MST’s two-way PED module will allow a miner underground to receive a message and respond directly back to the surface.

“By utilising CSIRO's research, Mine Site Technologies will develop a bi-directional PED which for the first time will allow miners across the world to communicate from underground in the event of a mine disaster,” CSIRO’s Dr Jay Guo said.

Under the agreement, the terms of which remain confidential, CSIRO will be retained as a research consultant for product development, and will share licence fees on product sales with Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP).

CSIRO has registered a patent for the invention and along with MST engineers is now working on the final commercialisation phase to turn the development work to date into a commercially available product.

The need for such a system was brought into sharp focus after the Moura Coal Mine disaster in Queensland in 1985, and more recently at both the Beaconsfield gold mine and Sago coal mine collapses.

Chairman and founder of MST Gary Zamel said the product will set an industry benchmark for safe mine operations.

“The benefits of instant communications with miners involved in an incident such as a collapse are immeasurable. Rescuers will be much better informed about conditions underground and will be able to direct operations to provide unprecedented efficiencies in mine rescue operations," Zamel said.

“We expect there to be a very large international market for the device."

When the two-way PED module becomes available, it will be designed to fit onto MST’s Integrated Communications Cap Lamp (ICCL), which is already operating at coal mines in Australia and China, and is expected to receive US approval over coming months.

The cap lamp allows various combinations of devices to be integrated into it; including tracking and tagging systems and most recently a two-way radio, with a VoIP phone currently being developed.

The 10-year licensing deal for the PED once available will generate significant export revenue, estimated to surpass $100 million in services and product.