Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology for automation of surface mining

Satellite technologies have undergone a rapid development during the last two decades – even in surface mining. The possibilities of using this technology for bucket wheel centre spatial determination are investigated at the Libouš Mine in the North Bohemian brown coal basin (Czech Republic). The position of the bucket wheel centre is computed by means of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data, inclinometer and incremental measurements. Data is transferred to a base and saved in a database. The main goal is to improve the control system for opencast mining. Visualisation of the bucket wheels' spatial positions and their movements in real time is performed by KVAS software – mine modelling and planning software ‘GNSS MineModel’. The article describes applications, which are used for automation of mine surveying and control of mining.