With mines getting deeper, the issue of full GPS coverage is a challenging one. Open cut mines at southern latitudes face difficulty with ‘visibility’ – particularly those with north-south orientations such as Newmont’s Boddington mine. However, new technologies are enabling better coverage and, in turn, greater equipment efficiency.
In this free article, Jason Nitz, Newmont’s Superintendent for Fleet Management Systems, discusses the implementation of the Locata GPS high precision system and the marked improvements it has had on the site’s productivity.