Kimberley Ekapa Mining has agreed to use Epiroc’s Mobilaris Mining Intelligence (MMI) solution as it looks to embrace mine digitalisation and create a decision support system to boost safety and increase productivity.

With the use of MMI, Kimberley Ekapa Mining will be able to track assets in real-time; to integrate and visualise machine data, machine location and the shift plan together to close the loop between the plan and the reality, according to Epiroc.

Howard Marsden, General Manager of Kimberley Ekapa Mining, said: “MMI will help us start to modernise our old diamond mine and be the tipping point in terms of production optimisation.”

Marsden added MMI would allow the company to tag and keep better track of its mining personnel and equipment and provide access to real-time data, shedding some light into the “normally dark world of the underground mine”.

“We expect this is to be productivity game changer,” he concluded.

Thanks to its open architecture, MMI can be integrated easily with other systems in the mine, Epiroc says. Kimberly Ekapa Mining will rely on MMI to compile information from other systems and make all information searchable and easily accessible to decision-makers in real time.

Ulla Korsman-Kopra, Global Business Manager, Automation and Information Management Systems at Epiroc’s Underground Rock Excavation division, said: “The MMI is the world’s leading multi-role 3D location based decision support system, which enhances safety, productivity and efficiency in the mining operations.”

Users can access the web-based MMI interface from different devices to visualise the locations and movements of workers, vehicles and other equipment in real-time, Epiroc says.

Korsman-Kopra said: “When a problematic situation arises, and for example lives are at stake, MMI can be critical. You need to act quickly and make informed decisions to save time and ultimately save lives.”

Epiroc will supply Kimberley Ekapa Mining with an MMI hardware and software package that includes personnel training and support. The system installation will be operational by year’s end.

The Kimberley Ekapa Mining diamond operation in South Africa produced 755,645 ct in the year to end-June 2018. The Kimberley mines were at the heart of South Africa’s early diamond rush in Kimberley in the late 1800s, where the world’s first hard rock diamond deposits were discovered.