Darrell Gillis Archives - International Mining

Rajant Corporation, the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh® wireless networks, has entered a strategic distribution agreement with Crossover Distribution.

Crossover is, according to Rajant, a leading wireless solutions provider skilled in design and engineering expertise to support North America. It has provided solutions to both Vale and Nutrien in Canada.

The agreement represents Rajant’s further global investment to introduce its Kinetic Mesh solution to Crossover’s customers within industries such as mining, indoor automation, smart cities, public safety and rural broadband, the company said.

Crossover Executive Vice President, Darin Gibbons, says: “Rajant is a complement to other technologies in the Crossover portfolio. For example, the use of Sonim phones for industrial-hardened communications in underground mines with all the functionality of a cell phone on the surface is made possible by Rajant’s wireless networking. A Rajant BreadCrumb radio on mobile equipment is a practical way to have voice coverage at the mine’s working face.”

With Rajant, a NORCAT deployment allowed Crossover to test its UHF/VHF to VoIP phone crossbanding solution that seamlessly allows the worker to use either a phone or a radio and communicate on a legacy and Kinetic Mesh system, according to Gibbons.

“Further, we’ve achieved successful testing of add-on technologies, like fan controls, gas monitoring, geotechnical sensors, seismic sensors, post-blast reentry, hazard alerts, tracking, traffic control, underground fleet management, and more – all made possible by Rajant.”

Darrell Gillis, Rajant Sales Director – Canada, said: “Crossover’s primary Rajant Kinetic Mesh customer base of mines and ports, along with its business strategy to expand into other industrial and municipal markets, is specifically focused on wireless communication solutions. With Rajant Kinetic Mesh networking, Crossover now offers its clients a solution with total mobility, autonomous adaptability and mission-critical reliability.

“As a fifth-generation mining sales and service specialist, I’ve witnessed first hand the transformational nature of Rajant’s technology when it comes to mines. Of note is the exceptional work we are already doing in underground, which includes shaft sinking, shaft inspection and maintenance. Rajant Kinetic Mesh does not break the connection. Instead, the data is always transmitting and receiving even with the high speeds of the conveyances and the numerous shaft signal obstructions in a shaft. And, unlike leaky feeder systems, the shaft with Rajant has complete coverage with no dead spots that lose connection.”

Rajant Corporation, the provider of Kinetic Mesh® wireless networks, and ESG Solutions, a leading microseismic solutions provider, say they have completed successful testing with Rajant as the backbone for carrying microseismic data to the surface.

Underground and open-pit mining customers could benefit from these developments as both companies start deployment trials in October as the last step in the qualification process, they say.

ESG’s Technical Sales Advisor, Tony Butler, said: “Many mines install microseismic systems for rockburst monitoring and to collect data from microseismic events that can lead to a better understanding of rock mass deformation. ESG Solutions installs microseismic systems that rely on sensors (geophones and/or accelerometers) to record digitised seismic waveforms with our ESG Paladin® data acquisition units housed in junction boxes. Each Paladin unit must be accurately time-synchronised across the network for optimum seismic event location determination. Data and system timing signals are currently transmitted to and from the Paladin units via fibre-optic networks. To reduce initial system costs and ongoing fibre system maintenance, clients have been asking if it would be possible for our systems to operate on a wireless system.”

The main hurdle to a wireless approach for microseismic monitoring has been the ability to provide accurate seismic system timing synchronisation between the Paladin units, according to Butler.

“With Rajant Kinetic Mesh, we are overcoming the time synchronisation issue with Precision Timing Protocol system timing of 30 microseconds (+/- 10 microseconds) being achieved for networked Paladins,” he said. “Together, we have demonstrated in the lab that Rajant and ESG can do seven hops through the Kinetic Mesh and maintain extremely accurate system timing.”

This development will allow Rajant’s wireless network to be considered for microseismic system monitoring in the field for up to 10 kHz sampling rates, Butler explained, with the system timing accuracy more than sufficient for the vast majority of microseismic systems installed that use geophones and/or accelerometers.

Darrell Gillis, Rajant Sales Director for Canada, added: “Rajant provides voice and data communication at the working face for mines. Deployed in 230-plus of the largest mines globally, Rajant’s fully mobile, autonomous V2X/M2M for underground mining eliminates the struggles of a voice-only leaky feeder with multi-radio high-speed connectivity. Next-generation technology, such as what ESG provides, has mission-critical requirements to function ‘no fibre required’. Rajant offers a robust, reliable, and redundant alternative to fibre that is easy-to-install and maintain.

“Rajant supports very accurate system timing, which is impossible with a Layer 3 solution, making Rajant Kinetic Mesh unique, not only for mining but for other IIoT applications, such as oil fields and civil projects.”