GB2568299A

GB2568299A - Monitoring system and method

Info

Publication number: GB2568299A
Application number: GB1718709.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Carr Joseph
Original assignee: Inmarsat Global Ltd
Current assignee: Inmarsat Global Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-13
Filing date: 2017-11-13
Publication date: 2019-05-15
Also published as: GB201718709D0

Abstract

A plurality of sensor modules 1 installed in or around a tailings facility 2 transmit data to a monitoring station 4. This data is then relayed via a satellite network 7, optionally to a remote, central database 10. Each sensor module may comprise a sensor, a processor and a power supply such as a battery or solar panel. The sensors may be water-level sensors, inclinometers or pressure sensors and may be installed in boreholes. The modules may be connected to the monitoring station via wired links or a wireless network such as a WiMAX, GPRS or LTE. The data may be processed at the monitoring station and transmitted periodically over the satellite network. The remote database may be accessible over the internet via a web-based interface. The system may be used to monitor a tailings dam so that potential causes of failure can be identified and addressed before failures occur.

Description

The present invention relates to a system and method for monitoring a remote tailings facility, such as a tailings dam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 'Tailings' are processed mine waste e.g. metal bearing rock that has been processed for the metals it contained and then discarded. Processing often involves comminution, in which the rock is very finely ground to micron-sized particles. Usually, tailings are discarded into ponds bounded with impoundments or dams and covered with water to prevent dust from forming.

Tailings dams are prone to failure and the environmental and financial cost of failure is extremely high. For example, a failure in the Fundao dam in Brazil in November 2015 deposited 60 million cubic metres of iron waste into the nearby river and flooded the village of Bento Rodrigues, causing 17 deaths and 16 non-fatal injuries. The incident has already cost $5bn in fines.

It would be desirable to monitor installations such as tailings dams so that potential causes of failure can be identified and addressed before failures occur. However, one problem with monitoring such installations is their large size (tailings dams may extend over 10-20 km in length) and their remote location. There is also a poor understanding of the causes of tailings dam failures, due to the lack of monitoring data.

One approach to monitoring tailings dams is remote sensing by satellite, for example using radar to monitor deformation: see 'Satellite Remote Sensing for Effective Monitoring of Tailings Storage', Engineering and Mining Journal, 19 December 2016. However, this approach is only able to monitor properties of the tailings dam that are discernible from space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for monitoring a remote tailings facility such as a tailings dam, the system comprising:

a) a plurality of sensors installed in or around the facility;

b) at least one monitoring station connected to the plurality of sensors for receiving sensor data therefrom; and

c) a satellite terminal connected to or included within the monitoring station, the satellite terminal being connected to a satellite network for relaying monitoring data derived from the sensor data over the satellite network.

The plurality of sensors may be connected to the monitoring station via wired or wireless connections. The wireless connections may be via a local wireless network, such as a cellular or WiMAX network.

Preferably, the satellite terminal is connected to a remote database over the satellite network, for recording and making accessible the monitoring data. Preferably, the remote database is accessible over the Internet, for example via a web-based interface.

The sensor data may be stored and/or processed by the monitoring station in order to produce the monitoring data. Preferably, the monitoring data is transmitted periodically over the satellite network, so that the monitoring data is available without significant delay, in substantially real time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system in an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless sensor module for use in the embodiment.

Figure 3 is a flowchart summarising a method performed by the wireless monitoring station in the embodiment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows a system according to an embodiment of the invention. A plurality of wireless sensor modules 1 are installed in or around a tailings dam or facility 2. The wireless sensor modules 1 may comprise one or more of water-level sensors, inclinometers, pressure sensors or other sensors able to sense relevant properties of the tailings dam 2. The wireless sensor modules 1 may be installed in boreholes in the tailings dam or at other locations within or around the tailings dam 2.

As shown in Figure 2, each wireless sensor module 1 may comprise one or more sensors 20, a processor 21 for processing the output of the sensor(s) 20 to produce sensor data, and a transmitter 22 for transmitting the sensor data via an antenna 24. A power supply 23 supplies power to the components of the wireless sensor module 1. The power supply 23 may comprise a battery, solar panel and/or other means for supplying electrical power.

Referring again to Figure 1, the wireless sensor modules 1 are in wireless communication with a wireless base station 3 so as to transmit the sensor data to a monitoring station 4. The wireless sensor modules 1 may communicate with the wireless base station 3using a suitable wireless data protocol, such as GPRS, LTE, or WiMAX.

The monitoring station 4 may comprise a server or other electronic storage and processing device which automatically performs a process as shown for example in Figure 3, by executing a computer program. The computer program may be provided as a non-transient computer program product.

The monitoring station 4 receives the sensor data (SI) and may store the sensor data in a monitoring database 5 together with an indication of the wireless module 1 that produced the sensor data. The monitoring station 4 may process or analyse the sensor data (S2) to produce monitoring data representative of the sensor data.

The monitoring station 4 is connected to a satellite network via a satellite terminal 6, which transmits and receives data via at least one satellite 7 to a satellite earth station 8. The satellite network may comprise an Inmarsat (RTM) BGAN (RTM) satellite network that provides variable bandwidth data services within the coverage area of the Inmarsat 14 satellites. Advantageously, this provides near-global coverage and near real time relay of data.

The monitoring station 4 transmits (S3) the monitoring data over the satellite network to a central database server 9, which stores the monitoring data on a central database 10. The monitoring data may be transmitted periodically and/or in response to detection of an anomaly by the monitoring station 4. The central database server 9 may process the 5 monitoring data, for example to produce reports which are made available over a network 11, such as the Internet, to terminals 12 on which users may access the reports and detect anomalies which may be indicative of potential failure in the tailings dam 2. In this way, the tailings facility 2 may be monitored remotely in real time as well as providing analytics and real time analysis of the dam e.g. flow in and flow out for water, rainfall prediction etc.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Alternative embodiments of the invention may be envisaged, which may nevertheless fall within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a tailings facility, comprising:

a. a plurality of sensor modules installed in or around the tailings facility;

b. at least one monitoring station connected to the plurality of sensor modules for receiving sensor data therefrom; and

c. a satellite terminal connected to or included within the monitoring station, the satellite terminal being connected to a satellite network for relaying monitoring data derived from the sensor data over the satellite network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each said sensor module comprises at least one sensor, and a processor for processing the output of the at least one sensor to produce said sensor data.

3. The system of any preceding claim, wherein each said sensor module includes a power supply.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the power supply includes a solar power supply.

5. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of sensor modules are wirelessly connected to the monitoring station.

6. The system of any preceding claim, including a remote database arranged to receive the monitoring data from the satellite terminal over the satellite network.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the remote database is accessible over the Internet.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the remote database is accessible via a web-based interface.

9. A method of monitoring a tailings facility, comprising:

a. receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensor modules; and

b. relaying monitoring data derived from the sensor data to a remote database over a satellite network.

10. A computer program product comprising program code arranged to perform the method of claim 9.