Tag Archives: Telstra

Strike Resources adds Dynamic Drill and Blast, Lucas TCS to Paulsens East team

28th June 2021Comminution of minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron oreCampbells Transport, Department of Mines, Dynamic Drill and Blast, Industry, Iron ore, iron ore lump, mining conveyors, ore sorters, Paulsens East, Regulation and Safety, Strike Resources, Telstra, Western Australia, William JohnsonDaniel Gleeson

Strike Resources, after an extensive evaluation, has entered into Early Contractor Involvement Services Agreements with the preferred contractors to provide drill and blast, mining, crushing and screening services and civil works (including the haulage road and mine site) for its Paulsens East iron ore mine in Western Australia.

Dynamic Drill and Blast has been selected for the provision of drill and blast services, and Lucas Total Contract Solutions has been selected for the provision of mining, crushing and screening services, plus the civil works required for Paulsens East, including construction of the 18 km haulage road (from the mine site to Nanutarra Road), establishment of the Mining Operations Centre (MOC) and siteworks for the mining village.

Strike, which is developing a 1.5 Mt/y direct shipping iron ore operation, says it is working with both parties to finalise the detailed scope of services, schedules and formal contractual terms of engagement.

Dynamic, who worked with Strike to plan, licence and develop magazine and explosives storage facilities for the project in consultation with the Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), said the contract is estimated to have a four-year initial term.

On top of this, Strike said the final objection on its proposed haulage road, Miscellaneous Licence (ML) L47/934, has now been withdrawn after the execution of an Access Deed with the underlying tenement holder. With the execution of this deed, the last outstanding ML related to Paulsens East is expected to be granted by DMIRS during the next two-to-four weeks.

“Once L47/934 is granted, and subject to DMIRS having no further issues with any technical or environmental aspects of the Mining Proposal, DMIRS is expected to approve the Mining Proposal for Paulsens East shortly thereafter,” the company said.

Strike also recently made an investment in acquiring a second-hand ore sorter, ancillary materials handling and control room equipment, together with conveyors that were recently sold at auction, resulting in a significant saving in project capital costs at Paulsens East.

“Strike is planning to use specialised ore sorters as part of its processing flowsheet, to assist with the optimisation of the production of high-grade lump ore from the mine,” it said. “To deliver the required throughput for the mine, a total of up to three ore sorters will be required.”

Further long-lead items secured include an order for 13 Ultra Quad Road Trains (comprising 13 prime movers and 52 trailers) for exclusive use on Paulsens East.

On the communications side, Strike has now entered into a contract with Telstra to commence works on establishing suitable communications infrastructure for the mine site and village. Due to the remote location, a dedicated microwave tower on site is required together with associated voice and data equipment. The construction of the tower and provisioning of the service will be critical for safe and effective communications during the construction and operational phase of the mine.

William Johnson, Managing Director for Strike, said: “With Campbells Transport already selected as its preferred haulage contractor, the company has now selected all of its key contractors for Paulsens East. The securing of further long lead time items together with the ore sorter and associated equipment are important steps as the company advances towards making a final investment decision on Paulsens East.”

Telstra lays the groundwork for major underground LTE network at Cannington mine

4th September 2019Automation, Base metals, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metalsAustralia, Cannington, communications, lead, LTE, networks, Queensland, Silver, South32, Telstra, Telstra Mining Services, zincDaniel Gleeson

Telstra Mining Services has announced a new partnership with South32 for a private 4G LTE network at its Cannington underground silver-lead-zinc mine in northwest Queensland, Australia.

Telstra is now in the pre-deployment stage at Cannington, with the network set to “drive improved safety, automation and mechanisation” at the site and connect staff to vehicles and sensors around the mine at all times, it said.

The underground mine produces about 3 Mt/y and the Cannington team is made up of about 550 full-time employees and up to 300 contractors.

Jeannette McGill, Head of Telstra Mining Services, said: “The high throughput and low latency offered by the system means that staff will be able to control critical equipment without interruption, and South32’s digitalisation strategy will be achievable throughout the mine.”

By adopting 4G LTE underground, the Cannington mine will be able to achieve better operating transparency, condition monitoring and production improvements for staff, machines and other mining systems, driving safety, productivity and efficiency, she added.

Telstra will be building an initial underground network 6.5 km in length using a “private, virtualised core” and LTE radio technologies distributed over leaky feeder cable using LTE-capable bi-directional amplifiers.

McGill said: “Our analysis indicates this to be the most effective solution for underground miners and is capable of adapting to the unique geology and composition of the Cannington mine. It enables access to the latest advances in 4G LTE and NB-IoT, and is also upgradeable to 5G in the future.”

The network being private means it will be a completely standalone mobile network, independent from others, like Telstra’s own public network, she explained. “South32 Cannington will have its own equipment, SIM cards and unique network codes for full autonomy and complete control.”

Providing a modern connectivity platform will allow for more flexible operations as well as scalability and choice in applying various digital solutions, according to Telstra.

“The combination of Ericsson mobile network equipment, Telstra radio spectrum, and leaky feeder solutions from specialist manufacturer METStech provides a unique capability that has made extending LTE underground a more commercially realistic and safer prospect,” McGill explained.

At its full deployment, the Cannington installation will become one of the largest underground mining LTE networks in the world using leaky feeder, according to Telstra.

“We’re excited to help drive South32’s Cannington mine further with this new private network, as it looks to pay dividends to safety, productivity and more,” McGill concluded.

Telstra LTE solution improving communications at Newcrest’s Lihir gold mine

20th June 2019Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metalsChris Jordaan, Gavin Wood, gold, Jeannette McGill, Lihir, LTE, Newcrest Mining, PNG, Telstra, Telstra Mining Services, Wi-FiDaniel Gleeson

Telstra Mining Services says it has implemented Papua New Guinea’s first private 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile network at Newcrest’s Lihir gold mine.

The next generation wireless communications platform will allow for greater levels of safety, remote operation and automation, according to Telstra, which worked with Newcrest to provide design, staging, site deployment and testing of the network.

Every kind of production vehicle asset, including trucks, drills, excavators, dozers, shovels and barges have now been connected and operationally proven over LTE. This process has revealed significant performance improvements in terms of reliability, speed and latency, according to Telstra. “The network has been able to resolve challenges with existing Wi-Fi connectivity and is making Newcrest’s safety and productivity systems more effective,” Telstra said, adding that fleet efficiency and real-time visibility have benefited from an 80% improvement in communications reliability on LTE-enabled assets.

The gold deposit at Lihir is within the Luise Caldera, an extinct volcanic crater that is geothermally active, and is one of the largest known gold deposits in the world, according to Newcrest. Most of the ore is refractory and is treated using pressure oxidation before the gold is recovered by a conventional leach process.

In the financial year ending June 30, 2018, Lihir produced 955,156 oz of gold. Since production commenced in 1997, the site has produced more than 10 Moz of the yellow metal.

Dr Jeannette McGill, Head of Telstra Mining Services, said Newcrest’s decision to invest in Private LTE technology further validates it as a dependable and scalable networking platform for the mining industry and one that enables mining houses to digitally transform.

“We’ve provided Newcrest with a tailored platform that will underpin its safety and digital mining ambitions and will help improve productivity and deliver new value and efficiencies to the business,” she said. “They’ll be using it to further modernise the mine site to enable the use of current and future mining applications, including tele-remote and autonomous systems, more extensively.”

The platform is completely independent from public mobile networks, according to Telstra, with Newcrest having been provided with its own dual-frequency base stations, LTE core and SIM cards, with the network’s configuration and coverage designed and implemented to meet the Lihir mine’s safety strategy and long-term mine plan.

Telstra Mining Services’ solution also includes ‘HetNet’ functionality that allows the Newcrest vehicle fleet to seamlessly switch between LTE and existing Wi-Fi networks without impacting critical mining applications.

Newcrest complemented the LTE technology solution by implementing new towers, data centres and redundant power systems across the site, according to Telstra.

McGill added: “Newcrest and Telstra Mining Services took what has become a best-in-class preliminary deployment approach with the network. Designing it for full production but initially deploying at two sites allowed Newcrest to validate the design principles, implementation techniques and practical capabilities of LTE before scaling their investment.”

Newcrest’s pragmatic approach, combined with flexibilities in the solution from Telstra Mining Services, enabled the desired outcomes and learning to be achieved within a relatively short timeframe, despite the remoteness of the Lihir operation, according to Telstra. Future phases of the project will further enhance coverage in-line with Lihir’s 20-year mine plan, and provide for expansion of coverage and capacity across the mine, processing plant, port and camp.

Chris Jordaan, General Manager, Newcrest Lihir, said: “The Lihir mine extends 300 m into a volcanic crater and our workers can often be exposed to elevated temperatures. Tele-remote and autonomous mining technologies are fundamental to working the hot work areas that will become more dominant features of our operation in the future.

“The Private LTE network will be a great enabler for these technologies and, coupled with the existing in-pit Wi-Fi network, we have been able to create a heterogeneous network that covers the whole mining lease.”

Gavin Wood, Chief Information & Digital Officer at Newcrest, said: “Safety is Newcrest’s number-one priority and the network Telstra Mining Services has built with us at Lihir will enable safer and more efficient mining using new technologies. The success of this project was 100% driven by leadership and personal commitment of the Lihir’s OT/IT team working together with Telstra Mining Services.”

LTE is a future-ready platform for wireless communications in mining, providing dependable and scalable communications that the next generation of machines, systems and workforce applications will require. Having been proven in carrier networks, it’s now seen as the mining industry’s next step for connectivity.