A year after launching the award-winning Tailings Dam Monitoring Solution, global mobile satellite communications group Inmarsat has developed two new flexible propositions designed to respond to the differing needs of miners that are monitoring tailings storage facilities (TSFs).

Inmarsat, building on its original Internet of Things-enabled solution, is now offering a new application and a new interoperable platform, namely Tailings Insight Cloud and Tailings Insight Plus, that increase the solution’s versatility.

Inmarsat launched its award-winning Tailings Dam Monitoring Solution in March 2019 after several years of development with industry partners, removing many of the challenges related to data governance and ensuring mining companies have visibility across global tailings portfolios in one place.

Mine tailings audits are typically carried out at infrequent intervals, with employees and third-party consultants making long-distance trips to collect data and audit the status of the dams, says Inmarsat global mining innovation director Joe Carr.

As a fully managed service, the solution works by collecting data from a range of industry-established sensors through long-range wide area network edge connectivity before transferring the data across Inmarsat’s L-band network to a dashboard.

This has ensured that mining companies are able to see the real-time status of key metrics, including pond elevation, piezometric pressures, inclinometer readings and weather conditions, in one place, facilitating more responsive decision-making and safer mining operations.

Miners use a myriad of different approaches to tailings monitoring, with some lacking the reliable site-level connectivity required to enable real-time monitoring and management.

“The common need that we found among all of our customers and the miners we have spoken to was a platform to help bring all of their data together,” he comments.

“The response to Inmarsat’s Tailings Dam Monitoring Solution in the last year has been very positive; however, the process to develop safer tailings practices is not about a one-size-fits-all approach,” he tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

“We found a lot of companies saying they did not want absolutely everything in the solution, but rather selected elements.”

Inmarsat created two propositions through a “version two”, by means of which the latest iteration splits the solution from a single proposition into two separate systems that deliver more precisely what the mining industry wants.

Tailings Insight Cloud, which was formerly only available as part of the fully managed solution, is now available as a standalone software-as-a-service application that was developed in response to the industry need for a way to compile tailings data from a multiplicity of sources.

The application integrates with existing on-site sensors and connectivity networks to enable real-time monitoring, as well as supporting historical data input for comparative analysis.

With a fully customisable interface, multiple sensor map views, custom alarm monitoring, data logging, journaling functionality, sensor health reporting and easy data export, the updated application provides the most comprehensive set of features of any tailings application.

“We take this a step further with our Tailings Insight Plus proposition, the gold standard in tailings governance,” Carr explains.

Tailings Insight Plus is a fully managed solution that incorporates Tailings Insight Cloud, and features sensor integration, edge connectivity, satellite connectivity and ongoing service monitoring and management.

With Inmarsat controlling the entire end-to-end process, it can offer service level agreements ensuring the continuous gathering of data, which best supports real-time monitoring.

“The proposition can be installed at any mine globally and is ideal for TSFs without reliable connectivity, TSFs that require special attention, owing to their risk status, and for mining companies looking to demonstrate their commitment to safe tailings management.

“Both of these propositions will be key in helping mining organisations future-proof themselves and respond to the upcoming changes to tailings regulation globally,” Carr says.