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SLOPE STABILITY INDUSTRY-CHANGING SAFETY TOOL The issue of safety is always at the back of any miner’s thoughts, particularly when working in open-cut mines with steep walls. Movement in walls can occur rapidly and bring down huge amounts of rock, often there is little or no warning and the consequences can be extremely costly, or worse still, fatal. Traditionally miners have had a limited number of options available to monitor and assess movement across pit slopes, the simplest solution has often been the human ‘spotter’ looking out for movement. Today, a range of techniques are available to monitor pit slopes including prisms and extensometers. The function of these monitoring tools is to take measurements over periods of time to gauge a long- term picture of movement trends. Whilst these tools offer benefi ts in understanding longer term movements, their ability to measure real-time movement is limited due to time lags in between the recording of each measurement. In addition to this, measurements are taken from set points on a wall, this means that movement in between these spot points is not captured and potential failures can be missed. Until recently the issue of a real-time monitoring solution focused upon specifi c localised work areas remained an elusive problem. The GroundProbe Slope Stability Radar (SSR™) has been providing a broader mine slope monitoring solution for mines since 2003, now GroundProbe can offer a supplementary solution to this problem targeting the needs of localised crews working in specifi c areas. It is for this reason GroundProbe launched the Work Area Monitor (WAM™), a system that will revolutionise work crew safety on site. The WAM alerts mining work crews when movement is detected on a slope above in a work area in real-time. The WAM is being well received by the mining community, with several metalliferous and coal mines already using the system. Renowned Australian Geotechnical Consultant, John Simmons, from Sherwood Geotechnical and Research Services believes it is a pivotal moment for the industry, greatly improving day-to-day productivity and safety in open cut mines and quarries. “Every mine in the world should think really seriously about having one of these,” said John Simmons. The WAM uses a camera and radar to allow the work crew to quickly select an 104 AUSTRALASIAN MINE SAFETY JOURNAL area to monitor. It checks the selected area for movement, and when movement is detected, the WAM alerts the work crew via wireless Personal Alerts (PALs) displaying text messages, audio, visual and vibrating alerts, as well as sounding local sirens and alerts in the work area. The WAM is integrated into a mine-ready light vehicle for mobility and quick deployment. It is simple to set up, and requires only basic training to operate. “This is a big advance for open-cut mining. We’re talking about an industry-changing product that could be the greatest safety improvement for work crews we’ve seen in a generation,” said Lachlan Campbell - WAM Commercialisation Manager at GroundProbe. “The WAM can detect when an area less than a bench has moved. This means mining crews can now detect if large rocks or loose material has moved, as opposed to entire bench-size movements,” said Campbell. The WAM can be used by mines for drill and blast crews, horizontal drilling, pre-split drilling, truck and shovel operators, face scaling and cleaning, and for other work taking place under slopes. GroundProbe has expanded its global footprint rapidly and is now fi rmly established in Australasia, Africa, North and South America, India and China. The WAM is available for purchase or lease globally. About GroundProbe – GroundProbe is an Australian company that develops and supplies measurement systems and services to mining and infrastructure organisations for the management of risk. GroundProbe is the global market leader in Slope Stability Radar monitoring systems. Since the launch of the revolutionary Slope Stability Radar (SSRTM ) in 2003, GroundProbe has been providing high value information to mines in every continent across the world – making mining safer and more profi table. GroundProbe holds internationally valid patents in key areas of the technology and was the fi rst company globally to introduce slope stability monitoring radar to the mining industry. For more information on GroundProbe, the SSR or the WAM please visit the websites below or contact: Sean Foley | Marketing Specialist Phone: +61 (0)7 3010 8983 Email: sean.foley@groundprobe.com www.groundprobe.com http://wam.groundprobe.com