Ensuring Productivity, Sustainability, And Safety In Deep Underground Mining
Published by Jess Watts,
Editorial Assistant
Global Mining Review,
The fast-growing digitalisation and automation of the underground hard rock industry is bringing with it innovative safety and productivity solutions, which many companies are starting to employ.
In July 2022, Komatsu Ltd. acquired Australia-based Mine Site Technologies (MST), which provides critical operational platforms for underground mining that leverages communication devices and position tracking systems. MST uses the HELIX enterprise software platform, which helps customers build digital ecosystems with real-time insights and alerts, voice and communication technologies, targeted modular solutions, robust network infrastructure, and wireless and geospatial technologies.
HELIX and its solution-based modules offer comprehensive digital monitoring, automation, and control for all operations, creating a real-time digital twin of the entire mine. It includes next-generation precision tracking, proximity detection, and collision avoidance, all unified by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GNSS. Soon, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology with V2X data capability will also be integrated.
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The MST portfolio provides a comprehensive set of solutions for underground mining. In your view, what sets MST apart?
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MST’s AXON devices provide the network infrastructure for data and communications, while HELIX serves to bring all collected data together in a useful and meaningful way. Like the modular ecosystem introduced by Komatsu at MINExpo for surface mining, MST systems are OEM-agnostic, interoperable, and integrate easily with disparate systems at the task, process, and enterprise levels. Customers who have mixed fleets are able to use MST seamlessly across their entire network of equipment, due to the interoperability that we offer.
At MINExpo, MST introduced HELIX Dispatch, a fleet management system specifically designed to help visualise and manage load and haul processes entirely underground.
This is a preview of an article that was originally published in the March 2025 issue of Global Mining Review.
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Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/special-reports/01042025/ensuring-productivity-sustainability-and-safety-in-deep-underground-mining/
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