MeshBlox, a global provider of remote data and telecommunications systems for use in hostile environments, today announced a new unit shipment into Hail Creek Mine in the Bowen Basin for mining giant Rio Tinto.
MeshBlox Vice President of Engineering, Matt Heysen, said the main factors MeshBlox is attractive to the mining industry is because of the confidence MeshBlox’s IP65 (NEMA 4) rated container provides along with its triple airlock clean-room and MilSpec cooling systems.
"Overnight Hail Creek Mine now has a full data centre with 7 racks of ICT and process control systems, power autonomy, and Heating Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC) with redundant cooling units in 60kw capacity. All that mounted less than 20m from the coal-preparation plant of an active 10 year old coal mine – it’s one of the more hostile environments on earth for housing precision engineering and data systems," Heysen explained.
"This wasn’t our fastest delivery by a long shot, taking nearly 8 weeks from build order to delivery due to the particular complexity of the various systems required. But the mining industry has unique challenges which we are tailored to meet. For example, the entire unit has partitioned work areas so that there is minimum on-site maintenance and staff with different certifications can access different compartments independently."
Rio Tinto’s Hail Creek Mine is an open cut mine, using a dragline, truck and shovel method.
Infrastructure investment in Queensland is looking promising for vendors such as MeshBlox – September 11, 2012 the Queensland Deputy Premier told parliament the government understood how vital a strong coal industry was to Queensland’s future Queensland’s coal exports which were forecast to more than double over the next decade.
Visit MeshBlox at Interop Las Vegas 2013 at Booth #2362.