Mining by its very nature is a particularly dirty activity. In essence, it requires a number of activities that produce large amounts of dust and to a lesser extent, ambient moisture.

“In a nutshell, mine operations are required to move earth to uncover mine reserves, irrespective of whether they are strip, underground or opencast mines. The production of dust is evident in a number of instances: Mining processes require extensive blasting to detach the ore from the mine body; huge mine vehicles travelling around on a mine property produce large amounts of dust when they are in transit and when they load and offload raw materials; mine property landscapes are typified by extensive, open areas where unimpeded wind blows dust everywhere,” says Sean Mervitz, Executive Manager at Global Communications (an Elvey Group company and part of the Hudaco Group of companies), Kenwood’s distributor for Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to the dust, drilling in confined underground mining spaces releases trapped moisture from the rocks which results in a damp and humid environment.

“All of these factors play havoc with electronic equipment. It is critical for communications equipment like two-way radios, to be able to continue operating reliably and continuously in the face of such inclement conditions. Kenwood has pulled out all the stops on specific models within its NEXEDGE digital radio systems range to develop products that are built for the long haul,” says Mervitz.

Stringent performance testing of these MIL-STD and IP certified radios, with IP54/55/67 and 68 rating, includes water immersion testing. The ruggedness and durability of these radios has resulted in Global Communications having the confidence to offer a five-year warranty (terms and conditions apply) on the selected models in the range.

“Kenwood radio equipment with this specific rating is 100% protected against solid objects like dust and sand, and it has been tested to work for up to 2 hours while submerged in water to up to
1 metre. Facts like these played a huge role in a major iron ore mine specifying the Kenwood NEXEDGE radios across three of their operations, with orders pending for further sites,” says Mervitz.

Read how the management of a large open cast coal mine, the primary coal supplier to South Africa’s national electricity services, upgraded from an existing analogue MPT-1327 radio communications system to improve the signal quality to the full extent of the coverage area.

https://www.globalcomms.net/news/southern-african-coal-mine-migrates-from-analogue-mpt-1327-to-nexedge-digital

For more information contact Global Communications, +27 (0) 12 621 0400, info@globalcomms.net, www.globalcomms.net