Communications
SIMEC Mining revamps radio communication and safety WHEN ANALOGUE RADIO SOLUTIONS WEREN’T CUTTING IT ANYMORE, SIMEC MINING TURNED TO SEPURA TO OPTIMISE COMMUNICATION AND SAFETY AT ITS SOUTH AUSTRALIA IRON ORE OPERATIONS. Sepura’s TETRA solution is known for its strong coverage and versatility.
TETRA radios provide coverage across entire mine sites.
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IMEC Mining owns and operates iron ore mines in South Australia, including the Iron Baron, Iron Knob and South Middleback Ranges sites. These operations have a combined total output of more than 10 million tonnes of iron ore every year. The sites are mined for hematite, which is primarily exported by rail and sea, and magnetite, which is used locally within the Whyalla steelworks. An iron ore mine is a dangerous
working environment, with a multitude of environmental and logistical challenges to overcome on site. Large machinery dominates the sites, vehicles with limited visibility are constantly on the move and the widespread nature of the operation means staff are often working in solitude. The extreme heat and dust can also pose difficulties on mine sites, which can also affect machinery and technical equipment on site.
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 46 NOV-DEC 2021
CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS REQUIREMENT Stopping production for a safety incident or other disruption has a significant impact on SIMEC’s productivity and profits. An efficient critical communications solution is vital for worker safety and to ensure operations aren’t compromised. SIMEC had previously used analogue radio solutions on its earlier sites, but with the re-opening of Iron Baron in 2011, the limitations of analogue were identified. Analogue systems suffered from numerous coverage blackspots, meaning there were periods when either vehicles or individuals could not be contacted. There were also issues with radio users talking over each other, blocked calls and no feedback as to whether a call had gone through, while the audio quality was poor. Enhanced functionality to evolve the system was also not available. ENTER SEPURA’S TETRA SOLUTION Investigating the options to deploy a critical communication solution, SIMEC turned to TETRA, identifying functionality that could significantly
