Mine Site Technologies is a solutions provider, specializing in the development and supply of technology, and services, to the mining industry. Our particular areas of expertise include underground communications, remote blasting systems, mine tagging & WiFi tracking systems and cap lamps; as well as high data wireless mesh systems for open pit and surface communications.

Rosebery Mine

Rosebery Mine in Tasmania, Australia, installed the PED System to provide emergency warning and general paging for all their underground operators.

Rosebery engineers studied a range of communication technologies to meet their requirements before choosing PED. The mine has an existing leaky feeder system that provides good two-way communication to the main travel roads in the mine, but with large areas of the mine out of radio range, management wanted to ensure all personnel were contactable in case of an emergency.

The combination of PED with a leaky feeder radio, and/or a telephone system, is a typical overall comms system that many mines have implemented as a solution for the general day to day management of the mine, and for emergency preparedness & warning. The PED System consists of:

  • 200 Integrated Communication Cap Lamps (ICCL) with PED Pager Receivers
  • 1 PED Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) Headend
  • 6,000 m (19,700 ft) antenna to provide coverage to all mining areas

Rosebery have been using the BlastPED Ssytem for several years, and have now iplemented PED as a core emergency warning system. We are very appreciative the support for our PED, BlastPED and ICCL technologies by Rosebery personnel.

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Xstrata United Coal

Xstrata Coal has ordered a TRACKER Tagging System for their United Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
Similar to Springvale Coal Mine’s recent TRACKER installation, United have taken the opportunity to upgrade their cap lamp batteries and BeltPEDs to the new ICCL unit. These new ICCL’s will contain a PED Receiver to operate off their PED transmission system already in place, as well as including RFID Tags to work with the TRACKER System.
The installation consists of:

  • 204 x ICCLs with PED Receiver and RFID Tag.
  • 20 x Self Contained Tags on Underground Diesel Vehicles.
  • 12 Read Beacons.

United management’s justification was based on:

  • Tracking people for safety of people.
  • Vehicle fleet management, particularly access control into ventilation districts.
  • Go to ICCL’s because of light weight, and that the PED and Tag can be in one unit.

We are very appreciative of the continued support United Colliery and the Xstrata Group has shown for our safety and communication technologies. Particularly because of the enormous development effort that was required to make a tagging system that truly suits the underground mining environment, and work reliably as an overall system.
As a tagging system is just that, a “System”, simply testing one or two ‘off-the-shelf’ readers and a few tags, is not testing a working system. The leap from that simple test set up to a reliable system is large, and it is something that many people simply do not realize. Hence our appreciation of Xstrata’s support for our efforts to make such a system available to the underground mining industry.

ICCL ICCL Cap Lamps come with RFID Tag and PED Pager

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Springvale Coal Mine

Centennial Coal Group has just ordered a TRACKER Tagging System for their Springvale Coal Mine. Springvale is about 2 hours west of Sydney in the Lithgow coalfield area.
At the same time they have taken the opportunity to upgrade their cap lamp batteries and BeltPEDs to the new ICCL unit. They already have a PED transmission system in place with old style BeltPEDs.
The installation consists of:

  • 250 x ICCLs with PED Receiver and RFID Tag.
  • 70 Self Contained Tags for Vehicles and Trailers.
  • 18 Beacon TRACKER System

Springvale’s justification was based on:

  • Tracking people for safety of people.
  • Vehicle fleet management.
  • Go to ICCL’s because of light weight, and that the PED and Tag can be in one unit.
  • It is also a very wet mine, so the sealed ICCL will prove a lot less maintenance than the older BeltPEDs. They have had five ICCL’s on trial for six months to prove this.
  • Interestingly, they are also going to use the Tags on vehicles to also automate the block light system in the travel roads at the mine. At the moment the block lights work by someone pulling a switch at either end of a block light section.

We are very appreciative of the continued support Springvale and the Centennial Coal Group has shown for our safety and communication technologies.

TRACKER Read Beacon Read Beacons will be set up at strategic points underground

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Baijigou Coal

Baijigou Coal Mine is the first coal mine in China to order our new ICCL cap lamp with both PED and Tagging electronics included. This will enable communication to personnel underground via the PED paging system, as well as tracking their location using the TRACKER tagging system.

Baijigou is operated by the Ning Xia Coal Group and is located in the Helan Mountains bordering Inner Mongolia. Though an extremely rugged landscape (see picture below), the engineers at Baijigou are planning to install the PED antenna on the surface by hanging it on poles, rather than the more typical method of trenching into the ground.

The PED System will use an 8 km (25,000 ft) surface antenna and start with 80 ICCL personal cap lamps. The TRACKER System will incorporate 20 Read Beacons at strategic points underground.

Baijigou Coal Mine is a very interesting mine, as it extracts all of a 20 m (66 ft) thick coal seam. This is achieved by using top coal caving longwall methods in two passes. The first pass uses the shearer to extract 3 m (10 ft) of coal above the middle of the seam, with the top 7 m (23 ft) of coal won by top coal caving. Then a second longwall pass is done in the bottom half of the seam, again by shearing 3 m and top coal caving the remaining 7 m.

Hence, it is a most impressive operation and we are very appreciative of their support for our communication technologies. We also look forward to our first installation in this Province of China.

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Newpac Coal

200 ICCL’s with PED Text receiver are used at Newpac

Newpac Coal Mine is a new mine development in the Hunter valley, NSW, Australia.

As the mine readies itself for longwall production the communication infrastructure was reviewed to ensure that an optimum overall system was implemented.

As part of this, and the mine’s responsibilities to ensure their Emergency Preparedness obligations were met, PED was selected to provide both day to day paging for general mine management, and as the primary emergency evacuation system.

The mine will install PED Personal Receivers on all 200 of its underground workers. An 8 km (25,000 ft) surface antenna will be run around and through the old open pit mine that lies above the seam to be mined.

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Newmont Leeville

ImPact Wireless Network Switches contain 4 fibre switches & up to 2 Wireless Radios

Newmont Gold is the world’s largest gold miner and as such is always looking for operational improvements to keep their mining operations the forefront of efficiency, as well total production. With this in mind, management at the Leeville mine in Nevada identified the opportunity to introduce a range of management tools and processes on the back of major upgrade in underground communication infrastructure.After developing a detailed scope and selection in a tender process, Newmont choose the Mine Site Technologies (MST) digital solution, based on our ImPact Wireless Network suite of technologies.The initial stage of the project has been commissioned and provides an extensive wireless network to the underground operation at Leeville and Carlin East. The underground network consists of a total of 88 wireless network devices, which consist of:
- 48 ImPact Wireless Network Switches (WNS): These are in various configurations to suit specific requirements at particular locations. Configurations include single or twin wireless radio cards, up to 4 fibre switches and 4 PoE outputs, within a single housing.
- These ImPact WNS units are connected together by MST’s composite fibre/power cable, joining the mine’s network at several key locations to form a number of redundant rings.
- 40 ImPact Wireless Access Points (WAP): These are connected to nearby ImPact WNS units by industrial CAT5 cable, to provide hotspots extensions in key locations. The initial applications to utilize this high bandwidth network include:
- Personnel tracking, using 400 RFID Tags mounted in the ICCL cap lamp.
- Equipment tracking, using 65 self contained tags for tracking vehicles.
- VoIP telephony using the installed network.
- Lap tops are being used at underground locations by being wirelessly connected to the network.The network use is planned to be expanded with other applications over time. The first of these will be Vehicle Intelligence. This will use the Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP) module to collect and upload in real time load and diagnostic data off a range of underground machines. This in turn will be used to streamline the management of these assets and automate the upload of information into the mine’s management software applications.It is the ability of a well designed underground wireless network to consolidate a lot of communication and data requirements into a single backbone that was the key driver in Newmont investing in the Impact Digital System. MST feels the engineering design and ease of deployment in the mine environment is what differentiated the ImPact solution from more standard network solutions that are really only practical to use in surface office environments.Once again, MST thank Newmont Gold for their continued support in choosing our communication technologies to contribute to meeting their operational objectives.More information on Digital Mine Communications can be seen at:
http://www.minesite.com.au/wi_fi_based_digital_communications

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Barrick Meikle

ImPact Access Point underground at Meikle Gold Mine

Barrick Gold has installed PED, Digital Communications and Tracking at their two mines in Nevada, Meikle and Rodeo.As Anton Meyer, Senior Control Engineer at Barrick Goldstrike Mines, explained at his presentation at the MINExpo Educational Sessions, Barrick had developed a project to raise the mine’s emergency preparedness, as well as utilize the features of the chosen systems to integrate their communication and management systems at the mine to increase productivity.The key technologies introduced, and the benefits they have brought to the Barrick operations, are:Personal Emergency Device (PED):
The through-the-earth paging system, PED, was installed to provide more reliable emergency warning to miners underground in event of an emergency. Due to the layout of the mine, the PED transmitting antenna was installed partially on the surface and underground, to form a vertical antenna. This single antenna approximately 2 miles long provides signal to the active working areas of Meikle and Rodeo Mines. An antenna extension to cover the new South Rodeo and Betze ore body developments is being assessed for 2009.The ultra low frequency PED signal travels directly through rock state, thus ensuring personnel can be contacted quickly in event of an emergency. This mine wide signalling ability also means the PED complements the mine’s two-way leaky feeder system, in day to day operations by filling in the gaps in signal coverage and assist in the general management of the mine.Wireless LAN:
Barrick has installed MST’s ImPact Wireless Access Points (Wireless Network Switches) to extend their Ethernet LAN underground, thus creating Wi-Fi hotspots at strategic locations underground. These hot spots are set up to detect RFID Tags, carried by miner in their cap lamps or attached to mobile equipment. Additionally, these Access Points receive information from vehicle mounted diagnostic/data logger units.Cap Lamps:
The mine upgraded their cap lamps with 700 Integrated Communications Cap Lamps (ICCL’s). The ICCL’s are optioned up with internal PED Text Messenger and RFID Tag electronics, to work with the PED transmission system and AeroScout based tracking system, respectively.Vehicle Interface and Tracking:
Self Contained RFID Tags are mounted on vehicles to allow their movements to be tracked. These tags are Wi-Fi Tags, based on AeroScout’s leading Wi-Fi tagging technology.Energy Management System:
Interfaces between the tracking systems, ventilation and gas monitoring systems, and Mine Control and Data Systems, is being developed to provide Ventilation on Demand (VOD). The intention being to automate the control of underground ventilation to suit what has personnel and machinery are in any given area, and thus reduce overall energy usage. In summary, Barrick Gold has a true vision for their Nevada operations using improved communication with miners, vehicles and fixed equipment, to improved safety and productivity by integrating:
- Real time tracking of miners and vehicles
- Quicker response in the event of mine emergencies.
- Access control
- Ventilation control
- Vehicle engine performance monitoring
- Dust, DPM and temperature control
- Energy management.Mine Site Technologies is appreciative of Barrick’s support in using a number of our key technologies as part of their Total Mine Control System project, and acknowledge the broad vision of their engineers on site.

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Rodeo Gold Mine

ICCL cap lamp include RFID Tag and PED Text Receiver circuits

Barrick Gold has installed also installed PED, ImPact Digital Communications and Tracking at their Rodeo Gold Mine in Nevada for the mine’s emergency preparedness objectives, as well as utilize the features of the chosen systems to integrate with their communication and management systems at the mine to increase productivity.The key technologies introduced, and the benefits they have brought to the Barrick operations, are:Personal Emergency Device (PED):
The through-the-earth paging system, PED, was installed to provide more reliable emergency warning to miners underground in event of an emergency. Due to the layout of the mine, the PED transmitting antenna was installed partially on the surface and underground, to form a vertical antenna. This single antenna approximately 2 miles long provides signal to the active working areas of Meikle and Rodeo Mines. An antenna extension to cover the new South Rodeo and Betze ore body developments is being assessed for 2009.The ultra low frequency PED signal travels directly through rock state, thus ensuring personnel can be contacted quickly in event of an emergency. This mine wide signalling ability also means the PED complements the mine’s two-way leaky feeder system, in day to day operations by filling in the gaps in signal coverage and assist in the general management of the mine.Wireless LAN:
Barrick has installed MST’s ImPact Wireless Access Points (Wireless Network Switches) to extend their Ethernet LAN underground, thus creating Wi-Fi hotspots at strategic locations underground. These hot spots are set up to detect RFID Tags, carried by miner in their cap lamps or attached to mobile equipment. Additionally, these Access Points receive information from vehicle mounted diagnostic/data logger units.Cap Lamps:
The mine upgraded their cap lamps with 700 Integrated Communications Cap Lamps (ICCL’s). The ICCL’s are optioned up with internal PED Text Messenger and RFID Tag electronics, to work with the PED transmission system and AeroScout based tracking system, respectively.Vehicle Interface and Tracking:
Self Contained RFID Tags are mounted on vehicles to allow their movements to be tracked. These tags are Wi-Fi Tags, based on AeroScout’s leading Wi-Fi tagging technology.Energy Management System:
Interfaces between the tracking systems, ventilation and gas monitoring systems, and Mine Control and Data Systems, is being developed to provide Ventilation on Demand (VOD). The intention being to automate the control of underground ventilation to suit what has personnel and machinery are in any given area, and thus reduce overall energy usage. In summary, Barrick Gold has a true vision for their Nevada operations using improved communication with miners, vehicles and fixed equipment, to improved safety and productivity by integrating:
- Real time tracking of miners and vehicles
- Quicker response in the event of mine emergencies.
- Access control
- Ventilation control
- Vehicle engine performance monitoring
- Dust, DPM and temperature control
- Energy management.Mine Site Technologies is appreciative of Barrick’s support in using a number of our key technologies as part of their Total Mine Control System project, and acknowledge the broad vision of their engineers on site.

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Kittila Mine

RFID Tags are incorporated inside the ICCL cap lamp

Kittila Mine is in Finland and as the mine develops their engineers wanted to implement a communication backbone that would serve the mines current and future needs. Additionally Agnico Eagle are noted for their proactive adoption of technologies to improve the operating efficiencies, as well as contributing to their safety and environmental objectives.Hence Agnico Eagle have chosen MST’s ImPact Digital System to provide the backbone for their various communication and data requirements. Initially these requirements are:
- Two-way voice communications via VoIP phones
- Tracking via active RFID Tags worn by miners and attached to mobile equipment.To achieve the first stage, the installation consists of:

  • 16 x ImPact Wireless Network Switches (WNS)
  • 13 xPoE ImPact Access Points
  • 90 x ICCL Miners Cap Lamps, with internal RFID Tags
  • 10 x AeroScout T2 Tags, that will be powered from vehicles
  • 20 VoIP Telephones, and associated server and gateway software
  • ImPact TRACKER Engine and Viewer, for tracking software and operator display.

By using a Wi-Fi based underground digital network as the backbone, the mine can add other applications over time without the need to install any other type of data highway. An example will be the introduction of the Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP) modules to vehicles to allow the real-time monitoring of engine diagnostics, payload and location data to enhance efficiencies in the production system as the mine grows.

The system is being supplied and installed by our Canadian office. This Sudbury office was one of the first of MST’s branches to get involved in digital based communications, and the quality of their skills in this area has been acknowledged with this deployment in Finland, and we are appreciative of Agnico Eagle’s support of our mine communication & tracking technologies.

More information on Digital Mine Communications can be seen at Underground Wi-Fi Mine Communications

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Mines Seleine Upgrade

ICCL cap lamps installed at Mines Seleine. ICCL’s are one third the weight of previous lead-acid battery packs, and still contain PED Receivers

Morton Salt’s Mines Seleine Mine has upgraded their cap lamps and personal PED Receiver units to the latest ICCL version.

Mine Seleine has been using the PED System since 1995 and was one of the first mines in Canada to install BeltPED Receivers on all personnel to use the PED as the primary emergency warning system. Mines Seleine also commenced using the BlastPED System to remotely initiate their blasts underground. This was relatively simple as the PED transmission system in place for personal paging only required a software upgrade to be able to introduce the BlastPED Receiver/Exploders into use. Mines Seleine completed the upgrade earlier this year, justifying the upgrade on ergonomic and economic grounds. The light weight ICCL lamps are one third the weight of the lead-acid batteries formerly in use, plus the sealed housing ensures long term reliability and significantly lower maintenance cost for the internal PED electronics.

With the Integrated Communication Cap Lamps now is use at both mines the option to add RFID Tag electronics into the ICCL’s for implementing a general tracking system is available, if wanted in the future.

MST acknowledge the long term support from Mines Seleine and look forward to supporting their PED, BlastPED and other communication technologies well into the future.

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Minesite Technologies: 25 27 Whiting St Artarmon NSW 2064 AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 9437 4399 Fax: +61 2 9437 5688 Email: mst@minesite.com.au