Mining, People and the Environment > Enviromine > New safety tool to be commercially available

Enviromine

New mine safety software developed by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) will be available around the world after a licence to commercially develop the software was awarded to Queensland-based Mining Logic Solutions.

The Nexus real-time risk management system will allow integrated data collection from different systems present in an underground coal mine, which normally do not communicate with each other.

The system integrates data from mine-monitoring systems and turns it into real-time risk management and decision support for control room operators, a capability that was not previously available, CSIRO said.

Nexus was developed by CSIRO with the aid of the Australian Coal Association Research Programme (ACARP) and the Japan Coal Energy Centre (JCOAL).

CSIRO said JCOAL’s input was essential to the development of Nexus, as the centre provided financial support and test sites in Japan to demonstrate the technology.

“CSIRO has created a new safety tool that did not previously exist,” Mark Bennetts, executive director of ACARP, said. “They recognise that it should be made available to the industry as soon as possible.”

The hope is that, with the help of Mining Logic Solutions, the software will be available to coal mines around the world.

“The potential market for Nexus is not limited to Australia; it is ideally suited for export to many other countries including India, China, the US and Canada,” CSIRO exploration and mining chief Mike McWilliams said.