Canada-based subsurface intelligence leader Ideon Technologies is set to bring a new, ‘smarter’, multi-modal, wireless subsurface beacon solution to market, Australian industry innovator Mining3 says.
Developed in partnership with Mining3 and with broad applicability in the mining industry, this new long-life beacon will further enhance the Ideon REVEAL™ for Caving solution – an advanced cave monitoring and production optimisation solution.
Beacons are battery-powered wireless devices that transmit signals traditionally used to enable material tracking within a mine. This next-generation beacon, which will be released commercially by Ideon within the year, offers significantly improved functionality beyond current market offerings, Mining3 says. It delivers a valuable new suite of subsurface intelligence to caving operators, among other applications, helping to reduce the impact that geological and geotechnical uncertainty have on safety, production predictability and ore recovery in those mines.
Today’s beacon systems only provide point location data when activated, according to Mining3. They are typically cemented into large-diameter boreholes (PQ-sized/122.6 mm), drilled deep from the surface, before sites begin active caving. “It’s a high-risk, high-cost process to drill to deploy the units, which rely on high-strength rotating magnets to emit a detectable location signal,” Mining3 says. “They sometimes fail before a cave reaches critical production milestones years later, leaving operators with significant cave management blind spots during critical phases of development.”
The Ideon beacon transmits its physical location along with local environmental data (such as ambient temperature, pore pressure and strain), conveying data wirelessly through 200 m of solid rock. It has no moving parts, is compact (deployable in an NQ-size borehole/75.7 mm), and has wireless two-way communication capabilities to support active caving and other open-pit and underground mining applications, according to the companies. This allows the beacon to be remotely engaged after activation or switched to standby mode to conserve power when not in use.
Cave mining involves undermining an orebody and then allowing it to collapse under its own weight. While the method can deliver lower-cost recovery, high production rates, and reduced waste and environmental impact, mining companies have very little subsurface visibility as to what is happening in and around the active cave. The Ideon beacon will add real-time movement and environmental data within the mobile material in a block cave to the REVEAL for Caving solution, which delivers a high-resolution, high-volume, high-velocity dynamic Earth model that delineates the 3D shape of the cave, the air gap and the muck pile, the companies claim.
“This new solution supports Ideon’s strategic vision of fusing multiple data sources and technologies to deliver the most comprehensive, high-resolution view of the subsurface possible,” Dr. Doug Schouten, CTO & Co-Founder of Ideon Technologies, says. “Our work with Mining3 expands our REVEAL for Caving offering, giving mining companies an even greater understanding of the dynamics of their largest underground operations. In turn, this can help them improve safety, mitigate emerging geotechnical risk, proactively manage cave growth, achieve greater production predictability and improve ore recovery.
“Our singular aim is to solve difficult problems for customers, leveraging whatever combination of capabilities we need to maximise the value of their mines for them.”
Dr. Neville Plint, CEO of Mining3, said: “Working with Ideon exemplifies our approach to accelerating the journey from world-class research to commercial impact. By combining deep science with a collaborative mindset, we’re helping fast-track technologies that directly address mining’s most complex challenges. The successful integration of our foundational work into their REVEAL solutions suite highlights the value of multi-sensor data fusion in unlocking new subsurface insights. This partnership is a clear example of how innovation thrives when we focus on adoption and real-world deployment from the outset.”
The Ideon REVEAL Platform is a subsurface intelligence solution that comprises proprietary hardware (that delivers a new-to-the-world data source), ruggedised for the most remote exploration sites and demanding of noisy in-mine environments, software, integrated imaging systems and advanced data analysis, including AI and interpretation. Among other use cases, it is being used at Evolution’s Northparkes mine to remotely monitor progression of cave propagation in 4D.