The increasing need for underground communications to mirror what we take for granted on the surface has been a key driver of Mine Site Technologies’ research and development efforts over a number of years.
“The timing of Aimex is good for us as we have a number of new communication solutions that have been installed at mines over the last 12 months with significant productivity benefits to mine operators,” MST said.
“Working with global miners has seen the rollout of the technologies occurring around the world, and not just in our home base in Australia. We have large installations of our advanced digital communication and tracking systems operating at mines in the USA, Canada, China and Mexico. In fact our largest installation to date is in a mine in China.”
Key technology areas being showcased at Aimex include:
ImPact Digital 802.11b Communication Infrastructure and Applications;
RFID Tagging Solutions that go beyond simple tracking applications into access control and security, as well as MST’s Proximity Detection System development; and
Combining key system components of the above into the Integrated Communications Cap Lamp (ICCL), so the cap lamp can not only include the standard PED Pager, but also RFID Tags and VHF Radio as required.
These technologies are the result of MST’s own R&D efforts as well as alliances with key partners in mining applications. An example is MST’s ImPact Digital communication system developed over the last five years. Rather than just being a communication infrastructure, MST has also developed a range of applications to hang off the digital infrastructure to give mine operators real tools for their current and future needs.
One of the key applications has been an advanced digital tracking system coming from an alliance with AeroScout Inc.
AeroScout is the global leader in 802.11 RFID Tagging, so MST has worked with the company in taking the AeroScout technology into mines around the world, interfacing it into existing tracking systems and extending its functionality into new areas, such as Proximity Detection.
“A key focus has been the development of communication technologies that don’t just provide a conduit for information, but also offer a range of applications to gather and analyse that information. For example, mines looking at Six Sigma systems or their equivalent all have as one of their basic assumptions ‘you can’t improve what you can’t measure’,” MST said.
“Hence it is the applications to allow this measuring or monitoring to be done more efficiently, and in real time, that has driven our efforts in high data communication backbones and associated applications.”
Unlike others getting involved in digital communications, MST has focused as much effort on the applications as on the actual digital backbone.
MST would welcome visitors to their booth at Aimex to discuss their technology suite and how such systems can integrate into a mine’s ERP systems and assist in meeting their KPIs.
Mine Site Technologies
Booth 1825
www.minesite.com.au
