Mining Mirror October 2018 | Page 42

Insight

Early warning can save lives

Mining disasters can be averted with new lifesaving technology , writes Yoni Margalit .

Mine safety is of grave concern in South Africa . After the recent fatal incident at Palabora Mining Company in Limpopo , Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe called on mining operations to dramatically improve the safety conditions for miners . At the current rate , South Africa is heading towards the deadliest year in mining since 2012 . However , technologies like early warning devices are now available in South Africa , which might prevent some of the incidents from happening . These devices notify miners of danger in the working face , and the technology includes radios that can be used in places where communication is not possible .

A significant number of miners have died because it takes too long to warn people underground — if they can be reached at all — making quick action almost impossible . The existing unreliable ‘ mining telephone ’ and leaky feeder systems in use only reach developed areas within the mine and are often compromised in underground catastrophes like fires and rock falls .
Advanced Communications has sourced radios that use the mine ’ s existing metallic and conductive infrastructure to create reliable communication paths underground that extend for kilometres . This allows the mine to have a backup radio system that works whether mine power is on or off , post-incident and even through obstructions .
Furthermore , the company locally develops and manufactures the WARN ( wireless alert remote notification ) devices in South Africa , which ensure that each miner is able to receive warnings immediately underground , no matter where they are and whether existing communications are functioning or not . These are wearable pager-like devices that alert each miner to a problem by vibrating , flashing , and beeping using medium frequency , allowing them to evacuate without delay .
The communication radios are already in use by Mines Rescue Services ( MRS ), a global non-profit organisation in South Africa that provides resources and expertise for effective emergency services , to ensure improved communication between members of its team during rescue operations . MRS has tested the radios extensively in underground situations and found that they provided continuous communication signal strength of 5 / 5 over underground distances of more than three kilometres .
MRS was also heavily involved in testing the WARN device , which also showed great success in receiving the warning signal even in undeveloped areas of a mine where no visible metallic infrastructure could be seen .
Technology like this could have been used at Palabora Mining Company where six miners unfortunately lost their lives . The tragedy occurred when a fire started on a conveyor belt underground . Once the smoke could be seen by logistics workers , they began warning people to get to the nearest refuge bay , but unfortunately when a catastrophe like this occurs , the first thing to go down is communication . These miners could have been saved by carrying a warning pager that would receive a warning signal regardless whether the mine ’ s communication infrastructure was functioning or not . b
Yoni Margalit is the managing director of Advanced Communications .
[ 40 ] MINING MIRROR OCTOBER 2018