Technology
What protects the technology keeping mines safe? SANDVIK AND BARMINCO HAVE PROVED AT IGO’S NOVA MINE THAT REMOTE OPERATIONS ARE A REALITY IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, BUT HOW CAN CYBER SECURITY BE ENSURED?
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he Sandvik-Barminco trial has demonstrated that the Nova operation, 160 kilometres from Norseman in Western Australia, can be operated from Barminco’s office in Perth more than 750 kilometres away. Barminco employee, Guy Gilbert has operated a Sandvik LH517 underground loader at the nickelcopper-cobalt mine, remotely bogging 400 tonnes in a little over two hours from a stope to a stockpile, from the company’s control rooms at Hazelmere in Perth. Not only was the trial of the Barminco Remote Operating Centre (BROC) successful, but it also occurred via the internet rather than through a fibre-optic cable, the common method at these kinds of operations. Gilbert’s feedback about the experience is resoundingly positive. He says when the telehut door is shut he forgets he is at Hazelmere and goes about his job like he is on-site at Nova. The potential of remotely-operated
Barminco operated a Sandvik LH517 underground loader at the Nova mine from 750 kilometres away in Perth.
mines offers an exciting opportunity to improve safety for workers, removing them from potentially dangerous situations, according to Gilbert. Operating from a distance allows workers to make better use of less productive time in a more flexible workplace closer to cities like Perth
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 18 MAR-APR 2020
rather than in remote areas. It also allows workers to return home after shifts rather than working a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) roster where they are away from families and friends. While keeping workers safe is the number one priority, remote operations also need to be protected
