Mine Safety 101 A Complete Solution to Lost Persons Detection (LPD) in Underground Mining
Mine Safety 101 A complete solution to lost persons detection (LPD) in Underground Mining Table of Contents Common Mine Safety Issues 3 Mine RSA: Safety Issues... 4 Mine RSA : Identified Solution.. 5 Mine RSA : Success Stories. 6 Minelert: About 7 Minelert: Contact Us.. 8 Minelert 2
Underground mining operations typically experience the following safety issues: Tragic incidents occur where employees who get lost underground subsequently pass away before search parties can locate them. Deep level underground mines have large geographic areas and employees often use alternative travelling routes between places of work for various reasons. It is not uncommon to have over 100 km (62 miles) of active haulage systems and travelling ways in a large gold mine. Current time and attendance based shift clearance procedures, although reasonably effective, take time and rely on additional visual confirmations like 'lamp in charge rack' or locker searches before a search is initiated for a potential lost employee. Searches underground are normally initiated only once a shift clearance process has identified a person has not clocked out prior to blasting times or end of shift windows. Mobilizing search teams and then trying to determine where to start looking can take several hours, time which is critical to the search and safe recovery of a lost or incapacitated employee underground. Minelert 3
Case Study: Mine RSA Mine RSA: Safety Issues Shaft Depth: approximately 3km (1,86 miles) below surface Multiple Shaft systems that are interconnected 8 mining levels with twin haulage systems; 10 cross cuts per level: Length of approximately 250 m (820 foot) to reef intersection. Haulages ranging from 5-6 km (3 miles) from the shaft stations; Approximately 96 km (60 miles) of active haulages and cross cuts, and; Areas serviced by both X and Y shafts (dual access to u/g). Top Case Study: Mine RSA Middle Problem: the time taken during searching process is long due to vastness of the mine s geographical area! Minelert 4
IDENTIFIED SOLUTION Putting a Lost Person Detection System (LPDS) in place that could piggy-back and run on Mine RSA s existing Ethernet IT backbone. All of RSA s underground operations already had varying degrees of industrial Ethernet backbone equipped for communications and data. A few operations had already implemented Asset Tracking of the material car fleet (supplied by Profitek Industrial Communications). This could quite easily be extended to detect and locate lost persons if the active tag could be fitted on a cap lamp and the LPDS (Minelert) software module was installed. Active high frequency tags (2.45GHz) RFID technology was the preferred option and readily available from Profitek. Phase 1 of the system provided mine wide detection where the Ethernet backbone was used and LPDS (Minelert) nodes were installed which gave a huge time advantage in searching for missing employees by narrowing down zones or areas where employees were last detected by the system. Search teams could be deployed quicker and time reduced significantly in locating lost persons. In stope searches still had to be done visually. Phase 2 development of a stand-alone hands free scanner for in stope areas where no IT backbone exists, utilising the same active tags. A new generation tag with dual frequency was also developed which gives better accuracy, but it is not a mandatory requirement. Minelert 5
Case Study: Mine RSA SUCCESS STORIES Extensions to the Ethernet backbone and installation of the Minelert system have been completed at RSA Mine and have been in operation for more than 18 months. Two incidents at RSA have proven the effectiveness of the system. On May 2014, an employee was found to be missing during shaft clearance: The LPDS was used and the employee was tracked and found within 41 minutes of the search Searching time was significantly reduced On August 2014 there was earth quake event that measured 5.3. in the area: All employees who were not accounted for through the telephones, were tracked and accounted for by the LPD system The system indicated that the employees were all at the station areas. SAMPLE REPORT Tag Events History Tag Name Tag Group Zone Group Zone Tag Health Enter DT Update/ Exit DT Zone Time Zone Status Lamp S02529 [0BA7] Lamp S02529 [0BA7(2983)] Lamp S02529 [0BA7] Lamp S02529 [0BA7] N/A Lamp Room Inside Lamp Room D Good 2014/05/29 18:53 N/A Lamp Lamp Room from Good 2014/05/29 Room Underground 18:53 N/A 76 Level 76 Level BMR Good 2014/05/29 Front 18:42 N/A 76 Level 76 Level RV Shaft Good 2014/05/29 18:40 2014/05/29 18:53 2014/05/29 18:53 2014/05/29 18:45 2014/05/29 18:40 0 day(s) 00:00:00 0 day(s) 00:00:04 0 day(s) 00:03:11 0 day(s) 00:00:20 EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT Minelert 6
ABOUT MINELERT Minelert was founded in 2005 to provide an Industrial Communications full service solution. Today Minelert is a leading Mission Critical Communications Service Provider in rugged mining environments. Minelert is a modular application suite specifically developed for underground, surface and open pit mining operations, which provides for mission critical and life critical mobile voice communication, real-time production information, critical alarms and real-time monitoring of personnel and assets over a robust digital network. Whether trying to provide a safer environment for underground workers or to increase efficiency and productivity - Minelert has a range of products and solutions that enables you to achieve your business outcomes. One of our proudest achievements to date is having provided more than 100km of continuous Wi-fi coverage underground in one of South Africa s deepest mines. The Minelert team has over 200 years of combined experience and provides industry leading support we deliver on time and within budget every time. We pride ourselves on having the fastest response time and the highest level of expertise. Over the years we have built up a base of Blue Chip clients who trust us to get it right the first time every time. Minelert 7
www.minelert.com John Mentz john@minelert.com Minelert 8