Inmarsat Deploys IoT Solution for Mining Tailings Management

Photo: Inmarsat

Inmarsat has deployed a new product, Tailings Insight, an Internet of Things (IoT) solution for monitoring mining tailings storage facilities. The solution is available in two propositions, Tailings Insight – Cloud; and Tailings Insight Plus, which are designed to respond to the differing needs of miners, and reflect Inmarsat’s commitment to building more transparent, safer management of tailings storage facilities globally.

Inmarsat deployed the Tailings Dam Monitoring Solution in March 2019. The fully managed service collects data from a range of industry-established sensors via Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) edge connectivity, before transferring that data across Inmarsat’s L-band network to a dashboard. Inmarsat says this ensured that mining companies were able to see the status of key metrics in one place and in real-time, facilitating more responsive decision-making and safer mining operations. With the new solution, Inmarsat said it has further developed the original solution to build a new application and a powerful new interoperable platform that increases the solution’s versatility.

Joe Carr, director of Mining Innovation at Inmarsat, said, “It is clear that the industry wants to develop safer tailings practices, though in the process we have learnt this is not about a one-size-fits-all approach. Miners have explained that there are a myriad of different approaches to tailings monitoring taking place every day. Many miners lack the reliable site-level connectivity required to enable real-time monitoring and management, though on some sites, some companies have this. The common need that we found amongst all of our customers and the miners we have spoken to was a platform to help bring all of their data together.”