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Meeting noise limits while increasing production

Mines close to dwellings are usually subject to strict noise limits. Managing noise from the mine is complicated by dynamic operations, changing weather conditions and the confounding effect of non-mining noise sources. 

The most common response to these challenges is conservative operational planning whereby mine operations are restricted. The method miners use to address the ambiguity and uncertainty noise creates is to operate with a sufficient safety margin – resulting in lost production opportunity. 

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To eliminate the need for a safety margin, miners need to manage noise in sync with changing conditions. Due to the speed of change and the many interactions that need to be considered, noise management without a safety margin must be done by operations personnel directly. To enable this, miners need a tool that is intuitive to use and fast enough to keep up with the dynamic environment.  

Using a new application of technology, miners can now unshackle production at noise-constrained operations.

Existing approaches

The most common approach to managing mine noise involves recording noise levels for relatively short periods. However, it may not be practical to determine whether the mine is in compliance because the monitoring periods are not long enough to capture noise over a representative range of conditions.

Permanent monitoring systems can be used to alert miners when noise limits are exceeded and to capture supporting data. Such systems enable miners to respond more effectively when complaints are received. However, the system alone cannot accurately determine which mine noise sources contribute to exceedances, obscuring potential solutions. 

Some Australian mines also use noise modelling to predict whether planned activities will meet noise limits and adjust the plan until compliance is attained. This allows production losses to be contained because noise management becomes less reactive. However, it is limited by the slow execution of the model and the need for modelling to be done by trained personnel. As a result, miners still need a safety margin because they can’t manage noise in concert with operations.

Unshackling production

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To manage noise effectively, miners need a solution that gives them the information they need to make decisions in the context of current operations and weather conditions. 

SVT offers a proprietary solution, called MaestroMine, that helps miners solve operational noise problems. The user interface enables miners to identify and solve potential noise problems by manipulating equipment types, quantities and locations.  

The predictive noise model calculates the impact of changes in operations or weather within seconds, enabling miners to stay ahead of dynamic conditions.  

The model is continuously validated against data from permanent noise monitoring stations, providing miners with the confidence to act on the output.

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