The Mining industry can often be a dangerous place to work with various hazards encountered by the miners. A report produced from the Western Australia mineral industry indicated that over 458 injuries occurred in Western Australia alone. While 98 people died on 3 separate occasions due to the mine collapses in South Africa and Russia in 2021.
Globally mining companies are slowly starting to become equipped with refuge chambers intended to keep staff safe in the event of an emergency for long periods. They allow for safety in the event of a natural disaster such as mine collapses and flooding.
The recent event in Burkina Faso in which 8 miners have been trapped for over a month with emergency staff only reaching the first refuge chamber on the 31st day. The emergency team had been hoping the 8 miners were in the chamber but unfortunately, it was empty when they recovered it. This is where IoT could have been instrumental in helping critical contact between the miners and the emergency staff.
Simoco has developed Velocity, an Edge computing, IoT device that can work in conjunction with radio frequency identification (RFID). The miners can use RFID technology to help establish who is using the refuge chamber when entering. The Velocity device is installed in the refuge chamber and will then send this data in real-time using a radio repeater. If an emergency was to occur within the mine the information on workers using the refuge chamber will be readily available. The image indicates the signal from the intuitive Velocity device sending signals to the control room within the headquarters indicating when the refuge chamber is in use and providing staff safety.
Velocity’s digital bearer capabilities mean that it can have a multifunction purpose onsite. Its perceptive evacuation and alerting system are being used on a global scale with the need to alert employees onsite in the event of emergencies such as floods, rock slides and mine collapses. Using Velocity in conjunction with radio bearer technology, status messages can be used to trigger tone generators which allow alerts to be sent to amplifiers. Simoco have designed and developed bespoke solutions for a range of customers with this capability.
Discover how Simoco can help your organisation realise the ‘connected mine’ vision by building smarter, safe, and more productive mines with our revolutionary wireless technology.
For more information read our connected mining brochure.
