New technology allows for digging 100 feet below water

Equipment company MineWare announced that its experts have extended the capability of its Pegasys Dragline Monitor to support underwater digging.

“Enhanced with MineWare’s new Machine Terrain Mapping (MTM) Technology module, Pegasys can now help miners locate and recover material up to 100 feet below water,” the Queensland-based firm said in a press release.

According to MineWare, identifying and reaching mineable material on the pit floor tends to be challenging for underwater dragline digging and dredging operations so by utilizing this new system, miners are expected to improve the efficiency and safety of such activities. This is also thanks to the Machine Terrain Mapping Technology, which makes it easier to locate mineable underwater reserves that might have been previously out of reach.

The Australian company reports that Bedrock Resources was the first to adopt the technology at their limestone mining operations in Florida. “During a two-week re-mining period, Bedrock successfully recovered approximately 49,000 additional tons of material that may have otherwise gone unrecognized,” MineWare North America Regional Vice President, Greg Ladewig, said in the media brief. “These inaccessible or hard-to-reach areas are now back on the table.”

An unnamed coal mine in South Africa is also said to have successfully used the new system after substantial rain caused the coal pit to become submerged in 32 feet of water.