Wired up: how fibre optic networks are used in mines 

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A study by Allied Market Research projected a growth rate of 14.9% for smart mining by 2022, an increase that was anticipated to be driven by stakeholder demand for better safety, productivity, and financial gain. Speaking with Thomas Paul, head of market unit industry at HUBER+SUHNER, he says that fibre optics are a crucial part of getting to this new, smart way of mining.

“Fibre optic usage in mining is proliferating rapidly, in fact it is becoming state-of-the-art,” he says. “The success in mining also helps to foster confidence in fibre optic’s applicability to other harsh environment applications.”

While fibre optics were known to work effectively in the industrial sector, finding ways to safeguard the technology against the impacts of mining’s somewhat inhospitable sites was crucial in transferring its use to the world of mining.

“Mining is probably the toughest environment any industrial equipment can be exposed to, and the barrier to entry was high for fibre optics,” Paul adds. “We were able to transfer many learnings from our other work however, as we have lots of experience in adjacent industrial applications such as railway, defense, oil and gas, etc. Working with our Australian partner Ampcontrol, a very successful and renowned player in mine electrification, also brought in detailed application knowledge and pivotal ideas for network requirements.”

Once installed, fibre optics can allow for the transfer of vast amounts of data across a site. Among other things, this can enable companies to more intricately understand the land being mined and thus adapt operations to not only be more efficient, but also more environmentally sustainable.

“Mines need to convey ever larger streams of data in their effort to push automation and to make mines more productive, safer, and reduce their impact on the environment,” says Paul. “This is only possible with fibre optics, but the harsh environment means conventional fibre optic cables, connectors, and accessories cannot be used. Operations need special connectors: they must be resilient to contamination and handling, must be easy to clean, and must be easily connected and disconnected.”

In addition, Paul adds that miners are often not trained to deal specifically with fibre optics, and so cannot take special care with equipment such as this. As such, the more delicate tasks such as splicing or connecting wires and connectors cannot be carried out by miners. This, Paul says, is where HUBER+SUHNER’s toolbox comes in.

Network flexibility is also a typical issue in this industry, given mines’ dynamic nature. Single core cables don’t, therefore, work for these sites, and again this is what HUBER+SUHNER seeks to remedy, offering four, 12, and 24-core cables as well as the accompanying connectors and distribution units. This technology was harnessed for a Australian gold and copper mine that needed a fast solution when a cable snapped.

“That’s an example where downtime could be dramatically reduced following a cable outage,” Paul says. “Standstill of production in mining has rapidly inflating financial impacts – today, without data communication links, everything comes to a stop, so fibre optics sit very much at the center of operational reliability.”

Instances of cable breakage are, Paul says, a typical moment where these fortified fibre optic cables can really make a difference to a mining company’s operation.

“Fixing a fibre optic cable has no similarity to fixing an electrical cable – it’s much more complex and delicate,” he says. “Usually when this happens the mining company will bring in an expert or order a replacement cable, which needs to be exactly the right dimensions. In our solution, we have our toolbox of standard assemblies that can be stockpiled easily, and the network can be designed to use a small variety. Thus a cable is rapidly fixed by replacement from stock without any hassle.”

When asked about what else will be making a difference in creating the mines of our future, Paul says wireless communications and remote or autonomous operations will have a huge impact on the industry - something that in itself will rely on fibre optics for effective deployment throughout the sector.

“We’re already starting to see 4G/LTE and 5G networks be deployed in mines around the world, with several pilots also ongoing,” he says. “All of that needs backhaul through fibre optics, again because data volumes are just exploding. So that trend is giving additional momentum to fibre optics in mining.”

It seems the fibre optic revolution is already well underway, and will serve as a crucial piece in the establishment of more connected, efficient mines.