Application of GPS in Mining

Submitted by- ABINASH SWAIN NIT Rourkela

Mine Surveying GPS Mining

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

• GPS? Introduction of GPS in Mining• Description of the System• Different Applications of GPS in Mining• GPS for safety purpose• Case Study with illustration • Challenges in the System• Future Scopes• Conclusion

GPS? An Introduction:

• GPS is the abbreviated form of “Global Positioning System”. It is a satellite-based radio navigation system, It Permits us to find velocity, position from anywhere in the world using satellite communication system.

• In mining industry it helps us in navigation, surveying,tracking and recreational purposes.

Description:

• The system consists of three parts

SPACE segment

USER EQIPMENT segment

OPERATIONAL CONTROL segment

SPACE SEGMENT

• It consist of several number of satellites to provide continuous positioning.

• Generally,24 satellites are used out of which at least 4 are always visible.

• Orbit period of a satellite is 11h 58 min. • Orbital Radius is nearly 26,600km.• The slope of each orbit is normally 55 degree

Operational Control Segment• It has the responsibility for maintaining the satellites

and their proper functioning.• It consist of 3 physical components:

Master control station(MCS)Monitor station(MS)Ground antennas

• The MCS operates the system and provides command and control functions for the satellite constellation.

• The MS is used to track the GPS satellite.

EQUIPMENT SEGMENT

• It is commonly known as GPS receiver.• It receive the signal from the satellites to determine user

position ,velocity and time.• It is generally an electronic equipment of size varying from

a wristwatch to naval shipboard unit .(weight 31.8 Kg)• It consist of components like Antenna Receiver Processor Control display unit Regulated dc power supply

Different Applications of GPS in mining• Control of heavy machinery such as draglines,• Control of bucket wheels and dozers,• Drill guidance,• Roads grading and maintenance,• Fleet management systems for haul trucks and other

vehicles tracking and dispatch,• Asset tracking, for instance, of lighting plant and mobile

generators,• Guidance and control for drill rigs and explosive trucks,• Access and zone control for visiting vehicles,• Detecting dangerous driver behaviour &• Collision avoidance applications.

GNSS system:“global navigation satellite system”

• The conventional coal mining surveying, positioning and monitoring approaches are both time-consuming and costly. With the introduction of GNSS based systems aims to increase the productive availability of ultra-heavy mining trucks, giant excavators and earthmovers that extract and transport mineral ore from open-cut mines to processing facilities in some of the most remote regions of the planet.

• The most of the mining GNSS systems are implemented using Differential GNSS (DGNSS) or Real Time Kinematics (RTK). These systems require a reference stations for which the position is accurately known allowing the deviations between measured position to the actual position and more importantly the corrections to the measured pseudo ranges to each of the individual satellites to be calculated for the mine site. The corrections calculated are transmitted by a radio network to the equipments in the field

Applications:

The GNSS guidance systems are applied to many aspects of mining operation including:

• Blasthole Drilling: GNSS based blasthole drill systems provide drill monitoring, control and guidance. The prime objective of GNSS positioning for drilling is to navigate the drill rig over the designed collar position, eliminating the need for manual survey.

Continued…

• Shovels, Loaders, Dozers and Graders: The planned design of the mines, ore blocks, pits and roads, is overlapped with the vehicle's current positions providing the operator with the assistance required to mine the pit and ore block to the intended mine design. The on-board display provides required assistance by providing visual cues to where are located the ore blocks and whether the current floor grade is below or above the design floor grade.

Continued…

• Vehicle Tracking and Dispatch: The dump trucks positions obtained are sent to the central control station, where is carried the dumping scheduling management. This application determines which material is loaded and sends information and instructions to be followed by the truck drivers, in order to guarantee that the assignments are followed and the materials are correctly collected from the correct ore block and dumped in the correct dumping location

Continued…

• Monitor Drivers and Vehicles: The sensors in the vehicle provide monitoring information of equipment's, like for instance air pressures. These systems also provide sensors to analyze the operator's well-being, by measuring key body parameters such as heart rate and skin temperature. This information is combined with GNSS information and is sent to a central control station. This information will allow for rapid intervention in case of problems.

Safety Applications

• Surveying• Truck Fleet Management• High Precision Machine Control• Hazard Avoidance• Collision Avoidance

Application Examples(Case Study)

• The following systems are among the most relevant in mining industry:

• Computer Aided Earthmoving System (CAES), by Caterpillar - Minestar

• Aquila Drill Management, by Caterpillar - MineStar• WENCO System• MODULAR System• EstrellaSat, EstrellaSat enable a central control base to

monitor machines and the people operating them at the company's excavation sites in real time

Conclusion

GPS survey and machine guidance applications are finding increasing acceptance in the mining industry. Widespread adoption of this technology has important safety benefits as a by product. In addition there are a number of applications where GPS systems may be fitted for primary safety purposes. Lack of satellites is the major problem to be overcome, but there are a number of possible solutions and more will be available in the future.

References1. ESA Portal, Space technology aids mining2. GPS Guidance System and Reduction of Open Pit

Mining Costs and Revenue Loss, Andrew P. Jarosz and Raleigh Finlayson

3. Safety Applications for GPS Systems in the Mining Industry, Queensland Resources Council

4. Monitoring of Offshore Platform Subsidence Using Permanent GPS Stations, Halim Setan and Rusli Othman, Journal of Global Positioning Systems, 2006

5. GSA, Europe's Satellite Navigation Programmes6. GNSS applications on Wikipedia

Thank you

Queries??

• Thank You!• https://in.linkedin.com/in/abinash-swain-

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