Accurate wireless tracking for underground mining

Improvements in underground wireless tracking technology are critical for improved safety and productivity in underground mines. While the recent focus on technology development has been for underground coal mines, improvements are required for block caving operations which have very different characteristics from coal mines. Block caving is characterized by a large number of draw points from which the mineral ore is extracted from under the ore body, and efficient and safe operation of such a mine requires careful monitoring and control of the distribution of ore extraction from the draw points. In this paper a new algorithm is presented for accurately tracking mine vehicles in an underground mine with a low density of reference nodes. A system is described that was installed at an operation mine, and results from a year long trial are presented. The results showed that the system is capable of accurately tracking ore extraction in an operational mine, and of reliable operation over an extended period of time.