less than a millisecond, he added. Both features will become even more important as the industry continues its transition to automation.

Smith and Foletti said the company chose AIMEX 2019 and the Australian market to launch this solution as the company already has 35 installations on surface in Australia, at operations owned by some major mining companies, such as Anglo American. Anglo, in fact, is standardising all its global operations with Rajant Wireless Mesh network technology, according to Smith.

The Rajant team is confident these companies and others will see there is a strong investment case for introducing Wireless Mesh underground, too.

In addition to gaining traction with mining companies, Smith and Foletti said Rajant had been making inroads with equipment manufacturers, fleet management providers and other service providers in the mining ecosystem.

Smith mentioned Wabtec (now GE Wabtec) had made an investment in the company as it looked to incorporate its wireless communications technology into its rail systems, while Japanese conglomerate Mitsui had created a strategic partnership looking to rollout Rajant’s technology across several of its portfolio companies.

Despite the introduction of LTE and 5G technology to the underground environment, Smith and Foletti believe there is still a business case for Rajant’s Wireless Mesh technology.

As Foletti said, “If they [the mining operation] move[s], that’s where Rajant comes in.”

This is likely to see the communications infrastructure installed alongside other technologies in the future such as LTE, fibre and 5G in rapidly expanding mining areas such as development and production.

Strata Worldwide ready for another HazardAvert first

Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Strata Worldwide is building on its Australia-first application of proximity detection on underground shuttle cars in a Queensland coal mine and expects to see the same mine install and commission a vehicle-to-vehicle interaction component within the next 12-18 months.

Strata said earlier this month that, as a proactive safety measure, one of the world’s leading mining companies had been undergoing extensive research on Strata’s HazardAvert® proximity detection technology. The mining client and Strata Worldwide worked together to test and trial the technology in underground coal mining environments, with the miner’s primary goal being to reduce the potential risks to people working in close proximity to mobile equipment.

HazardAvert proximity detection field generators, installed on equipment, form electromagnetic warning and danger zones around the machinery, according to Strata Worldwide. These zones are detected by the HazardAvert Personal Alarm Devices installed on miner cap lamps or worn on the miners’ belt. When the zones are breached, either by a miner entering the zone or by the shuttle car approaching a miner, the system alarms and alerts both parties. To overcome situations where reaction time is limited, the system can be interfaced into the controls of the equipment to automatically slow or stop the machinery, the company added.

Proximity detection has been used on shuttle cars in the US and South Africa for a good few years as regulators in those regions mandated the use of the technology. This Queensland installation is the first approved system to be introduced in an Australia coal production scenario, however.

At the AIMEX 2019 event, Paul Mullins, Global Product Manager for Strata, provided IM with some more detail on this recent project win, which was the culmination of two years of due diligence work at the mine. Over this period, underground shuttle cars were fitted with the proximity detection technology required as they were brought in for overhaul, allowing the mine to keep up with its coal production targets.

The physical installation of the proximity detection system was undertaken at Komatsu’s Rockhampton facility, in Queensland. Komatsu worked with both Strata and representatives from the mine operation to re-design the control system of the shuttle cars to ensure the system effectively integrated with the machine, according to Komatsu.

“In doing so, Komatsu were able to ensure the shuttle car automatically functioned in the manner requested by the mine operation, in the event the proximity detection system alerted the presence of mine personnel,” Komatsu said.

The machine was designed to slow down when miner personnel entered a ‘warning zone’ and stop in the event mine personnel became too close to the shuttle car and entered the ‘stop’ zone.

Komatsu and Strata both worked with the mining operation over the two year period to ensure the relevant hazards were understood and controlled, which has led to incremental improvements being made to the integrated system throughout the trial period.

Strata’s Mullins said the system had been running in sections at the mine since the start of this year, with 40-50 people now equipped with HazardAvert Caplamps. The mine in operation has four production crews, with two of these crews currently using the vehicle-to-personnel proximity system, he said.

By the end of the year, Mullins is expecting all shuttle cars, personnel and continuous miners at the operation to be equipped with the technology. He then expects the mine to move towards vehicle-to-vehicle interaction, which involves adding proximity detection to LHDs at the mine, within the next 12-18 months.

Vehicle-to-vehicle interaction would be a global first in underground coal mining environments.

This is not all for Strata Worldwide, with Mullins saying the company is currently working with other coal mining companies in Queensland on similar proximity detection projects.

Strata Worldwide also used the AIMEX 2019 event to unveil its DigitalBRIDGE Plus+ solution to improve existing leaky feeder systems by “digitising the network and expanding connectivity capacity in the mining and tunnelling industries”.

The solution, produced through an established partnership with Australia-based RFI Technology Solutions, enables mines to upgrade their existing leaky feeder systems to achieve digital high-speed Ethernet capabilities without losing VHF (Very High Frequency) voice communications, according to Strata.

Cummins powers up solutions drive in face of mining energy evolution

Environmental, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, , , , , , , ,

Craig Wilkins, Director of Prime Power & Global Sales Support at Cummins, sees the company’s new HSK78G natural gas generator as a mainstay in the mine power sector, able to offer companies fuel flexibility, reliable power generation and comparatively low emissions.

With the industry currently undergoing an evolution in power inputs – the focus having shifted towards renewable and clean options that can offer both a reduced carbon footprint and energy diversity – the HSK78G can be used alongside the likes of diesel, solar and wind energy to ensure mining companies have a reliable power solution in place.

Cummins debuted the 1.6-2 MW generator series at the 2019 Middle East Electricity show back in March and Wilkins told IM at the AIMEX 2019 show in Sydney, Australia, last week (Cummins stand pictured above) that the reception from the mining sector has been positive.

The HSK78G (pictured, left) has been running at Blackham Resources’ Matilda-Wiluna gold mine, in Western Australia, for a few years, in addition to units being deployed at mine sites in China. The company also has plans to test the generator’s efficiency at altitude with a mining customer trial lined up next year in Latin America.

Cummins says the HSK78G is a prime power solution for heavy industry installations in the most extreme environments. Its engineering is designed to push the boundaries of performance and challenge the perceived limitations of natural gas generators for mining operations, according to the company, with the generator designed to operate at the highest altitudes in the most remote locations, all far from the closest grid. This sees the unit offer full power capability without derating at 50°C (122°F) and 500 m (1,640 ft) above sea level (asl), and up to 4,000 m asl with some derating.

It also offers “barrier-breaking fuel flexibility” and the ability to burn pipeline natural gas, flare gas down to 40 methane number (MN), biogas and ultra-low fuels down to 273 BTU/scf without derating. At the same time, it can handle contaminant levels on very aggressive fuels, Cummins says.

This sees the generator deliver high electrical efficiency of up to 44.2% (50 Hz) and 43.5% (60 Hz) on a range of pipeline natural gas down to 70 MN, with as low as 250 mg/NM³ nitrous oxide emitted without aftertreatment – bringing it in compliance with the relevant EU and US standards.

The most obvious markets for the generator are those regions with plentiful natural gas supplies – Australia being one – according to Wilkins. Yet, as all operators are looking to cut their fuel and electricity consumption and diversify their energy mix, the 78 L generator set could end up reaching a far wider audience.

Battery backup is being discussed across the mine power sector currently, with installations such as the wind power solution at Glencore’s Raglan nickel mine in Nunavik, Canada, held up as an example of how effective renewable energy can be even when the wind is not blowing.

Despite this, not all renewable power solutions using batteries offer an economic business case for mines. In some applications, a battery’s weight and size can also inhibit operations.

This leaves a void for other energy inputs to fill. Wilkins is confident natural gas and the generators Cummins is now producing can fill that void in many markets looking for a cleaner power supply than the alternative diesel equivalent, and one that can be relied on regardless of weather.

Cummins has invested heavily in the HSK78G, which it is hoping will become a platform it can build a natural gas generator portfolio on.

“It can deal with all different gas types,” Wilkins told IM, explaining that the generator has been fitted with a variety of sensors that assess the energy input and react accordingly. This allows customers to use a variety of natural gas in the generator from different industrial sectors, while benefitting from the same performance.

Different sensors on the machine can constantly monitor the generator’s performance, providing the baseline predictive maintenance solution every mining customer operating in a remote region is currently after.

Realising this 12 cylinder generator is likely to be used as part of a wider power solution – not necessarily being in constant operation – the HSK78G is also fitted with a load variation system that is able to manage fluctuations in power supply.

As the ‘platform’ comment would indicate, the HSK78G is not the start and end of Cummins’ venture into the gas generator field.

Wilkins said the company is already working on the launch of a 500 kW gas generator that could be used in remote communities (such as those around mine sites). This is expected to be launched later this year.

He also said Cummins’ engineers envisaged both 16-cylinder and 20-cylinder generators being added to the range.

The company is not setting its sights solely on natural gas as far as mining energy diversity goes.

Wilkins said. “We have got to be across a number of different solutions.”

To this end, Cummins has made investments in natural gas, diesel and batteries. It is also awaiting approval for its acquisition of fuel cell manufacturer Hydrogenics.

This corporate activity is a clear indicator of the changing power characteristics of not only the mine power segment, but the wider industrial energy sector.

“Customers are demanding more of a ‘solution’ than a product now,” Wilkins said. “There are a lot of companies out there that can provide the individual components, but we want to provide these solutions.”