VGK provides 100% communication coverage at Solntsevsky coal mine
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
World Coal,
Vostochnaya Mining Co. has implemented a project to improve the quality of communications at its mining asset, the Solntsevsky coal mine. The project is aimed at ensuring the stable operation of the ASD Quarry system. For communication coverage, Wi-Fi is used with the use of MESH seamless roaming technology along the entire perimeter of the cut. 100% coverage made it possible to increase the data transfer rate between the equipment and the automatic dispatching system (ASD) by almost 10 times at the cut from 2 minutes to 15 seconds.
The company started the implementation of the main part of the project to cover communications in the opencast mine at the beginning of 2020. During this time, specialists from the Eastern Mining Co. have studied the key factors affecting the quality of communication at each point of the Solntsevsky coal mine. The entire contour of interaction was analysed, starting with the formation of data by sensors of various telemetry installed on dump trucks and excavators, and ending with the receipt of information in the database of the ASD Karyer system. The complexity of the project was in the presence of the characteristics of the mountainous terrain: the average depth of the section is 200 m, the elevation differences reach 300 m. As a result, the location of all communication towers was revised, proven world practices in frequency planning were adapted and applied to eliminate the mutual negative influence of the towers.
The new level of high-quality communication coverage will additionally improve the efficiency of mining equipment and optimise costs. With the introduction of 100% communication coverage, new standards for the installation of communication equipment on dump trucks and excavators were additionally developed. With the introduction of an automatic dispatching system, navigation and accounting tools were installed on all units of equipment, allowing for consideration of the volume of mining operations, transportation distances, idle times, idle runs, and fuel consumption. All data from all machines via a communication system is sent to a single dispatch centre, from where automated control and accounting of all operations is carried out.
“High-quality communication is necessary for timely receipt of information and ensuring uninterrupted control of all technological processes in real time. The work carried out provides the most complete coverage of the entire area of the Solntsevsky coal mine, which is 14 km2. All communication circuits act as a single organism, the data is displayed in the ASD in real time,” said Alexey Sharabarin, Director of the Solntsevsky coal mine.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/26102020/vgk-provides-100-communication-coverage-at-solntsevsky-coal-mine/
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