Minetec wins mine safety contract

Swedish miner Boliden has awarded a contract to Western Australia-based Minetec (a member of the Codan group of companies) for a non‐GPS reliant surface mining proximity detection system.

Boliden’s operations include the world’s most efficient open‐pit copper mine and the biggest zinc mine in Europe.

Minetec’s proximity detection solution, SafeDetect, will be first deployed at the Boliden Kevitsa Mine in northern Finland, with other sites to follow.

SafeDetect is a peer-to-peer, off-network solution that uses Wi‐Fi ranging technology, known as WASP (wireless ad hoc system for positioning). It is non‐intrusive and is easily installed on vehicles, autonomous or manned, and can detect personnel on foot.

Almost all surface mining safety solutions use GPS-centric tracking, but this can lead to blind spots, poor depth perception and trouble with fast moving vehicles. As a result, many miners want a solution that is not reliant upon GPS.

“This client evaluated Minetec against household names in the business, the GPS-based solutions which all miners know, and we were taken through our paces. Not only did we excel in the performance trials, but also in terms of total cost of ownership,” said Alan Fenelon, Minetec’s VP commercial and client support.

“Additionally, and perhaps of more significance, Minetec traditionally felt the key value of our solution was the ability for a single system to coexist above and below ground and this is absolutely valid. Minetec remains the world’s only vendor capable of providing this,” added Fenelon.

“Yet this client saw enough value in the ‘surface only’ application to make a selection. This speaks volumes.”

Image courtesy Boliden Group.

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