Mining Industry
The mining industry has many facets, which may be grouped as :-
- the mine facility, which is basically the geological environment and the physical structure of the mine, be it underground or surface mining;
- the mine machinery, which, while utilising different machines for underground and surface operations, have similar applications,
- product preparation, which includes washing and grading of the final product.
Acoustic
emission techniques have direct applications in each of these areas.
Metacoustics has completed a number of major research projects with
the mining industry in each of the above groupings. It has been demonstrated
that surface monitoring of underground mining can detect the earliest
rock deformation in a mine roof, and, with local knowledge, warning
can be given prior to a roof fall, goaf activity, or product seam collapse.
Using acoustic emission and micro-seismic techniques, Metacoustics has
developed a mine specific monitoring technology which uses the natural
world wide earth tide stimulus to provide the energy to monitor mine
roof activity.
The
continued damage to mine machinery is an ongoing cost to mine operators.
Metacoustics has been active in researching these problems in the mining
industry and has recently completed nine years of active research on
mining machines, with specific reference to draglines. The Metacoustics
instrumentation was installed on operating draglines for this period
and was still operational and in calibration at the end of the nine
years. Metacoustics has adapted this technology into a long term, remote
surveillance system that can be applied to most mine machinery.
Metacoustics has also developed technology based on acoustic emission techniques that can quantify ash content of coal, virtually in an on-line situation.
