Global technology company Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS) is preparing to launch new open cut mine slope-monitoring software in Brisbane next month, designed to provide near real-time, 360 degree coverage of mine slopes.

IDS mining business manager Dr Paolo Farina said the technology was a first for open cut mine safety.

“Expanding the frontiers and scope of coverage of open cut mine slopes in near real time was a natural but crucial step towards the enhancement of mine safety,” said Farina.

IDS said the FPM360 system would introduce a new dimension in slope monitoring by integrating multiple IBIS radar systems to achieve “full situation awareness.”

The technology will be able to monitor an entire pit wall scenario in less than 3 minutes through the accumulation of massive radar data sets which are then processed to give geotechnical engineers access to critical slope information and alarming alerts, in near real time.

Farina said: “Mining engineers who can now be armed and continuously updated with knowledge of the entire pit slope behaviour, will be able to use this universal radar information as a tool to make informed decisions regarding the critical safety of mine personnel and plant, and to optimise mine productivity”

The technology provides 360 degree pit wall coverage that can be tailored to the specific design of each mine.

Multiple radar units are integrated, controlled and interfaced using a single software suite and displayed as a complete image of the entire pit to provide exhaustive information about potential areas of instability.

In recent months, FPM360 has been commissioned at three sites internationally and in just three years, IDS’s slope monitoring technology has been embraced by almost all sectors of the open cut mining community, resulting in excess of 90 deployments internationally.

FPM360 will be launched by IDS at the ACG Slope Stability Symposium in Brisbane from September 25 to 27.