The Industrial Internet of Things solution uses electronic detonators connected to bi-directional radio modules placed on a mining pit surface, which are linked by secure wireless protocol to a control system located kilometres away.

Wireless blasting technology has been in use by commercial explosives firm Orica since 2018-2019 for underground mining, but open pit mines presented a challenge for other firms as internet connectivity protocols such as WiFi are not designed for wide area outdoor coverage.

While the distance built into the CEA-Leti - Davey Bickford system improves safety, the ability to programme and reconfigure detonators with a remote programming unit can lead to new, more efficient and productive blasting techniques.

"By replacing wired communications with an innovative wireless link, this new system helps bring large-scale mining into the digital era," said Hughes Metras, director of IRT Nanoelec, a consortium focused on semiconductor R&D that provided the framework for the project.