Ava Risk Group has signed a development and commercialisation agreement with Mining3 aimed at launching an “innovative new performance management solution” that could revolutionise the condition monitoring of conveyors, the ASX-listed risk assurance company said.

The agreement will strengthen the recently announced strategic alliance between Future Fibre Technologies (FFT), an Ava Group division, and Mining3, a leading global mining research and innovation company.

Ava explained: “Conveyor maintenance is a significant daily problem for the mining, cement, pulp and paper and agriculture sectors. Conventional methods of advanced detection of failure in conveyors are unreliable, time-consuming and labour intensive.”

Under the three-year agreement, FFT will use its Aura Ai-2 advanced fibre optic sensing platform, combined with Mining3’s signal processing algorithms, to bring to market a new FFT product that provides the world’s “most advanced predictive conveyor condition monitoring system for the global mining industry”, Ava said. The product will provide wear detection to pre-empt roller failure using FFT’s fibre optic solutions, with FFT investing up to A$250,000 ($177,437) to develop and market the new jointly created product. FFT will also have worldwide rights to the commercialisation of the technology.

This solution is expected to launch later this year and, Ava said, “provides a first mover advantage for the Ava Group, in a potential total addressable market of up to A$300 million”.

Ava Group CEO, Chris Fergus, said: “Mining companies are striving to realise the full benefits of evolving digital capabilities to sustain and enhance improvements in productivity, including looking at ways of using data more effectively to enhance asset management, improve reliability and introduce predictive capability.

“This partnership is a result of our focus towards providing innovative solutions to clients in key strategic sectors. The potential opportunity for Ava Group is transformational as we begin to execute and leverage on our strong portfolio of intellectual property to address our adjacent market solution strategy”.

Prof Paul Lever, CEO of Mining3, said: “We believe that partnerships such as this will drive the industry forward, building trust with suppliers by turning vendors into partners. Ava Group’s approach to collaborative innovation with service companies and suppliers is to be commended and we look forward to working with the FFT team to extend the application of their world-class technology beyond the initial solution.”

The Ava Group is a leader in the provision of risk management services and technologies and features a range of complementary solutions including intrusion detection for perimeters, pipelines and data networks, biometrics, card access control and locking as well as secure international logistics, storage of high value assets and risk consulting services.

Mining3, meanwhile, is a leading research organisation, directed by its global mining industry members to develop and deliver transformational technology to improve the productivity, sustainability, and safety of the mining industry.