In Perth, mining location technology company GeoMoby – shaping the future of location intelligence – says, for the first time, even Tier 2 and Tier 3 underground and surface mining operators can now afford to remotely track expensive machines and equipment and record that data. After the disruptive technology is installed, mining costs are slashed.
Image Credit: GeoMoby
“For the first time, Tier 2 and Tier 3 miners (which are often on tight operational budgets) can access the best technology in the world right now to enable reliable asset tracking in underground and surface mining operations,” says Chris Baudia, Founder and CEO of GeoMoby. “Miners can monitor anything, from spanners in toolboxes to machines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“We are also noticing many Tier 1 miners (who already have large-scale, expensive location tracking and communications systems installed) are also implementing our easy-to-use system as a backup.”
Tracking of equipment is enabled by easy to install bright green, lunch-box-sized ‘nodes’ which are placed throughout mines at strategic intervals. BLE tags, which resemble tiny square ‘stickers’ about the size of a 20 cent piece, can be attached to anything – from small battery packs for tools to first aid kits. Other more sizeable monitoring devices are easily attached to underground drill rigs and mining machines.
“Unlike some corporate monitoring systems, we also want to assure our customers and their employees that the technology does not feature any invasive recording technology,” Baudia said. “Remote monitoring screens simply track equipment, and people, which is then displayed (via anonymised IDs) on a screen. The movement of the ‘IDs’ can be recorded so data can be shared and replayed to help make mining operations safer and more efficient.
“Our research indicates that, right now, millions of dollars are being unnecessarily lost during underground mining operations. Lack of accurate asset tracking can lead to machines and equipment being lost in tunnels, underutilized, used improperly or unable to be located at all. Our technology can be connected to valuable equipment to keep it safe as well as people.”
Successful GeoMoby trials have been completed with RAC, Downer and several open pit and underground mining operations in Australia. Items being misplaced have dramatically decreased.
“Our research suggests it is not uncommon for some mine sites in the WA Goldfields to misplace $80,000-$100,000 worth equipment in a month, this technology immediately slashes such wastage,” said Mathieu Paul, director and head of business development, at GeoMoby. He has been overselling trials and installation of the technology in Western Australian mining operations. “Not only is it costly to replace misplaced equipment, but there are time-wasting costs as teams look for important gear during the course of the working day. GeoMoby is now Australia’s most advanced location intelligence platform with a specialisation in live tracking and geofencing technologies for the mining industry. It provides a 360-degree view platform so its clients can visualise their assets – trucks, light vehicles, machines – and the most important one, people. This is done in real-time deep down underground tunnels as well as large surface mining operations.”
Please see a video example here: https://geomoby.com/case-study/underground-asset-management/