Open pit wireless detonation targets safety and productivity

French Research institute CEA-Leti and demolition Services Company Davey Bickford have developed a wireless electronic detonation system for use at open-pit mines.
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 kilometers away.
Wireless blasting Technology has been in use by commercial explosives company Orica since 2018-2019 for underground mining, but a challenge was presented by open-pit mines 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 – safety is improved by Davey Bickford system, the ability to program 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 to the electronic age,” explained Hughes Metras, director of IRT Nanoelec, a Consortium focused on semiconductor R&D that provided the framework for the project.