Blast Support enables mines to track the position of people and assets on surface mines in 3D space. Image: Epiroc
Epiroc brings proven underground safety technology to surface mines around the world.
LWhen it comes to mining, drilling and blasting remains the most effective way to unlock deposits and move earth.
But as effective as the results are, the process can be dangerous, which is why mining sites make every effort to ensure that people and property are safe from the blast.
On a medium or large mining site with many employees, this preparatory work takes time.
“It usually takes a long time to ensure an area is clear,” said Andreas Prill, Head of Scanning at Epiroc. Working safely.
“Sometimes hundreds of people have to be counted and the blast area has to be visually inspected often to ensure that no one is left behind.
“This leads to inefficiencies, underutilization of resources, reduced production and reduced safety during the explosion.”
But what if there was a faster, safer way to prepare an area for blasting?
This was the question that people were asking themselves EpirocTheir response? That the core technology already existed in the company’s portfolio and just needed to be slightly recalibrated for surface operations.
This is how Epiroc combined its proven underground safety technology, Mobilaris Situation Awareness, with new technological developments. The result is Blast Support, a next-generation safety solution for surface mining.
“Blast Support can determine in real time whether an area can be blasted or not,” Prill said.
“It works by assigning Wi-Fi or LTE [long-term evolution] tags to people in the mine and using open space positioning and satellite imagery to create a 3D map of the blast zone, including surface blast zones and tunnels.
“With these two tools, we are able to create different blasting and demining zones and the system can take everyone into account in real time.”
Blast Support is an add-on to Mobilaris Situation Awareness, which enables live tracking of people and 3D visualization, as well as the ability to send messages by area. This includes not only 3D mapping of the blast zone, but also other hazardous areas, for example in case of risk of rockfall or landslide.
With Blast Support and Zone-Based Messaging, a site can map hazardous areas, monitor the position of Warnings or alarms are sent to workers to evacuate the area. The new system is also technology agnostic, making it compatible with various LTE networks and beacons, including Epiroc’s Virtual Beacon, an app for Android smartphones.
Prill said it was important for Blast Support to be interoperable with third-party communications infrastructure already in place at mine sites, allowing for easy integration and reduced capital expenditure.
“Blast Support reduces the time it takes to blast by ensuring all personnel and equipment are evacuated from the area in time,” Prill said. “And, most importantly, it provides an added level of safety for workers.”
The core technology has been on the market for over a decade and deployed at over 40 sites worldwide.
“While surface mining faces different challenges than underground operations, it also has many similarities,” Prill said.
“We are now leveraging proven solutions in underground mines to create new values for surface mines.”
Epiroc did not take this path lightly. The ability to map people and assets in an open pit mine in 3D is a significant step forward; it allows command centres to track the precise position of workers, even at depth, which is particularly relevant when blasting in a multi-level pit.
“We believe Blast Support is second to none,” Prill said.
“Blast Support avoids this limitation. It is not simple to define a 3D space in a virtual map, which then reflects an exclusion zone for blasting.
“Epiroc has years of experience in underground blast safety, and with Blast Support we have brought this important technology to the surface.”
Epiroc’s Blast Support system offers an ideal balance between safety and speed in blasting operations. And with the technology’s proven track record in the underground sector, Epiroc’s rise in the surface mining sector is sure to get off to a flying start.
This feature also appears in the July August Safe to Work number.