One of the biggest challenges underground mining operations deal with is visibility of events happening underground from the surface. When monitoring an evacuation situation, this limitation is even more pronounced when ensuring miner safety during an emergency.

According to Newtrax, with its enabled cap lamp technology, the Granny Smith mine was able to improve safety, performance and profitability.

The technology incorporated into the Newtrax-enabled cap lamps transform the lamps into more than just personal safety devices; they become an integral part of a mine evacuation system. Where the limitations of communication through two-way radio make it difficult to be 100% sure of the miners' safety during an emergency, the Newtrax Evacuation notification system is able to position each team member underground in real time.

All existing cap lamps at the Granny Smith mine were replaced with the Brando corded and cordless cap lamps with Newtrax safety features and a high-brightness light. This allowed Granny Smith to integrate with the Newtrax Evacuation system that sends an emergency message underground to every cap lamp. When activated from the surface, the lamp lights flash, notifying all employees that an emergency has been initiated. They set up their system to work in parallel with their stench gas system and their voiceover alarm.

The Newtrax Evacuation system allows supervisors and the emergency response team (ERT) to quickly determine the location of all employees below the surface, improving safety.

Emergency drills are important, and they take time and resources to effect, ensuring that all personnel are accounted for while handling the incident. Mines rely heavily on two-way radio for communication, and in an emergency, visibility can be lost when the understanding is only as good as the radio calls made to and recorded on the surface.

The first-ever Newtrax Evacuation test was conducted at Gold Fields' Granny Smith mine on July 31, 2018, through an underground mock emergency exercise. This is the second time worldwide that the Newtrax Evacuation system was adopted in its full capacity, and the hardware functioned seamlessly, the company said.

These systems allow the ERT to know exactly which miners are in which refugee chambers in the mine, and refocus their energy on those who have not yet made it to their chamber.

Using Newtrax technology reduces the time and resources needed to effectively execute and complete the drill, leaving more time for production.

Due to the safety features that the Newtrax-enabled cap lamps offer, additional features can be added on to the software as required. These include vehicle proximity detection and full mine employee tracking and positioning through an expanded Newtrax Minehop network.