Corehesion have developed world first technology to mitigate and possibly prevent deaths due to coal dust explosions in underground coal operations.
Launched last week at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, Corehesion managing director Brad Waldon said the technology was developed to save lives and mitigate injuries in coal mines across Australia and the world.
“A coal dust explosion is one of the most significant risks in the harsh and complex environment of underground coal mining and research shows there have been few advancements in managing explosive coal dust over the past 90 years,” Mr Waldon said.
“In that time, 290 people have died from underground coal mine explosions in Australia, more than 10,000 in the U.S. and as recent as 2020, 5 people have sustained life altering injuries in Queensland.”
Mr Waldon said the development of the Explosive Dust Risk Mitigation System was achieved by his team being based on site and in partnership with a major global miner who was seeking technology to transform their past approach to explosive dust management.
“When we worked with the global miner we found existing processes were difficult, time consuming, inconsistent, and reactive,” he said.
“The objective was to improve the efficiency of the processes, the accuracy and availability of the data, and to enable an informed and proactive approach to managing this risk of coal dust explosions.
“Our Explosive Dust Risk Mitigation System was tested in the production environment in underground coal mining and achieved the objectives of not only unifying people, safety, productivity and reducing the risk of explosive dust, but where industry can now work together and towards a zero-fatality rate in our coal mines.”
