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Integrated Mining Systems
Integrated Mining Systems is an alliance of three companies-
Gemini Positioning Systems of Calgary, Canada; Thunderbird Mining Systems of Redmond, USA; and Tritronics Australia Pty. Ltd. of Brisbane, Australia-all dedicated to providing information that will improve productivity in today's surface mining industry. IMS offers the most comprehensive line of monitoring and navigation products for the industry's mobile production equipment. Using common communication systems, GPS components, operating systems, database, and where practical, hardware components, IMS can provide a truly Integrated Mining System.
Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
The Tritronics FMS is a real-time fleet production and information system that collects data via radio. It can be fitted to trucks and loading equipment, as well as a variety of auxiliary and support equipment. GPS is used to continuously track the location and speed of all equipment. Operator feedback and data entry are provided on a LCD touch screen. Information such as weights and material types, cycle and operating times, delay codes and faults, alarms, fuel, and email messages are displayed or entered into the system through the screen. The system also incorporates vital signs monitoring and operator fault reporting.
The FMS interfaces with other on-vehicle systems, and displays and off-loads information from these systems. Material tracking is automatic with volumes, types, loading, and dump points being recorded. Supervisor Terminals can be installed in a supervisor's truck, shovel or office to provide an overview on the status of the fleet. Wide ranges of standard reports are available with the system. System maintenance and upgrades are done remotely via modem. A high level of diagnostics is incorporated in the on-board systems and office software to ensure maximum system uptime.
Drill Information Systems
Thunderbird has been involved with the design,
production and distribution of drill monitors for blast-hole drills since the early 1980's. The products are modular and expandable, which provides a mine with a great deal of flexibility and allows it to progressively add capabilities without obsoleting any of the previously installed components.
The basic component of Thunderbird's drill system is the Drilling Efficiency Indicator (DEI). The DEI provides the drill operator with data on hole depth, rate of penetration, bit distance from bottom, accumulated shift depth, and a pipe-in-hole warning. The Stratalogger, a datalogger, can be added to the DEI. It logs the DEI data, plus inputs from the operator on such items as delays, hole numbers, pattern location, and bit and other consumables. The Stratalogger can also be fitted to drills with PLC control and monitoring systems. The next upgrade is the Stratalogger Plus, which logs all drill parameters, plus additional sensors can be added to do vital signs monitoring. GPS and radios can be added to the Strataloggers.
The DEI PLUS family of products has recently been introduced. The basic DEI PLUS provides the operator with all of the DEI information, plus a great deal more all on an electro-luminescent display. A graphic presentation of the hole is displayed as it is being drilled. A software upgrade will convert the DEI PLUS into a LOGGER version. This provides similar functionality to the Stratalogger. The data is off-loaded using either a PDA or a radio. The system can be further upgraded to add additional sensors or monitor drill performance, or a GPS sensor to log drill hole positions.
DrillNAV
Gemini have been involved with drill navigation systems since the first GPS was installed on a drill at a Canadian mine in 1993. The latest version of DrillNAV was commissioned in October 1999. DrillNAV is a real-time drill navigation and data collection system utilizing satellite positioning technology.
DrillNAV operates on the same map file used by surveyors to stake a pattern. The map files are downloaded to the drill via radio. The DrillNAV system displays the drill position to the operator using a moving map display allowing the operator to navigate to drill hole positions in real-time.
In addition to eliminating the need to stake patterns, DrillNAV tells the operator the elevation to which each hole is to be drilled helping to ensure level benches. The system also provides leveling and azimuth information to the operator. For those mines that do not predesign their patterns, DrillNAV has provisions for the operator to lay out his own pattern. Extensive diagnostics is incorporated into the system.
Dragline Monitoring
The Tritronics 9000 dragline monitor has been setting the standard for dragline production monitors since 1988. The system consists of an on-board computer and operator LCD touch terminal, sensors and radio; a radio collection infrastructure; and an office database and communication control. The system weighs to +/- 4% of true weight.
Use of the data on the display in the cab provides the operators with information on swings, tons or cubic yards directly while digging which allows the operators to maximize the operating efficiency-tons moved. Delay codes are also entered through the screen so that 100% of the dragline time is tracked. The system eliminates time spent collecting data or generating reports since this is automatically done. The cycle is broken into a number of sections so that studies can be done on rigging, cut designs, buckets and operator efficiency. There is ample information collected by the monitor on such items as the average dig depth, dump height, swing angle, swing times, production rates, etc. to allow for dragline benchmarking and comparisons. Full anti-tightline boom protection is an option that can be retrofitted to the system.
Shovel Monitoring
The new Tritronics ShovelPRO shovel monitor will be released to the mining industry in 2003. It will provide material weights, material volumes, diggability, loading times, number of bucket passes, equipment delays and downtime, grade, and other critical operating data. It will be compatible with all types of electric shovels, and it can operate as a standalone system, or interface with the Tritronics FMS or Modular Dispatch systems. The bucket weighing accuracy is within 2% of the true weight. Carryback is measured; and bucket calibrations will be done by the operator and will not require external software/hardware. The system will come standard with GPS for determining bench grade.
The shovel monitor can be upgraded with a RTK GPS receiver and OreNAV software. Unlike other GPS shovel systems, with the ShovelPRO; the operator will be able to view the true position of the bucket in relation to the mine plan. This will ensure the loading and dispatching of materials to the correct locations. The operator display is a custom, sunlight readable, touch LCD display. The operator will be able to "customize" the display to suit his particular requirements.
Communication
All of these products can use a common, standard communication system for transmitted data, GPS corrections, and other information. The system consists of a base station with a server computer, repeaters as required, and the on-board radio equipment. The radio system can use either UHF (450-475 MHz) or Spread Spectrum (900 MHz). The communication systems are controlled with a Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system. Two-way communications and email messaging are available with some products. The systems are designed for use on a network with automatic report generation and transmission being a standard feature.
Database
All of the databases for the above products are Microsoft SQL 2000 databases A variety of reports are provided with the systems, and the mine, Thunderbird or Tritronics, can create custom reports. The software is extremely easy to use for anyone who has worked with Windows programs. These databases can be uploaded into higher level mine management programs such as Mincom's MIMS or SAP. The goal is to make it easy to provide the system information to operators, maintenance personnel, engineering, and management.
2609 151st Place N.E. -
Redmond, Washington 98052-5522
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