The Challenge of Wireless Connectivity to Support Intelligent Mines

The need for continuous safety improvements and inc reased operational efficiency is driving the mining industry through a transition towards large-scale a utomation of operations, i.e., “intelligent mines”. The technology promises to remove human operators from harsh or dangerous conditions and increase productivity, from extraction all the way to the de liv ry of a processed product to the customer. In t his context, one of the key enablers is wireless connec tivity since it allows mining equipment to be remot ely monitored and controlled. Simply put, dependable wi reless connectivity is essential for unmanned mine operations. Although voice and narrowband data radi os have been used for years to support several type s of mining activities, such as fleet management (dispat ch) and telemetry, the use of automated equipment introduces a new set of connectivity requirements a d poses a set of challenges in terms of network pl anning, management and optimization. For example, the data rates required to support unmanned equipment, e.g. a teleoperated bulldozer, shift from a few kilobits/s econd to megabits/second due to live video feeds. T his traffic volume is well beyond the capabilities of P rofessional Mobile Radio narrowband systems and mandates the deployment of broadband systems. Furth ermore, the (data) traffic requirements of a mine a lso vary in time as the fleet expands. Additionally, w ireless networks are planned according to the chara teristics of the scenario in which they will be deployed, but mines change by definition on a daily-basis. There fore, a careful and continuous effort must be made to ensur e the wireless network keeps up with the topographi c and operational changes in order to provide the nec essary network availability, reliability, capacity and coverage needed to support a new mining paradigm. B y means of simulations, we analyze the effects on t he wireless network along 7 years of constant topograp hic changes in an open-pit mine coupled with much higher data requirements. The authors also present a new network topology that is able to partially me et the requirements posed by mining automation and discuss the consequences of not providing connectivity for all applications. The work also discusses how the c areful positioning of the heavy communications infrastructure (tall towers) from the early stages of the mine site project can make the provision of incremental capacity and coverage simpler.