The mining industry is worth an estimated $1 trillion USD globally and plays a critical role in the global economy, providing the raw materials that are essential for the manufacturing and construction industries.
Mining supports the growth of many other industries, such as transportation and logistics, and provides employment for millions of people around the world.
In recent years, mining – like many other industries – is being revolutionized by new technologies, which are making operations safer and more efficient and enhancing resource management.
MER Group has been at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies in the mining industry.
Smart Mining
The Smart-M system, developed in-house in MER Group’s innovation lab, has been customized to meet the requirements of mining operations.
Smart-M is an operation management platform that unifies outputs from sensors, cameras and other sources throughout the site, and extracts actionable insights for effective real-time decision-making.
Integrated in the control center of the mine, Smart-M enables centralized end-to-end monitoring of the whole site, as well as vehicle tracking for route optimization and emergency management.
Feeding the Smart-M in real time are innovative monitoring technologies:
- Wireless system of video (CCTV) surveillance
- Thermal monitoring for detection of fire, temperature rises and people
- Wireless sensors for monitoring airflow, ventilation, atmosphere, for detection of gas, fire and cracks, and for tracking of equipment and vehicles
- IoT applications
- Drones for aerial surveillance, for periodic evaluation of the mine and with transmission and threat intervention capabilities (deterrence via loudspeakers, beacons)
Connectivity, Navigation
Reliable and unified communication between all mine units is critical for safe and effective operations, and even more for managing emergencies or handling major disasters.
MER Group’s Wireless LTE network provides fully independent high-speed broadband communications and is compatible with any endpoint device.
This private LTE network enables:
- Wireless connectivity to support surveillance & monitoring, video (CCTV) and more
- Advanced crew connectivity, including Group PTT, direct voice call, video call, text message and file sharing
- Vehicles, asset and human tracking
- An effective emergency notification system
MER Group’s offering for mines also includes an indoor GPS navigation system, which enables accurate navigation by creating “virtual holes in the roof” for satellite GPS reception and support of native LTE applications, and telecom sites that are energy independent and easily installed.
Innovation Leads to Benefits
The innovative solutions MER Group provides mining companies are transforming the mining industry, in at least three ways.
First, these solutions lead to improved safety in mining operations, as well as better evacuation procedures and rescue operations in case of an accident.
Second, the solutions enable more systematic and effective maintenance procedures. Having a completely integrated network, checking each part of an operation becomes far simpler and results in more prominent functionality and security.
Finally, the solutions can significantly boost cost optimization. By implementing sensors on mining hardware and systems that monitor equipment, diggers can utilize huge sets of data, also known as big data, to find more cost-effective methods of conducting their operations and further developing efficiency along these lines. The deployment of sensors likewise can diminish operational downtime as organizations can utilize the data accumulated to train their machinery and prevent breakage.
