News

Importance of digital technology in mining in light of COVID-19.

Every business that has been able to remain open through the COVID-19 pandemic has had to find new ways of working. For many of us, that’s meant working through technical challenges of remote access while also finding a way to manage family demands such as child care and/or home schooling.

Remote work isn’t an option for most mine operations staff.

Mining companies are used to adjusting on the fly to industry shocks – they have plans to deal with changes in commodity prices, sudden policy changes, and political crises in jurisdictions where they are active. But the pandemic has thrown the industry some curveballs. One of the things that miners hadn’t considered in their crisis management plans is the challenge of physical distancing at operations.

Guided by advice from health authorities, the industry has collaborated widely to come up with best practices to protect their employees and the communities in which they work, including the use of PPE where physical distancing isn’t possible. (see page 32).

In the absence of a vaccine, testing will also become an important tool, as underlined by an outbreak at Fortuna Silver Mines’ Caylloma mine in Peru in late April. The company reported six workers – all asympomatic – had tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile Barrick Gold has invested in 800,000 antibody tests, secured from multiple vendors, and Agnico Eagle Mines has started a pilot project for a virus test that can produce quick results to screen workers at its Nunavut operations.

Read More on this article in Canadian Mining Journal May 2020 Issue.

At Maestro Digital Mine, we continue doing business so that we can provide quality service and support to our clients and community members through these unprecedented times.

Our team will continue to provide full support and service to our customers, partners, suppliers and distributors.

Please review our Covid-19 Protocols for Maestro Digital Mine (PDF)

Maestro Digital Mine deemed an essential service to the mining resource sector and remains focused on the health and safety of our employees.

Maestro continues to provide support to the underground mining sector, keeping miners safe with gas sensors and airflow sensors.

Our team is staying well informed and complying on all recommendations from the Canadian government and health agencies such as the CDC and WHO.

At Maestro Digital Mine, we leave no one stranded.

For customer support services email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or dial +1 (705) 805-6918.

Ongoing coverage and updates from by Daniel Gleeson at the International Mining Magazine.

Quebec miners shut down operations following COVID-19 government order...

Maestro Digital Mine one of the recent Ontario-based suppliers to confirm it was “deemed an essential service”. It said it would continue to provide support to the underground mining sector, “keeping miners safe with gas sensors and airflow sensors” during this time.

Read More on this article in International Mining Magazine March 2020 Issue.

As businesses start to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we felt it important to communicate with our valued clients, contacts and friends during this time.

We will continue doing business so that we can support one another and help clients and community members through these unprecedented times.

Maestro Digital Mine is focused on the health and safety of our employees. In order to protect the health and well being of our staff, their families, and our community at large and to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we have provided staff the tools and resources to work remotely. Employees doing essential work at the office and at client sites are following site protocols and to reduce exposure by avoiding unnecessary contact and working from home when possible.

We remain open, with multiple lines of communication activated to ensure business as usual continuity. Our team will continue to provide full support and service to our customers, partners, suppliers and distributors.

• We will remain available for phone calls, emails and online chats and video conferencing as required from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST, Monday to Friday.
• Our emergency service will remain available 24/7, always using recommended practices to limit the spread of the virus and following client site protocols.
• We have taken measures to secure and stock our supply of electronic sub-components for a complete year’s worth of manufacturing, so that we will be able to fully support and deliver in both the short and long term.

Maestro is committed to following the advice and guidelines of the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO) and continue to monitor this developing situation. We encourage you to follow the advice of your public health agency and practice social distancing; to learn more about COVID-19 and how to protect yourself, visit the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

On behalf of our entire team, we thank you for your confidence and as a partner of your company we wish you health and well-being for all and a rapid return to normal.

If you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Michael Gribbons and David Ballantyne
Co-Founders
Maestro Digital Mine

View PDF version 

Maestro’s market ambitions are far greater than the mine ventilation space, as Gribbons points out. He told IM: “While we started in the ventilation field, our domain expertise remains in the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and digital networking space.”

Despite this, Maestro has gained a reputation for providing ventilation control and environmental monitoring solutions that are ready to cope with the diversities of today’s and tomorrow’s underground mines.

This is backed up by the fact its Vigilante AQS™ (air quality station), which was introduced less than eight years ago, is in use at over 135 operations in 27 countries. Last year, it increased that market penetration with the introduction of its Zephyr AQS™ product.

Both are compact, environmental AQSs for underground mines, but Vigilante is seen as a holistic solution that can solve 100% of the applications for mine ventilation monitoring and control. Zephyr, meanwhile, is designed for 75% of the applications – such as airflow rate, airflow direction, gas levels, barometric pressure, and wet/dry bulb temperatures. 

Read More on this article from the International Mining publication (PDF).  

MAESTRO DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED DIGITAL GAS SENSORS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES OF UNDERGROUND MINING. THESE CAN BE “HOT SWAPPED” BY A VENTILATION TECHNICIAN WITHOUT THE NEED OF UNDERGROUND CALIBRATION.

Built with IIoT functionality, the digital sensors come with a complete suite of diagnostics that helps determine the health of the complete system, providing maximum system uptime.

The Vigilante AQS™ and the Zephyr AQS™ are both used to monitor the environmental conditions underground. The Vigilante AQS™ provides an optimum system with up to eight different real-time sensors, advanced diagnostics and control functions. The Zephyr AQS™ Station is a lower cost system that uses the same reliable sensors and advanced diagnostics but with only three different real-time sensors on-board. The Zephyr AQS™ will handle approximately 75% of the current applications at a lower cost. Both systems plug directly into a network switch, thus eliminating the requirement of expensive and complex programmable logic controllers. Mines then get to eliminate up to 50-80% of the CAPEX requirements. Maestro continues to develop products that are fully open and agnostic using industry standard communication protocols such as Modbus TCP/IP and EtherNet/IP.

Maestro has developed ventilation solutions that reduce downtime and enable miners to return to the face faster and safer.

Read the complete article of the 138th edition of Horizonte Minero (PDF).

Mining network technology is moving fast, now with a lot of private LTE interest and with 5G waiting in the wings, while WiFi solutions including mesh still remain dominant. Paul Moore, International Mining Magazine’s feature on Mining Networks & Connectivity, looks at technologies, projects and applications. 

Click to read about Maestro Network Solution

Maestro advances Plexus PowerNet 

Maestro Digital Mine says it continues to work with global underground mines to address the challenges associated with traditional communication backbone solutions resulting in their Plexus PowerNet™ – last mile communications solution; a Gigabit network providing both power and data using flexible coaxial cable.

Maestro designed a communication network that simplified the installation, extension, and maintenance, while enabling high bandwidth, low latency, low jitter data and endpoint power using tried-and-true coaxial copper cable. The termination process now becomes easy and cost effective, utilising basic tools. A termination can be completed by any tradesperson in less than 5 minutes. 

Michael Gribbons, CEO and Co-Founder told IM: “By applying this enabling backbone technology to an existing fibre network, the entire mine infrastructure can have a new life. In a mine, fibre has its place but needs to be well protected from the high traffic areas where LHDs and trucks can damage the cable. The Plexus PowerNet™ is typically added to either the existing fibre patch panel or network switch located on the level entry. The durable coaxial cable is the most effective at providing data to the face of the mine. The Plexus PowerNet™ simplifies the advancement and repair of the network. When the communication cable is damaged by the either the mobile fleet or fly rock, a simple splice repair can get the network up and running saving precious production time. Having both power and data on single coaxial cable reduces advancement time as well as multiple trades reducing both CAPEX and OPEX. Bringing data to the surface allows short interval control that improves both production rates and miner safety.”

Click the link to read more on Plexus.