Digitally connecting challenging sites

Digitally connecting challenging sites such as tailings dams has long been an issue for those who manage them. Tech innovator Kevin Quillien explains to Louise Davis how a robust communications network can get these sites better connected.

Ensuring the structural integrity and monitoring the environmental impact of tailing dams is critical, given the potential risks they impose, says Kevin Quillien, Co-Founder and CTO of the UK-headquartered communications company, Krucial. “Traditionally, conventional in situ geotechnical instruments such as piezometers, inclinometers or manual water sampling are used and read by operators, and it is not uncommon for these readings to be manually inserted into spreadsheets or other data recording applications,” explains Quillien. “But given tailings dams are often located in remote or off-grid locations and range in size from a few to a thousand hectares, this can take up a lot of resources and the data collected using manual resources often does not represent a current indication of the environment.” The telecoms tech expert also points out that is imperative to monitor the potential water quality impact from water run-off due to rainfall
or other reasons: “Operators have a duty to ensure environmental compliance to local regulations,”          he states.

Luckily for said operators, Quillien and his team at Krucial have recently developed a new solution – Krucial Connect – that aims to modernise how operators conduct tailings dam monitoring. Describing the solution, Quillien says: “Krucial Connect provides a drop-in private network
for enterprises to digitise any location on Earth, even the most remote where no other infrastructure is present on site. Users can transfer data to/from hundreds of industrial IoT, sensing or control devices, within a 15km wireless range from a central gateway to any data application, digital twin or AI on the cloud.”

Further detailing this advanced comms technology, Quillien says: “Robust for extreme environments and off-grid capable, Krucial Connect utilises multi-backhaul satellite-cellular connectivity to ensure continuous data is available anytime from anywhere. We’re giving decision makers access to the data they need to cut cost, reduce risk and improve sustainability.”

With regard to how the solution achieves its mission to assist mining operators, Quillen explains that, “Deploying industrial Internet of Things (IoT) devices combined with a drop-in robust communication network, such as Krucial Connect, allows for a continuous in-depth analysis of site conditions at any mining facility. Readings are transmitted autonomously directly to existing business systems or any data analytical platform meaning critical data is available and accessible by operators at any time even away from site.”

CONTINUOUS MONITORING

For tailings dams, a remote monitoring solution that is robust for any environment and off-grid capable means that key personnel will be notified of changes to structure integrity when it happens, regardless of available infrastructure or location of a dam. “Therefore, swift action can be taken to support the integrity of tailings dams before a failure occurs that could result in catastrophic damage,” details Quillien. “Additionally, it reduces the risk of breaching environmental regulations by continuously and autonomously monitoring the environment in and around the dams.”

When speaking with Quillien, it becomes clear that the mining sector is crying out for solutions such as his. “Like many other sectors, the mining industry still relies on a lot of manual intervention, including for monitoring of facilities such as tailings dams,” he states. “Automation of monitoring can make this more cost effective and provide more, better-quality data on which to base decision making, improve safety, and meet regulatory and reporting requirements.”

Quillien mentions that existing automated monitoring solutions are often constrained by vendor lock-in, focusing on a limited set of parameters dictated by the specific technology, sensors and software of the provider. “Krucial recognises that comprehensive monitoring of tailings dams needs to span across multiple domains such as geotechnical and environmental monitoring and bring together a wide variety of technologies from across different vendors to optimally meet the needs of different sites and customers,” he confirms.

Quillien notes that Krucial Connect is built on a secure open architecture and is compatible with a wide range of devices on the ground to transfer data seamlessly and. “Once spec’d to meet the needs of a client, the solution is easy to set-up and can be deployed with no specialist skills required. Deployed in mere hours no matter the site location, clients gain access to critical data from a wide range of devices monitoring parameters ranging from local weather, water levels, soil conditions, dam structural conditions, underground conditions, water quality and more,” he says.

RETROFIT REVOLUTION

A further advantage of the system is that as it’s able to operate independently from any local or existing infrastructure, Krucial Connect has the ability to easily retrofit assets to unlock the benefits of digital twinning and automated monitoring. Commenting on this point, Quillien observes: “For an industry with a significant number of legacy and ageing assets such as mining, Krucial Connect offers the ability to modernise operations and enhance efficiency.”

MODERNISING MINDSETS

As well as legacy systems, mining often offers up the challenge of legacy mindsets, too. It’s not exactly a sector that is well-known for embracing new technologies; technical evolution in mining tends to be slow and cautious. So, how then, does Quillien sell his solution to such a tough audience? “The industry itself is in desperate need of new site management solutions and ways to streamline operations whilst staying compliant to stringent environmental regulations,” he believes. “With ageing infrastructure and increased numbers of decommissioned (or soon to be decommissioned) sites, the onus to monitor these sites still lies with the operators. Replacing legacy systems or outdated infrastructure can be daunting and overwhelming to any industry, but the larger operators in the sector are already making moves to adopt industry 4.0 and it is natural that the rest of the sector will follow.” He also points out that, “Individual operators don’t want the costly job of replacing entire systems or ageing infrastructure, so the adoption of technologies that can seamlessly integrate with existing systems and have the ability to retrofit ageing infrastructure is essential to see return on investment.”

In his experience within the global mining sector thus far, Quillien reports that suppliers to the industry are keen to work alongside Krucial to “enable the easy adoption of remote monitoring technologies that can enhance efficiency, safety and boost sustainable practices industry-wide.”

He also predicts that initial deployments will soon create a snowball effect once mining operators witness the benefits of having such improved monitoring and connectivity. “Adoption of digital innovation is inevitable for all industries, even if the adoption is slow at first,” says Quillien. “However, the benefits reaped by the utilisation of cutting-edge technologies such as remote monitoring, AI or digital twins are boundless.”

DELIVERING DIGITALISATION

The Krucial Connect solution provides a private drop-in network to digitise any location. This means mine operators can deploy the system on a site and benefit from continuous and autonomous data transfer from hundreds of sensing devices across a 15km range, from any location.

The solution is off-grid capable with multiple in-built power options, including renewable energy sources, and sends data via multi-backhauls across cellular or satellite, depending on what is available. The solution is robust to extreme environments and ensures data continues to flow through storms or power outages.

HOW IT WORKS

Mine operators can simply connect IoT devices, such as sensors, to securely transmit data via LoRaWAN from their assets, sites, infrastructure and buildings. Krucial Connect automatically switches between satellite and cellular, so operational data keeps flowing. Durable and futureproof, it can be deployed anywhere – even at more remote and hard-to-reach mine sites. And thanks to a robust Application Programming Interface (API), users can easily integrate with internal systems and workflows, so they have the data they need to make informed business decisions quickly and efficiently.