Effective underground communication is becoming increasingly important for mines, which was highlighted by the recent tragedy in February at JSE-listed Harmony Gold’s Doornkop mine on the West Rand, after a seismic event that measured 2.4 on the Richter scale caused a rockfall, resulting in the death of nine mineworkers.

In light of these types of events, Chinese telecommunications solutions provider Huawei notes the efficacy of its latest end-to-end wireless communication solution for the mining industry, which employs long-term evolution (LTE) technology.

Huawei energy and mining director for Eastern and Southern Africa James Mulebeke tells Mining Weekly that the solution is capable of faster communication, enabling emergency response teams to act quickly.

“While the mining industry cannot avoid accidents, this technology will dramatically increase the emergency response times in mines. In the event of a rockfall, the LTE solution can pinpoint the location of trapped mineworkers, which will enable emergency response personnel to respond immediately with the correct equipment and get the mineworkers out safely,” he emphasises.

The solution was launched at the twentieth Investing in African Mining Indaba, which was held in Cape Town in February this year.

Mulebeke notes that the solution can transmit supervisory control and data acquisition information, as well as video and audio.

The solution also has a 1 km range and comprises a variety of LTE components, including access, terminal and portable equipment.

“The underground environment is complicated and much of the wireless transmission is lost, owing to obstructions such as rocks. However, we have tested this equipment and we currently have a working commercial case at coal-based integrated energy company China Shenhua’s Shendong coal mine, in China,” he explains.

He tells Mining Weekly that China Shenhua signed a contract in December to deploy the solution throughout the mine, following a successful proof-of-concept phase that started in the beginning of 2013.

Mulebeke notes that all equipment is enclosed in explosion- and water-resistant materials and can be used in rugged environments that have high levels of dust, humidity and water. Should there be a rockfall, for instance, the equipment will remain intact and communication will be maintained.

He adds that many companies have implemented similar solutions. “However, most of these technologies focused mainly on WiFi, which has failed to improve communication distances, owing to the complicated nature of underground data transmission, especially at coal mines, where there are high concentrations of explosive methane gas.

“Methane gas makes the type of power transmitted and the kind of radios used challenging for WiFi technology. Also, as the equipment is not able to cover long distances, more WiFi products are needed to relay the transmission,” Mulebeke asserts, high-lighting that Huawei’s LTE solution is more cost effective, as fewer devices are needed.

“Huawei’s wireless communication solution offers quality levels of performance, safety and efficiency. It also improves safety standards in current mine environments and, in turn, enables mining companies to gain a competitive edge and a significant return on investment,” he concludes.