Identec mining solution goes to polar extremes
Identec Solutions has expanded its sales territory north to the arctic with its WatcherMine solution system, now being used in some of Sweden’s polar circle mines. The mine safety solution has been deployed in mines owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), a Swedish government-owned corporation. The mines produce iron-based products used in the steel industry, producing roughly 25 million tons of raw ore annually.
The WatcherMine system used by LKAB consists of active RFID tags worn by more than 1,000 miners, readers that gather the information provided by the tags, and monitoring software for data processing. The system components are designed to withstand the uniquely harsh demands of the arctic environment.
“We have very specific sets of requirements for our underground operations,” says Egon Sundling, operations manager at LKAB. “Providing our personnel and visitors with the safest work environment possible is an utmost priority to LKAB. Streamlining workflow processes for enhanced efficiency is another. The system also needed to be highly reliable in harsh environments.”
Identec’s mining solutions have been deployed in a variety of circumstances throughout Europe, including a major Norwegian coal mine and the Brenner Base Tunnel, a railroad tunnel through the Alps between Italy and Austria, which will be the second largest tunnel in the world when completed. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/rfidnews-4.gif)
