Thanks to the professional relationship with Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, S.A. at Marlin Mine, San Marcos, east of Guatemala City, we were contacted by the Operations and Industrial Safety Department to provide communication services for another mining project, Cerro Blanco Mine.
Cerro Blanco Mine planning, exploration and perforation began in 2010, located in Jutiapa department 6.8 km away from Asunción Mita, a town with an estimated population of 15,000 people who are directly benefited by the mine as a source of work.
We provided analog radio communication services on surface to the contractor in charge of the perforation of the North and South entries. Simultaneously, we have been providing communication services for the mine’s personnel, delivering radio signal in underground environments as each of the entries’ perforation advances, since february 2010.
The communication system had 3 channels, one for all surface communication, the second for the underground north ramp and the third for the south ramp. Thanks to the communications system, the Unified Exploration Management, production, electricians, mechanics and industrial safety work teams have been continuously communicated 24/7 and for 365 days a year.
Communication on the surface was linked to underground communication with coverage to the very last corner of the tunnel which is approximately 6 kilometers long in composite. The signal coverage also included, temporarily, communication from the project to Asunción Mita, where the Mine’s offices were established for a short period.
Throughout the operation of the project we have faced challenges that demand the very best work service attitude, commitment and responsibility.
Beetrex signal coverage allows an efficient coordination of the project’s development on the surface. It’s an essential requisite for the underground operation as established by the industrial safety regulations.
Beetrex active cable system was implemented in two phases: the equipment that was temporarily installed during the first phase was then replaced by the permanent equipment installed on phase two. The system’s installation lasted for around 16 days given the physical effort required to complete the job. Besides that, the mine’s high temperature and noise environment forced the administration to establish industrial safety norms and protocols that require that all personnel must rest, recover and hydrate after short periods of work shift inside the mine.
Because of the noise conditions inside the mine, it was necessary to plan every detail of the work shift with responsibilities for each member of the team with alternate plans in case something did not go as planned as Betrex’s eactive cable was installed.
Guaranteeing continuous and great quality underground communication at the meeting point of the North and the South ramps was a challenge we overtook thanks to a provision of equipment installation work shifts without compromising each work team’s communication.
