Background 

The Cullinan Diamond Mine is one of the largest diamond mines in South Africa and is mined by Source Mining company. Most of its activities are located in the resource rich mountains of Cullinan. The Source Mining is located in South  Africa where the company has about a thousand employees, and has largely focused on its diamond mining operations.

As part of an effort to improve productivity and safety standards, the management embarked on a project to update its  communications system. The existing communication solution which was prone to downtime and only provided limited  coverage.

Challenge 

The main challenge was to provide reliable and seamless communications between the surface and underground  areas of operation. The Source Mining also wanted the ability to track personnel inside the mine tunnels. 

The Source Mining also needed rugged and durable radio units able to operate safely and continuously in the high  humidity and wet working environment of the mines. The radio units also needed to provide loud, clear audio in a  high-noise environment, so that critical messages could be heard.

Solution 

Kirisun DMR Trunking system realized that Source Mining need a smooth transformation solution which provides  enough channel and talk groups to meet the operational and safety requirements. This delivers the required geographic coverage, capacity and roaming functionality to enable seamless communications between the surface and underground areas. 

DP990 (with GPS positioning services) and DM850 mobile radios were installed at key points in the underground  tunnels to provide calling stations. Mining personnel were issued with DP990 DMR portable radios with integrated  GPS, so mine workers can be tracked and monitored within the vicinity, making it much easier to locate them if there  is an accident or if someone needs help. 

Benefits

• Ensure reliable communications between the surface areas and underground operations 

• Deliver more efficient operations, better productivity and an enhanced safety regime for mining personnel 

• Deliver better audio quality able to cope with the noisy conditions at the mines and wider coverage

• Able to withstand harsh environments, high, humid temperatures, knocks and drops

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