A newly developed trapped- miner locator system is capable of locating trapped workers at the onset of the search and continuously tracking the miners during the process. The system was developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC).

The effectiveness of 100 units is currently being tested underground after preliminary trials were run at the Gold Reef City underground mine.

During 2006 and 2007, differ- ent concepts were integrated using the combined support and efforts of the MHSC and the CSIR Mine Radio Systems and Poynting Innovations. Funds supporting the developmental work came from the Depart-ment of Science and Technology’s Innovation Fund.

The MHSC holds patenting rights over some of the innovations employed in the system.

In a rockburst/rockfall situation where extensive falls might have trapped some workers, a search device operated by a rescue team can detect the distance and direction to the individual tags, or trapped workers. This allows the rescue team to reach the trapped workers much more quickly than the normal process of random searching may allow for.

The newly developed system operates by means of a signalling device, or tag, which is placed in a miner’s cap lamp battery pack.

In November 1998, it was reported in the MHSC project report for GEN 502, entitled ‘Develop a trapped-miner location system’, that early infor- mation about the location and number of trapped miners dramatically increases miners’ chances of survival after ground-fall accidents.

The need for an integrated multifunctional system resulted in the development of an integrated prototype device and tracking system which can provide detection and location of a trapped miner within a 30-m radius.