Capital Equipment News June 2019

MINING NEWS

SA tech tie-up takes proximity detection to new heights

Proximity detection systems (PDS) specialist Booyco Electronics is once again raising the bar for safety, quality and local content in the mining sector through a technology collaboration with fellow South African supplier Mernok Elektronik and Selectronic. Anton Lourens, MD of Booyco Electronics, says the companies are cooperating to bring the substantial ad- vantages of new generation technology to the PDS market. Significantly, Booyco Electronics pioneered the use of PDS in South Africa and today has around 5 000 of its PDS units in the field, which have delivered over a million hours of service to date. “The experience we have gathered in the field with our existing technology has informed the direction of more recent technology, and this collabora- tion agreement allows quicker develop- ment and rollout of technology,” says Lourens. According to Mernok Elektronik founder and MD Schalk Janse van

Rensburg, his company’s strength lies in its in-house design and engi- neering capability. “This expertise, which we have been developing for over 10 years, drives our research and development efforts,” says Janse van Rensburg. “The result is a world class product range developed for the spe- cific needs of the South African mining sector.” With its extensive branch footprint developed over the past 13 years, Booyco Electronics will ensure that the new gen- eration technology is within reach of cus- tomers and is constantly supported. The company’s strategically located service facilities are manned by trained field technicians, capable of both installing and supporting hi-tech equipment. “Our proven levels of field sup- port will ensure that the technology benefits of the latest PDS design are translated into bottom-line and safety benefits for our mining customers,” says Lourens. b

Anton Lourens, MD of Booyco Electronics.

First unmanned dump trucks to connect to 5G network BELAZ unmanned dump trucks, which are among the biggest in the world, have begun working at a test site in the town of Zhodino in Belarus using 5G. The test zone has been created by infrastructure operator beCloud, BELAZ and VIST Group.

A test autonomous beCloud network using fifth generation (5G) technolo- gies, working in conjunction with the LTE-Advanced Pro network, has been deployed at the BELAZ plant. The project is a prototype of the future 5G network. Sets of equipment that meet the technical specifications of the 5G standard have been installed on two heavy pieces of equipment – a dump truck and a loader. The standard technologies used (New Radio and LTE-Advanced Pro) have enabled VIST Group technicians to test unmanned vehicle control, as well as the opera- tion of dump trucks in robot mode (the Intelligent Mine project). For autonomous vehicles, a system that scans and analyses the nuances of the geological situation should transmit information with a minimal delay time. The beCloud specialists have managed to reduce the response time of the equipment to 10-11 milli- seconds, which is less than the time

A test autonomous beCloud network using 5G technologies, working in conjunction with the LTE- Advanced Pro network, has been deployed at the BELAZ plant.

achieved with 4G network, but more than expected in future 5G networks. beCloud experts are continuing to fine-tune the equipment and optimise communication channels to achieve the best performance. “5G is not just an accelerated version of 4G, but a serious technological leap for decades to come. Strictly speaking, 5G is not only a new set of frequencies, but an integrated platform that exploits the capabilities of wireless networks much more efficiently,” says Mikhail Duka, deputy general director for Telecommunications at beCloud. b

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