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.

Narrabri North Coal

Mine-Phone MST’s VoIP Telephone can can used with the ImPact Network

The ICCL cap lamp contains internal RFID Tag & PED electronics

Whitehaven Coal has purchased a suite of communication and tracking products for their new Narrabri North Coal Mine.To cover safety and day to day management requirements, Narrabri North is installing two main communication infrastructures to meet those requirements:

  • The PED Emergency Mine Communication System, and
  • The ImPact Underground Digital Network for two-way voice and tracking.

ICCL Cap Lamps, which are already in use at the mine, contain PED Text Receiver and Wi-Fi RFID Tag circuits to operate from each of the above infrastructures respectively.
The PED Transmission System consists of a 11 km surface antenna that has been designed to provide mine wide signal coverage to the current and future underground developments for the next several years. The PED will enable one-way paging to personnel wherever they are in the mine, providing a very useful day to day management tool as well as a vital emergency communication system should an emergency ever arise.
An underground Wi-Fi Network is also being rolled out to complement the PED System, thus providing a total mine communications solution. An initial 25 Wireless Network Switches/Wi-Fi Access Points will provide Wi-Fi coverage on the main travel roads at strategic points underground. This underground digital network will enable a number of 802.11b/g applications, key apps include:

  • Tracking the location of personnel underground via RFID Tags within each miner’s cap lamp.
  • Tracking vehicles as they move about the mine by self contained RFID tags attached to each vehicle.
  • Two-way voice communications via VoIP Telephone handsets. The VoIP telephone system will be integrated into the mine’s general phone system at the PABX to allow a seamless connection between all phones types used on site.

Another important application is extending the use of the tracking system data to provide an automated traffic management system. This automated traffic control will operate for transport vehicles travelling in the drift (slope) into the mine. MST appreciates the support of Whitehaven for our technology suite to provide the majority of their underground communication requirements. This single sourcing for their communication and tracking systems will ensure optimal support from MST, being the vendor and OEM of all the technologies..

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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