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Wireless Piezometer Monitoring is the Best Way to Manage Water in Mines

Controlling water levels in contained and uncontained aquifers, and monitoring the pore pressure of groundwater, usually by means of an array of piezometers, are vital parts of ensuring that any mine operates safely and does not experience productivity disruptions. Wireless piezometer monitoring has several advantages over manual data collection and cable-based monitoring networks, including: 1.  They are rapidly deployable in mines of all...

The Most Efficient Way to Perform Wireless Vibrating-Wire Monitoring in Your Surface Mine

As an engineer or manager of an open pit/surface mine, you no doubt spend a significant amount of time contending with water in the mine – whether it enters the mine as rain or surface water run-off, or originates as groundwater that seeps into low-lying areas of the mine, naturally or as a result of mining operations, or remains as...

Geotechnical Monitoring Instrumentation: Helping Mine Engineers Balance Safety & Productivity Requirements

Due to their nature, construction, and typical location, the operational status, safety, and productivity of underground mines (whether hard rock or soft rock) are heavily dependent on the geology and behaviour of rock masses in and around the mine. Because it is a highly variable material that exhibits significant variations in strength and the way it reacts to stresses, both natural...

The Who, What, Where, When, Why, & How of Using Geotechnical Instruments in Underground Mines

Using an array of geotechnical instruments within an underground mine is a highly effective but relatively simple way to gather a lot of accurate data that can be used by mine engineers who are responsible for making decisions that affect safety and productivity. Who should be using geotechnical instruments?  All mine owners/managers who take the safety of their personnel seriously...

Linking Analog Geotechnical Monitoring Instruments to a Digital Data Acquisition System

Geotechnical monitoring instruments are increasingly used by civil engineers to monitor dams, tunnels, bridges, and other large structures and civil projects, both during the initial construction phase and on an ongoing basis for control and management purposes as required in the longer term. Monitoring these projects, structures, and installations by interpreting and making use of the data gathered by geotechnical monitoring...

Geotechnical Investigation: Now Android Tablet Compatible!

Geotechnical investigation, whether initial, ongoing, or both, is an important part of a surface mine engineer or civil engineer’s work. Initial geotechnical investigations are generally performed by engineers to determine the placement and status of rock and soil at a surface mining or civil engineering site. Information gathered during this phase is used to design and plan excavations, earthworks, foundations, support...

Wireless Water Level Monitoring: Keeping Surface Mines and Civil Sites Safe and Productive

Wherever large-scale excavations are made, water build-up is almost certain to occur and more than likely become a problem that needs to be managed. This is usually because the water becomes trapped within the excavation and is unable to simply flow away, as would be the case in most naturally occurring water bodies. Two of the most common man-made environments in...

Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks: When Redundancy is a Good Thing

Mention redundancy in most industries and businesses, and it will usually lead to negative thoughts, i.e. items that can no longer be used, people who lose their job due to their job function no longer being required or relevant, etc. However, there is an environment in which redundancy is a good thing – underground mines that switch over from a cable-based...