7 Factors that Wirelessly Monitored Multi-Point Borehole Extensometers Can Measure inside Your Mine

To monitor what is going on within the rock and soil formations in and around an underground mine, engineers make use of a variety of geotechnical measuring instruments, including multi-point borehole extensometers.  Some of the factors that a good multi-point borehole extensometer can measure in an underground mine are:

1. Settlement in excavations, foundations, and embankments
2. Subsidence above and around tunnels and shafts
3. Movements in rock slides, walls, and abutments
4. Consolidation of soil under embankments and surcharges
5. Compression of piles of soil and the area underneath them
6. Spread in embankments
7. Convergence in tunnels and other underground openings

Of course, there is not much point using an array of multi-point borehole extensometers to gather data if they are going to be difficult and time-consuming to read. The most efficient way to use multi-point borehole extensometers in an underground mine is to use an extensometer that produces electronic data that can be easily accessed via a digital readout head. This data can then be collected by a wireless node and relayed into the mine’s LAN, from where it is easily accessible to mine engineers and owners.

The best combination for your mine is the MDT Multi-Point Borehole Extensometer, connected to the MDT-RTU wireless node, part of the Newtrax MineHop network. Up to three extensometers (or other MDT geotechnical instruments) can be connected to each of these robust, battery-powered nodes.