OREtraK Informational Video
ORETRAK – 2014 from SwotSmart on Vimeo.
RF Tags’ OREtraK (also known as ORETRACK, ORE TRAK or ORE TRACK) system brings an end to the laborious process of trying to control underground mining activities using washers, wooden blocks and metal balls. Instead, ore tracking is acheived by means of RFID tags “seeded” in the material to be tracked.
RF Tags’ OREtraK (Ore Trak) system uses cutting edge RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology to enable the mine manager to gain a clear understanding of the makeup of the conveyed ore and waste flows. The information is initially gathered by a tag reader system and can be electronically reported to the mine manager’s PC.
A recent OREtraK Installation at a Gold Mine – 2007
Close up view of the MR003 Mounted reader on a recent OREtraK Installation at a Gold Mine – 2007
A very early OREtrak installation with antennas mounted to the Go-Belt Sampler (before QwikMountTM)
OREtraK (Ore Trak) consists of
- Passive disposable UHF tags which are protected by robust HDPE secondary packaging. These are blast resistant and specifically designed for use underground.
- Readers with external antennas for mounting on conveyors or chutes. The readers are housed in IP65 enclosures for outside use.
- A desktop issuing reader with internal antenna and a short read range to enable tags to be issued.
- A software system which can be stand alone or LAN/Web based allowing designated users to capture and monitor ore movements.
- A standard set of reports and exports to EXCELTM.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) – How the system works
- Using UHF passive RFID ore tags and readers.
- Ore tags are issued with a time and date stamp and location and team are recorded.
- Ore tags are placed in the working places.
- Ore tag surfaces with stuff on the conveyor and is read by the belt reader.
- Ore tag details are recorded by the tag reader.
- The captured ore tag information plus reader information is passed back to the database.
- Management information reports can be issued.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) Hardware – UHF RFID Readers
- Readers are located on a conveyor or chute at a safe distance from possible damage from larger rocks and are housed in IP65 enclosures.
- Antennas for Belt Readers are corrected orientated by our QwikMount mounting bracket system.
- Readers are supplied with power and frequency comfigured in compliance with legal requirements for the country of use.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) Consumables – Tags
- Ore tags are robust enough to endure wet conditions.
- Ore tags are able to withstand blasts.
- Ore tags are low cost.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) – Benefits
- Ore tracked ore from working place to surface.
- Identifies the source of material, whether reef or waste.
- Reduces material interchange (cross tramming).
- Reduces Reef ending up on the Waste conveyor belt.
- Reduces Waste ending up on the Reef conveyor belt.
- Enables an assessment of time for waste and reef to surface
- Measures team performance.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) – Results
- Dramatic and direct increase in the mine’s profitability.
- Quick payback with ROI on system in a matter of months.
- Enables more control of what is happening underground.
OREtraK (Ore Trak) – Implementation plan
- Analysis of material flows with client.
- Site survey.
- Hardware and software installation.
- Issue of tags.
- Test run the system.
- Run the reports.
- Customise reports if required by the customer (optional extra).
OREtraKTM (Ore Trak) – The first OREtraKTM (Ore Trak) installation (movie file download – 7.6 MB). This shows the first installation ever – QwikMountTM brackets had not yet been developed when this video was filmed and the reader was in a plastic enclosure but the system managed to pay for itself in less than a month!
The first OREtraK installation