 Digitization is a major opportunity for the mining sector, promising new levels of operational safety and efficiency through the addition of Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial IoT (IIoT) platforms to standard operational technology (OT). But it’s also a realm with a wide array of technology options, with connectivity alone encompassing standards such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) plus low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocols such as LoRa (Long Range). To help make sense of the options available to digital mining operations, IIoT leader Worldsensing and mining giant Vale hosted a webinar on how to leverage IoT technology to advance your mine’s IT strategy. This post covers some of the questions that were left unanswered at the end of the session, with replies from Worldsensing’s director of products, Bernat Trias, and CTO, Albert Zaragoza. How effective is wireless monitoring in underground mines? Do you only do solutions for tailings dams? Bernat: Worldsensing’s wireless monitoring system, Loadsensing, features nodes which are ruggedized and have been tested in temperatures ranging from -40ºC to +80ºC, so they can withstand harsh environments such as underground mines. Although we have a lot of deployments in tailings dams, Loadsensing nodes can read multi-point borehole extensometers, pressure cells and other frequently used sensors for underground monitoring. The Loadsensing laser distance meter node can be particularly useful for convergence monitoring. Loadsensing may also be used as a last-mile solution inside deep galleries. The nodes wirelessly send data to gateways underground that are connected to fiber-optic points used for machinery control and cameras, in order to transmit the data to the surface. We are open to projects to test the depth limits of our monitoring system and understand how ambient conditions may impact the network quality in deep underground mines. What do you think is the biggest benefit of long-range wireless for the mining industry? Bernat: The main benefits of long-range wireless monitoring include increased efficiency because mines don’t need to perform tedious manual monitoring, cost savings versus manual and cable monitoring workforce safety because the mining staff doesn’t need to take readings in perilous areas and risk management because of the real-time data and alerts that the monitoring system may provide. How do you contract the maintenance of solutions? Do you have examples where clients purchase a solution and maintain it themselves, or does Worldsensing supply end-to-end solutions? Albert: Worldsensing works with over 200 partners around the world who take care of all the installation and maintenance needs for our customers. If you are a big company that would like to self-maintain, you may contact us here. Do you have experience gathering technology from different devices? In other words, to integrate all that technology? Albert: We have experience integrating loads of geotechnical sensors in different locations and have a product ready to integrate data and ingest data to and from third-party systems. Click here for an infographic showing some of the sensors that we can connect to in a tailings dam. What is the cost per sensor using LoRa and how does it compare to LTE or GSM? Bernat: The cost per sensor using LoRa is relatively lower compared to regular LTE and GSM primarily because of the low power consumption of LoRa devices and the associated connectivity fees, if any. We may help you evaluate the investment for your specific use case or project. Just get in touch with us here… Article courtesy of our partners and friends at Worldsensing
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 Australian based geotechnical monitoring group Geomotion, has successfully come to a heads of agreement with SkyGeo for their cutting edge InSAR satellite monitoring technology to be used in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia. Geomotion sees InSAR as complementary to existing instrumentation, not as a replacement, working so well together to offer their clients information that has previously been nearly impossible to obtain InSAR stands for Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and is a proven technique for measuring ground movements. Satellites record images of the Earth, and these images can be combined to measure movements of the ground surface. InSAR is particularly useful for monitoring dynamic position changes. InSAR’s broad spectrum of impressive features allow for a new depth of insight for projects. A large number of measurements and weekly updates provide a detailed insight in the slope and speed of subsidence. A sudden drop of a small area might be a reason for local inspection. Wider gradual subsidence tells a different story. InSAR allows for possible millimetre accuracy, measurements of areas as small as 100m2 up to 10,000km2 and up to 100,000 measurements per km2. Additionally, the data archive goes back to 1992 and covers 70% of the Earth’s land, meaning in some cases it is possible to have data dating back up to 25 years.
InSAR presents viable and important solutions across many industries, including Mining Stability, Tailings Dam Stability, Civil Engineering and Energy, including oil and gas projects both onshore and offshore. Mining stability monitoring is a service to provide persistent geotechnical risk surveillance to identify areas of abnormal surface movement over time. Mines need to be up and running 24/7 and Geomotion helps achieve that goal by identifying instabilities early. By assessing time-dependent shape changes in InSAR data, geotechnical domain experts can identify patterns of instabilities. This is a direct pathway to improve asset management in mining operations. Combined with strategically placed geotechnical or structural instrumentation a comprehensive monitoring plan is established. Each mine has several areas of high geotechnical risk, that each require dedicated iterative assessment. Tailings dams pose a special category of risk. Because of environmental issues in the recent past, most mining experts are now looking for continuous monitoring systems to predict instability better. Solid tailings are often used as part of the structure itself and with the tailings being liquid or a slurry of fine particles within groundwater, significant instabilities arise in a variety of ways that are usually not completely understood. With InSAR, Geomotion can help with this understanding. We characterise and quantify these time-dependent degradation processes on a wide area scale and identify different dynamic patterns. Monitoring these patterns continuously is a proven permanent risk management method.  Geomotion/SkyGeo JV configures InSAR monitoring solutions for their clients, each with a graph of deformation over time. Risk management practitioners use this for predictive maintenance. Geomotion/SkyGeo JV monitors subsidence for many civil engineering projects in this way including roads, railways, dams, bridges, tunnels, airports, pipelines, neighbourhoods, sewage systems, buildings and water defence. InSAR technology is available from the Geomotion/Skygeo JV now. Enquiries regarding how InSAR can benefit your project can be made today by contacting Geomotion’s offices on 1300 884 542 or click here to send an email. Alternatively, use the form below and a Geomotion representative will get in touch with you soon.   The City of Amsterdam is facing the huge task of assessing and potentially replacing 200 km of the quay walls along its charming old inner-city canals. Adjacent historical buildings are often susceptible to damage by nearby construction activities. Satellite InSAR is being used to monitor areas across the city. Monitoring subsidence is seen as a vital tool in the efforts to preserve the physical charm and historical assets of this scenery. Deltares, the City of Amsterdam, TU Delft, and SkyGeo have published an article on the reliability of PS-INSAR usage compared to regular ground levelling and general InSAR data. It describes how the PS-InSAR process can considerably reduce the current lengthy period required for levelling updates and verifies the improvement in reliability when using a locally optimised SkyGeo InSAR dataset. The City of Amsterdam started innovating by using levelling techniques centuries ago, when they introduced the NAP (National Reference Height). They have been measuring and placing markers on buildings throughout the city to aid in the assessment of subsidence. This is a profound effort as the inner-city is completely built on soft soil. Levelling and InSAR data usage are both used across the city to provide valuable insights on deformation. A direct comparison between levelling and satellite measurements means little, but researchers found a specific statistical procedure that is applied to levelling and satellite measurements to verify their reliability and determine the rate of vertical deformation of the buildings. Permanent Scatterer SAR The Permanent Scatterer SAR technique can measure deformations of objects with high reliability. Satellites launched in the last decade produce raw data to obtain deformation time series with high temporal and spatial resolution. Martijn Houtepen, InSAR Applications Expert at SkyGeo, was asked to supply two different datasets for the Amsterdam city area. One general dataset covering the entire city and a tailor-made locally optimised InSAR dataset. Three case studies were reviewed. The results exhibited a near 100% coverage for buildings in the SkyGeo locally optimised dataset. These structures all had reliable measurement points, greatly outnumbering general InSAR and regular levelling results.  Conclusion of the PS -InSAR study There is merit in the insight building fine-tuning of local datasets. Caution should be considered with generic, publicly available, InSAR datasets. All three case studies showed deformation rates of the satellite measurements are significantly higher than those of the levelling on the same buildings. Locally optimised PS-InSAR satellite measurements are most suitable for assessing the deformation rate of buildings in the Amsterdam inner-city. PS-InSAR is available for Geomotion customers looking to scale trust with InSAR data. Article courtesy of SkyGeo
 Failures of tailings dams are one of the most hazardous processes that may occur and can cause extensive damage to life, property, and health. The mining industry has experienced several significant dam failures in recent history: Merriespruit 1994 (South Africa), Omai 1994 (Guyana), Aznalcollar 1998 (Spain), Baia Mare 2000 (Rumania), Aitik 2000 (Sweden), Bento Rodrigues 2015 (Brazil) and recently in Mexico (2018). Historical records of tailings dam failure are of about 20 events per decade, showing a tendency to shift from developed countries to developing countries.  Cieneguita dam breach in Mexico, June 2018. Photo courtesy of Profeta, Twitter. For decades, tailings dams have been monitored via manual monitoring systems. This typically involves selected spots along the barrage, where boreholes are drilled and periodically visited. Here, manual measurements are taken with a variety of instruments, mostly consisting of water level meters, piezometers, or inclinometers. However, this kind of measurement does not produce sufficient data to consistently measure the performance of the embankment dam if sporadic readings are collected manually. As such, some failures of dams can be attributed both to the combined effect of rapid dike construction and to poor maintenance and monitoring – usually through wired and/or manual means. Below are some reasons why a wireless monitoring system is a key tool for the safety management of the embankments. 1. Improves knowledge of the most critical potential failure mechanisms It is important to identify the main cause of failings in order to plan better and to implement the correct measures to stop them. Tailings dam failures can originate from overloads, anomalous behavior of the material used to build the dam (normally tailings), or from problems with the drainage mechanisms, which result in an increase of pore water pressure, and therefore a loss of resistance. They can also result from other things, like poor monitoring systems, for instance. With manual or wired in-situ readings, operators do not have sufficient amounts of data to gain a clearer picture of the main factors playing a role in failure mechanisms. This massively increases risks in and around tailings dams, as those supervising the area cannot predictively act in order to stop potential failures. The amount of data and regularity with which it is collected through wireless monitoring solutions provides a solid basis for a correct risk analysis, and for building risk-potential models. This is key for long-term risk-planning and for understanding critical failure mechanisms. 2. Detects situations that are likely to trigger a failure of the dam Real-time data-gathering means that operators have continuous knowledge of the dam’s status. It also means that they can very quickly build “normative” models of how the dam should be behaving, meaning that any anomalies are flagged up as soon as they occur. This allows operators to detect situations that are likely to trigger a failure of the dam – such as water level exceeding a certain limit, or acceleration of horizontal displacements in depth – and to respond preemptively to these situations. As such, wireless monitoring systems permit for the implementation of corrective measures as soon as possible, preferably before any kind of incident can take place. This is key not only to reducing risk and saving human lives but also to a business’ profit margins. Post-incident remedial action and the downtime of the dam cost significantly more than predictive maintenance activities.  Options to deploy Loadsensing wireless monitoring nodes in an open pit mine 3. Serves as a tool for designing the dam’s growth Accumulated data-sets gathered through wireless monitoring devices are key to the successful future planning of the dam’s growth. Rather than create a growth strategy based on historical memory and previous actions, with a wireless monitoring solution, operators can use solid data to implement models that show the future probable status of the dam and its environs, and allow them to plan more accurately for any possible future changes and incidents within the context of its growth. As part of an Operational Intelligence solution, wireless monitoring data can also be used to create “digital twins” or parts of the dam, or the whole site, in order to virtually model future actions in a “videogame” version of the environment. Either way, wireless monitoring means that the risk of future failures and incidents is significantly reduced, through using the most scientific methods possible to calculate future risk potential. 4. Provides a sound basis for the establishment and implementation of the proper response in case of a failure involving human hazards Equipped with the ability to model future incidents and predictively respond, operators can establish set responses to particular incidents that regularly happen, and set up crisis contingency plans in the case of an emergency. This is all enabled through the constant relay of precise data about the status of different parts of the tailings dam. For example, wireless nodes transmitting data from water level meters and inclinometers installed on boreholes enable periodic controls. Piezometric sensors provide information regarding the pore water pressure, and the measurement of the ground displacement in depth is automated by an in-place inclinometer which allows operators to measure the horizontal displacement on depth. Waste management gauges, which measure the water level in the dam or settlement cells to monitor the settlement processes of the walls and surroundings, are also crucial here. Moreover, meteorological stations measure variables such as rainfall and wind speed and are critical in terms of allowing operators to consider and plan for new climatic scenarios – especially in the context of climate change and increasingly erratic weather patterns. Again, this allows for predictive and early-stage responses to any potential anomalies that arise, massively reducing the risk of incidents occurring. 5. Provides long-term monitoring with very little maintenance A monitoring system that is both long-term and low-maintenance is absolutely critical for tailings dam environments. Manual maintenance of sensors and data-loggers – and more – is in itself incredibly risky, meaning that maintenance of a monitoring solution must be minimal. This requires durability so that equipment can survive in sometimes very harsh physical conditions; longevity of battery life, so that equipment does not need to be placed frequently; and long-distance transmittance, so that it can continuously relay data from difficult, hard to reach environments over long periods of time. Depending on the system used, the long-range communication between the gateway and the dataloggers in most wireless monitoring systems allows for a distance of up to 9 miles or 15 km between the gateway and the data-loggers in an optimal situation. In the context of a mine, this means that, by placing the gateway in the mine’s central office, almost any point of the mine where a sensor is placed can be reached, meaning that no manual readings ever need to take place. Embedded, long-life batteries make remote data acquisition systems autonomous for up to 10 years, enhancing the maintenance cycles of the monitoring system. This massively reduces risks as equipment rarely fails, meaning continuous, accurate readings for years. In turn, this decreases potential downtime and means that there is no need to manually maintain the monitoring system. Conclusion: Wireless monitoring is realistically the only way to properly monitor tailings dams to prevent and manage failures. Many mining and damming companies still rely on manual or wired in-situ readings as part of their core instrumentation and monitoring processes. This is problematic as tailings dam failures are incredibly dangerous – indeed they threaten lives – but manual monitoring systems do not give sufficient amounts of data to allow the situation on the ground to be monitored consistently or frequently enough to prevent this kind of incident from happening. Moreover, wired in-situ monitoring systems – using cables, for example – are vulnerable to physical damage over time. It is hard and expensive work to protect the cables, and they require a wired centralized acquisition system that relies on external power supply (solar kit or electricity). Wireless monitoring systems eliminate all of these problems, providing a real-time, continuous flow of data enabled through reliable, long-distance, low-energy and low-maintenance technologies. The flexibility and longevity of this kind of system fit well with an embankment dam and its raises. Crucially, wireless data acquisition systems can transmit readings from in-ground sensors that measure the cause of any potential anomalies, not only the effect, as is often the case with other instrumentation and monitoring systems. Measuring the cause allows for the implementation of early, preventative actions if any anomalous performance of key variables is detected. Transmitting data from all these different sensors means that all site areas are covered and hazards are therefore reduced. This comprehensive monitoring system is thus indispensable to any tailings dam company, significantly reducing the risk of failure onsite through producing actionable insights that allow operators to make better, evidence-based decisions. Article courtesy of Worldsensing
 Albany Wind Farm is an 18 turbine wind farm with the southern hemisphere’s largest wind turbines. It has the capacity to meet 80% of Albany’s power needs. Geomotion were appointed by WSP to provide a monitoring system for the farm. The aim of the project is to monitor the service life of the turbine foundations at Albany Wind Farm. By installing tiltmeters on the base of three of the twelve turbines, WSP is intending to establish the extent of foundation movement, the extent of fatigue damage on the tensioned ground anchors and the extent of fatigue damage to the concrete foundation.  Geomotion installed two Biaxial Tiltmeters to each of the three chosen turbines at 90° angles form one another with the intention of monitoring the vertical movement of the foundation in four directions. The sensors where glued to the base of each turbine mast using high strength epoxy resin glue, each covered with a protective metal vandal proof cover. To allow the client to gain near-real time data of the foundation movement we attached these sensors to YDOC, Model number WL-N315ADS Data loggers. These loggers record the tilt on a 15 minute basis and provide a report email daily.
 Premier Coal is situated in the Collie Coal Basin in the South West of Western Australia, approximately 200km south-south-east of Perth. The mining operations are about 15km east of the town of Collie, which is situated in the jarrah forests of WA. Premier Coal Mine produces a clean coal with low ash and sulphur content such that it does not need to be washed and requires only crushing, sizing and blending prior to use. The coal handling equipment installed at the Premier Coal Mine is very effective. The system has been designed to supply coal in a very consistent way so that there are no variations in quality. The coal handling plant consists of a crusher, screening plant, stockpile stacker, reclaimer and delivering system for Premier’s customers, either by conveyor, rail or truck.  As part of Premier’s open cut pit monitoring, over 29 piezometers were installed in 11 locations across the area. Previously, the data was collected manually by site personnel.
Geomotion proposed the Loadsensing G6 Data Logging system to automate the collection process, including a 5-channel node at each location and a centralised gateway. The data is presented directly in Premier’s data management software. This system fully automates the collection and presentation of piezometer readings, ensuring the data available for analysis is kept up to date at all times.  Mascot Towers, Sydney Mascot Towers is the high-profile residential building in Sydney that was evacuated in June 2019 due to serious concern about its structural integrity. With the rapid growth of our cities and the increasing need for affordable housing, buildings similar to Mascot Towers are popping up quickly throughout Sydney and other major Australian cities. Concerns were initially raised when significant cracking began to occur suddenly through the building’s basement foundations (see image below). Geomotion were engaged by the remedial engineers to supply and install structural monitoring equipment on critical areas in the building's basement. A site walkover was undertaken on the Monday morning after the evacuation, the same day Geomotion was first contacted. Sensors were installed and commenced sending live data to Geomotion Cloud, Geomotion's online data hosting platform, by the very next day. Geomotion's precision monitoring systems can be utilised, not only after a major structural failure event, but also during construction and throughout a building's lifespan to provide critical information on a building's structural health, early warning alarms and peace of mind for all stakeholders.  Geomotion technicians carried out the installation of 4 tilt meters on critical areas on the basement slab, with four additional tilt meters set to be installed soon. A 3G telemetry gateway was installed to enable data to be transmitted remotely – importantly removing the need to be inside the building to retrieve data. Geomotion's data team set up the online portal on Geomotion Cloud, where data is displayed in easy to interpret plots. Geomotion also integrated external survey data into Geomotion Cloud, offering the client a centralised platform to view all data, enabling them to make quick and informed decisions.  Want to ensure the safety and reliability of your major property asset? Geomotion can help. Contact us today for an obligation free discussion on how our precision monitoring solutions can provide key information in real time to prevent costly and dangerous critical failures. Suitable for new construction and existing building monitoring.
 The Omnidots SWARM is a revolution in vibration monitoring! If you are concerned with asset monitoring and the risk of vibrations causing damage to buildings and other structures, monitor vibrations with Omnidots. The SWARM vibration monitor, together with the Geomotion Cloud web platform, provides you with insight into vibrations and helps you ensure that vibrations remain within the set limits. With Omnidots' vibration monitoring solutions, you are in control of all your projects, simply by using your smartphone, tablet or laptop. This budget-friendly vibration monitor is more cost efficient than alternative solutions as well as being cutting edge technology with vastly improved precision data and reporting. Measured in accordance with Australian Guidelines and combined with Geomotion Cloud software, Omnidots SWARM is the premier vibration monitoring solution available today.  Easy Installation  The Queen's Wharf development in Brisbane is a GLS Monitoring project involving Geomotion and Land Surveys. The project, part of the redevelopment of the Queen’s Wharf Precinct into a new world-class integrated resort, includes full automation of existing monitoring devices, as well as the installation of additional instruments including:
The project includes a staged warning system during Maritime works as part of the construction management plan, as well as monitoring of key structures including the Riverside Expressway.   January’s fatal tailings dam collapse at Vale SA’s Corrego do Feijao mine has sent the global mining industry once again scrambling to check the integrity of its tailings management systems. The January 26 tailings dam collapse at the Corrego do Feijao mine near the town of Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais, killed more than 300 people and came just four years after the Samarco tailings collapse in the same state became Brazil’s worst environmental disaster and also killed 19 people. Brazi’s mining regulator ordered Vale to suspend operations at its Fabrica and Vargem Grande complexes immediately after the Brumadinho disaster. In a statement, Vale said the mining regulator ordered the suspension in light of the possible failure of five dams at the mining sites in the interior state of Minas Gerais. Since then, both authorities and mining companies have stepped up scrutiny of so-called upstream dams, which have been subject to multiple high-profile failures in recent years. In a statement, Vale said it was abiding by the regulator’s decision but was asking the body for permission to dismantle the dams, while continuing some operations at the mine, “which would bring about limited impacts on production”. The miner did not offer an estimate on how much production likely would be lost. However, the company had previously planned to maintain operations at Fabrica via dry mining, which eliminates the need for upstream dams. The company estimated that plan would result in 3mt of lost production in 2019. “The cost of the wireless monitoring makes more sense than a couple of employees driving around different locations, taking measurements every few months. It eliminates errors, increases safety in remote locations and reduces costs because it is less labour-intensive,” - Kim Malcolm, Geomotion Minas Gerais is still recovering from the 2015 Samarco collapse which buried a village and poured toxic waste into a major river. Vale chief executive Fabio Schvartsman said the dam that burst was being decommissioned and its capacity was about a fifth of the total waste spilled at Samarco. Schvartsman said there had not been any recent construction around the dam and apologised without taking responsibility in a television interview. “Apologies to society, apologies to you, apologies to the whole world for what has happened,” he said. “I don’t know who is responsible, but you can be sure we’ll do our part.” The disaster prompted the world’s largest miners to announce risk reviews of their tailings facilities. BHP Ltd, which was Vale’s JV partner in Samarco, said it had “significantly increased the rigour of its assessment and management” of tailings since 2015, including a risk review which resulted in more than 400 actions being assigned to company assets. “These actions are 93% complete, with the remaining actions considered low priority such as administrative actions and long-lead items regarding closure and climate change impacts. None of these actions is overdue,” the company said in a statement on February 19. Rio Tinto Ltd – which has 100 active tailing facilities and a further 36 closed or under rehabilitation – said its tailings facilities were subject to three levels of governance and assurance. “In August 2015, Rio Tinto introduced a standard for management of tailings and water storage facilities in order to ensure all our managed facilities are operated in accordance with one global standard,” chief executive J-S Jacques said. “In light of this tragic event, Rio Tinto is again reviewing its global standard and, in particular, assessing how we can further strengthen the existing audit of facilities.” Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the disaster is how late Vale was in recognising the dangers. Schvartsman said equipment had shown the dam was stable on January 10 and it was too soon to say why it collapsed. However, according to Geomotion Australia managing director Kim Malcolm, modern instrumentation and software allow for real-time monitoring of tailings facilities. “In the past it was prohibitive to have real-time monitoring because of all the cabling required but now wireless data loggers are readily available; there was never previously anything available that could do that,” he said. Geomotion works with a number of major miners in Australia including Rio Tinto, South32 Ltd and Newmont Australia providing geotechnical and structural instrumentation and asset monitoring. Malcolm said the days of having just a few sensors on a tailings dam, intermittently monitored by hand were rapidly ending. “The cost of the wireless monitoring makes more sense than a couple of employees driving around different locations, taking measurements every few months. It eliminates errors, increases safety in remote locations and reduces costs because it is less labour-intensive,” he said. Software such as the Mission Monitoring operating system also allows companies to anticipate problems as well as alerting them to impending spills. “It is less about the alarms but about the constant, real-time review,” Malcolm said. “It allows you to see the trends well before anything happens.” The web-based software could also present opportunities for companies to better relate their tailings management to affected communities. “The software is designed so alarms are set up on individual smart phones,” Malcolm said. “It allows companies to select who has access to the alarms and they can even present the monitoring data on open websites to ensure their management has a more public-facing interface.” – Dominic Piper - Australia's Paydirt (March 2019)  In line with the current VIBRA-series, of which thousands are now in use worldwide, Geomotion partner, Profound BV, proudly introduce the new VIBRA+. Later this year the new standard VIBRA will also be available.
New features of the VIBRA+:
 The final piece of Sydney's WestConnex puzzle has been placed, after the New South Wales Government today announced stage three of the controversial project had been approved. Key points:
It means a tunnel will be built connecting the M4 at Haberfield to the M5 at St Peters — a development WestConnex Minister Stuart Ayres described as being "like the Sydney Harbour Bridge". It will create a non-stop bypass of Sydney's CBD and inner-west, slashing travel times. However, the proposal has also attracted significant opposition. This time last year, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore briefed Premier Gladys Berejiklian on a set of alternatives at a meeting. The $17 billion WestConnex development has been previously described by the NSW Government as the world's biggest road project. Stage three will also include links to the Iron Cove Bridge and Rozelle Interchange. Mr Ayres said the tunnel was crucial to the city's transport future. "Like the Sydney Harbour Bridge did for the North Shore, the M4-M5 Link will bridge a major gap in the road network, creating a non-stop underground western bypass of Sydney's CBD, slashing travel times and delivering over 18 hectares of open space for local communities," he said. In August 2017, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for WestConnex stage three said the project would slash travel times from Sydney's western suburbs to the CBD. It argued the 55-kilometre trip from Penrith to the CBD could cost drivers $22 today, but when WestConnex was finished, the tolls would be capped at $8.60 for the same journey.  Final stage 'hasn't even been designed', Labor says Labor's roads spokeswoman Jodi McKay accused the Government of trying to avoid public scrutiny by announcing the approval on a Friday afternoon. "This is the largest infrastructure project in the states history, the final stage of it, and no one is around to actually enlighten people about this project," she said. Ms McKay said the Government rushed the approval process for the Rozelle interchange and ignored community concerns because it is seeking to sell the Sydney Motorway Corporation. "This is an extraordinary situation given the Government has approved something that hasn't even been designed," she said. "There has been no community consolation, there has been no transparency yet suddenly today we find out it's been approved." Project settled behind closed doors: Greens Reacting to the approval of West Connex's final stage, Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said: "What we've just discovered is that West Connex stage three was secretly approved 10 days ago behind closed doors". "No wonder the Government is ashamed of this wasteful project," Mr Byrne said. "Throughout the Inner West we're now going to see more smoke stacks and the mother of all rat runs. "With the demolition of homes, the secrecy behind the West Connex project, people know this Government has it in for us and...[stage three] will be worse than anything we've seen yet." Mr Byrne said he wanted "to see the Government invest in a proper solution to modern congestion which is of course...public transport." 'We need to see transparency' State Greens MP and member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, said "the arrogance of the Berejiklian Government knows no bounds". "We have seen tens of thousands of submissions from the community and experts opposing this (project). "The public appetite is there... to open up the books. "The community have put their concerns front and centre in this planning process." Ms Leong said the NSW Greens were pushing for more transparency. "We are urging the NSW Labor Opposition and the crossbenchers of the upper house to support the Greens' call for the exposure of the papers. We need to see transparency and accountability." SOURCE: ABC News The Forrestfield-Airport Link (FAL) project will deliver an 8.5 km extension of the existing PTA urban rail network in Perth, Western Australia connecting the Midland Line, just past Bayswater Station, to Forrestfield, running underground in twin bored tunnels underneath the Swan River, Tonkin Highway and Perth Airport. The project will include three new stations, being: Redcliffe Station (located underground in Redcliffe), Airport Central Station (located underground at Perth Airport to service both domestic and international terminals) and Forrestfield Station. The project will provide new rail services allowing a 20-minute rail journey from Forrestfield Station to the Perth CBD, improved bus networks for the eastern suburbs, foothills and surrounding communities as well as integration with the full Transperth bus and train network. Redcliffe Station and Forrestfield Station will have rail-bus interchanges and up to 2,500 new car parking bays in total.  Description of Geomotion Works Salini Impregilo S.p.A. - NRW Pty Ltd Joint Venture (SI- NRW JV) has entered into an agreement with Field Monitoring Services, Geomotion Australia, Land Surveys Joint Venture (FGLS JV) for the work of: “SUPPLY, INSTALLATION, TESTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE OF GEOTECHNICAL AND SURVEY INSTRUMENTATION, INCLUSIVE OF MONITORING AND MIMS MANAGEMENT FOR FORRESTFIELD AIRPORT LINK PROJECT”. Geomotion is working as a part of Joint Venture partner and broadly responsible for the followings works:
 A NSW goldmine forced to shut down for three months last year after an earthquake has again halted operations following a dam wall breach.
The wall of a tailings dam at the Cadia mine, about 20km south of Orange, partially collapsed on Friday after there were two magnitude 2.7 earthquakes in the region on Thursday. Its operator Newcrest Mining says there is no threat to personal safety and it has secured the area around the dam. A "comprehensive geotechnical monitoring system" was implemented, the company said on Saturday. The material involved, which was contained within the southern dam, was described as "a slurry of finely ground rock, water and a low level of benign processing re-agents". The mine was forced to shut down after it was hit by a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in April 2017 and didn't return to partial production until July, causing a huge hit to the company's first-half profit. Source: The West Australian (AAP)  The Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link is a planned north-south motorway along the current alignment of Wakehurst Parkway between Warringah Road, Frenchs Forest and the WestConnex motorway in Sydney. Up to 235 borehole sites will be tested in suburbs including Balgowlah, Seaforth, North Sydney, Neutral Bay and Cammeray. These investigations will feed into engineering design, final costings for the project and further route analysis.
As part of the geotechnical investigation, Geomotion was commissioned by AECOM to install Vibrating Wire Piezometers (VWP’s) at three inclined borehole locations along the proposed alignment. At each location, up to four VWP’s were installed at lengths of up to 160 m to monitor specified zones of ground water pressure. Each location was fitted with a Rippa 3G data logger with Stalker VW interface. Each of the four data loggers were custom designed and built to fit in the top of the borehole underneath a trafficable GATIC. The data loggers have been programmed to upload hourly readings to a cloud based server. Data is presented showing fluctuations in water pressure (kPa), meters below ground level (mBGL), meters Australian Height Datum (mAHD), meters head of water (mH20). Geomotion has also supplied and commissioned twelve water level data loggers. The system comprises a Sisgeo 4-20mA piezometer and Rippa 3G data logger installed within standpipe piezometers all housed beneath a trafficable GATIC. The water level is recorded hourly and uploaded on a 12 hourly basis, presented on Outpost’s online data management system. The system brings in data from nearby BOM stations to correct for barometric pressure changes and present rainfall data.   Geomotion have been commissioned to supply and install geotechnical instrumentation for the Waste Fines Storage Facility Project at Hope Downs 4 DSP Pit. The Hope Downs 4 (HD4) mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 100 kilometres northwest of Newman. The mine is partly owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) and is one of twelve iron ore mines the company operates in the Pilbara. UON’s client RTIO required an increase in capacity to the mining site's current waste fines facilities, necessary to continue plant operations. The works involved supply, install and construct the piping and waste fines facilities infrastructure including geotechnical monitoring equipment, relocation of existing infrastructure inclusive of the removal and replacement of HV and fibre optic cable, pumping equipment and an extension to the piping facilities inclusive of trenching earthworks. The geotechnical monitoring system used the proven Vibrating Wire (VW) Technology on Piezometers and Pressure Cells running below ground conduit excavation along the pit bench attached to Load Sensing VW Node Dataloggers inside two Terminal Boxes located at the pit surface for remote monitoring. The VW Piezometers were installed in 20L buckets filled with saturated waste fines slurry to measure and monitor pore water pressures. The VW Pressure Cells were installed on 500x200mm blinding concrete plinths, backfilled with waste fines, to determine the distribution, magnitude and directions of total soil pressure. The design will be used to monitor and control placement of fill and essentially provide adequate warning of excess soil pressures into the operational life of the pit structure.  Geomotion are excited to announce the launch of GLS Monitoring; a collaboration between Geomotion and Land Surveys to provide a complete monitoring solution for major projects. GLS Monitoring offer the respective expertise and experience from the two companies, offered as a single port of call for project wide monitoring including precision survey, state of the art instrumentation, cutting edge telemetry and comprehensive reporting. To kick off this venture, we're proud to be sponsoring the incredibly talented Alex Rullo at Bathurst 1000 2017. Here's to a successful weekend Alex! 
 THE word “smart” is ubiquitous these days. If you believe the hype, smart farms will all employ sensors to report soil conditions, crop growth or the health of livestock. Smart cities will monitor the levels of pollution and noise on every street corner. And smart goods in warehouses will tell robots where to store them, and how. Getting this to work, however, requires figuring out how to get thousands of sensors to transmit data reliably across hundreds of metres. On September 15th, at a computing conference held in Miami, Shyam Gollakota and his colleagues at the University of Washington are due to unveil a gadget that can do exactly that—and with only a fraction of the power required by the best devices currently available.
Dr Gollakota’s invention uses a technology called “LoRa” (from “long range”). Like Wi-Fi, this allows computers to talk to each other with radio waves. Unlike Wi-Fi, though, LoRa is not easily blocked by walls, furniture and other obstacles. That is partly because LoRa uses lower-frequency radio waves than Wi-Fi (900MHz rather than 2.4GHz). Such waves pass through objects more easily. More importantly, LoRa devices make use of a technique called “chirp spread modulation”. That means the frequency of the carrier wave—the basic radio wave, which is then deliberately deformed in order to carry data—rises and falls in a sawtooth pattern. That makes even faint LoRa signals easy to distinguish from background noise, which fluctuates randomly. Generating that carrier wave requires a lot of power. But modulating it, in order to impress data upon it, can be done by a chip that consumes almost no power at all. Conventional LoRa transmitters do both jobs. Dr Gollakota proposes to separate them. In his take on the system, a central transmitter, hooked up to a big battery or to the mains, broadcasts the carrier wave, while the task of impregnating it with data is done by a chip on the sensor. It accomplishes that by choosing to earth its tiny aerial, or not, millions of times every second. When the aerial is earthed, part of the carrier wave will be absorbed. When it is not, it will be reflected. If one of those cases is deemed to stand for “1” while the other represents “0”, the chip can relay data back to a receiver with the whole process controlled by three tiny, and thus very frugal, electronic switches. Dr Gollakota reckons that such chips can be made for less than 20 cents apiece. The signals they generate can be detected at ranges of hundreds of metres. Yet with a power consumption of just 20 millionths of a watt, a standard watch battery should keep them going a decade or more. In fact, it might be possible to power them from ambient energy: Dr Gollakota and his colleagues have experimented with running the chips from the electricity generated when light strikes a small photodiode. Like other LoRa devices, the chips are slow, transmitting data at about the speed of an old-fashioned dial-up modem. But most smart sensors will produce just a trickle of data in any case. The researchers are keeping quiet, for the time being, about the orders they have received. But early applications could be medical. The team have incorporated the chips into contact lenses and a skin patch. In hospitals, the chips could help track everything from patient gurneys to syringes and stethoscopes. Last year, Dr Gollakota unveiled variants of the chips that use ordinary Wi-Fi, too. These, he says, are in the process of making their way into disposable drug-delivery devices that notify patients via their phones when their medication is running low. That seems like a smart start. This article appeared in the Science and technology section of the print edition of The Ecomomist under the headline "Cheap and cheerful" Source: The Ecomomist  As a result of continued growth over the past few years, Geomotion Australia has relocated our NSW operations from Balmain to Alexandria. This upgrade has enabled us to triple our workspace, optimise and increase warehousing and workshop operations and expand the office to accommodate our growing team.
This move allows us to:
Our new NSW address is: Geomotion Australia Unit 32 / 56 O’Riordan Street Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia 2015 Should you have any questions regarding the move, or would like to come and visit, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Kind Regards Peter Scott | Australian Manager Geomotion Australia  Following an extensive R&D program, Geomotion Australia are pleased to announce the launch of Soil Instruments' new range of vibrating wire Kompakt Piezometers. The new Kompakt is a cost effective piezometer to complement the market leading W4 and W9 instruments. Although cost has been designed out, the Kompakt maintains high quality engineering with key features such as hermetic sealing and temperature monitoring. The Kompakt Vibrating Wire Piezometer provides accurate measurement of pore water pressures. The transducer is designed to handle pressure ranges from 0 to 500 kPa. It incorporates an over voltage surge arrestor that offers protection from a lightning strike. The piezometer is fitted with a low air entry stainless steel sintered filter. An integral thermistor for temperature monitoring is included. Features
Benefits
Key Specifications
We trust that this exciting new product will be of interest, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to Contact our Sales Team.
The $1.86 billion Forrestfield-Airport Link is jointly funded by the Australian and Western Australian governments and will deliver a new rail service to the eastern suburbs of Perth – with three new stations at Belmont, Airport Central and Forrestfield. The rail link will connect with the existing Midland line near Bayswater Station and will run to Forrestfield through underground tunnels, to ensure minimal impact on the existing land and road network. This landmark transport project will: • Increase public transport options for the eastern suburbs and foothills area. • Improve access between the city and Perth Airport. • Drive development in the area to benefit current and future residents. Early in 2016, the major contract for the Forrestfield-Airport Link project was awarded to Salini Impregilo - NRW Joint Venture (SI-NRW). This contract will see SI-NRW design and build 8km of rail tunnels and three new train stations, and maintain the infrastructure of some items for a 10-year period, once the project is complete in 2020.” Source: www.forrestfieldairportlink.wa.gov.au The FGLS Joint Venture (Field Monitoring Services Australia – Geomotion Australia – Land Surveys) is providing a complete monitoring solution to the lead contractors SI-NRW JV. SISGEO Group supply and supervise to the installation of all the geotechnical and structural instrumentation, including data loggers (OMNIAlog and miniOMNIAlog) to FGLS JV.  Geomotion Australia are pleased to have completed their first installations on the Forrestfield-Airport Link. The installations of combined inclinometers / extensometers / piezometers as part of the Forrestfield Dive site mark the beginning of an extensive monitoring program set to continue for the next three years.  Geomotion Australia are part of the FGLS Joint Venture, bringing together Australia’s foremost surveying company, Land Surveys, and Italian monitoring specialists Field Monitoring Australia. The FGLS Joint Venture is providing a complete monitoring solution to the lead contractors SI-NRW JV, a joint venture between Salini Impregilio and Perth’s own NRW Civil & Mining. Geomotion Australia are responsible for the installation and monitoring of all geotechnical and structural instrumentation for the project. Instruments and data loggers will be supplied by Italian manufacturers SISGEO. As well as installation and monitoring, Geomotion are implementing and managing the MIMS (Monitoring Information Management System), Maxwell Geosystem’s Mission OS. The Forrestfield-Airport Link project will provide a rail link between Bayswater and Forrestfield, including the construction of three new train stations, Belmont, Airport Central and Forrestfield. The twin tunnels travel beneath critical pieces of infrastructure; including airport runways and existing rail networks. To ensure the highest quality of construction and safety, SI-NRW has put in place the most extensive monitoring program in WA history, and Geomotion Australia is proud to be involved.  In the fifth video in the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics series, Professor John Burland explains how important water pressure in the voids between soil particles is in determining the soil's strength. John describes how major disasters can take place if geotechnical engineers don't take into account water pressure in soils. To reinforce the importance of taking water pressure into account, Professor Burland cites the Abervan disaster in which an unstable manmade soil mound above the village of Abervan engulfed a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
In the first of two demonstrations, Professor Burland shows how important water pressure is at the contact point between two soil particles. The conclusion is that water pressure reduces the shearing force between particles, reducing overall soil strength. In the second demonstration, Professor Burland uses the example of building sandcastles at the beach to show how a small amount of water can increase soil strength. He explains this phenomenon by introducing the concept of surface tension. Learning outcomes This video will help learners answer questions such as:
About the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics Series This video is part of the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics series, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation, in which Professor John Burland draws on his many years of practice in geotechnical engineering and teaching to provide listeners with what he regards to be the key knowledge that geotechnical engineers need to understand about soil mechanics in engineering practice. Prof Burland is based at Imperial College London and has worked on hundreds of interesting projects, the most famous of which was stabilising the Leaning Tower of Pisa. More engineering teaching resources available on www.expeditionworkshed.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Credits
Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics - The Effect of Particle Size and Shape on Soil StrengthÂ14/2/2017 In the fourth video in the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics series, Professor John Burland demonstrates how soil grading (the range of particle sizes in a soil) and soil shape affect a soil's ability to resist load. In this video Professor Burland uses his base friction model, introduced in video 3 to model how changes to a soil affect its ability to resist the weight of a foundation pressing down on it. He compares the strength of a well-graded soil with a uniformly graded soil and demonstrates that a well-graded soil has greater ability to resist load.
Using the same model Professor Burland demonstrates the effect of particle shape on soil strength by comparing the behaviour of a soil made of round particles with the behaviour of a soil made of circular particles. The conclusion is the more angular the soil particles, the stronger the soil. More engineering teaching resources available on www.expeditionworkshed.org Learning outcomes This video will help learners answer questions such as:
About the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics Series This video is part of the Bare Essentials of Soil Mechanics series, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation, in which Professor John Burland draws on his many years of practice in geotechnical engineering and teaching to provide listeners with what he regards to be the key knowledge that geotechnical engineers need to understand about soil mechanics in engineering practice. Prof Burland is based at Imperial College London and has worked on hundreds of interesting projects, the most famous of which was stabilising the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Credits Written and presented by: Prof John Burland, Imperial College, London. Concept design: http://www.thinkup.org/ Graphic design: http://thomasmatthews.com/ Direction/Production: http://www.ariesfilms.com/ Source: Expedition Workshed - www.expeditionworkshed.org Geomotion recently completed the establishment of a complete remote monitoring solution for South32 at its Worsley Alumina refinery near Collie. The system draws on data from piezometers spread over 5km across the site.  Worsley Alumina South-32 Refinery Manual monitoring of piezometers across the site was a lengthy process usurping a significant amount of man hours to ensure the safety of the plant infrastructure. With the new system implemented by Geomotion Australia, data is updated daily on a web based data management platform, with the ability to increase read frequency during critical periods. It allows up to date monitoring, comparison to weather events or pumping activity on site, and offers a comprehensive yet accessible review and report functions.  Worsley Control Room The Loadsensing G6 data logging system allows up to 10 years power autonomy, yet maximum coverage across the site. With a single Gateway positioned at the site communications tower, the site is covered for monitoring of tailings dams across the facility. Maxwell Geosystem’s Mission Monitor powers the data management and reporting functions.
The project follows the successful implementation of over thirty G6 data loggers across the Illawarra Region with Geosensing Solutions on behalf of South32. |
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