The Portia mine will use the Sentry system to track pit-wall movement and for routine survey tasks.

The Sentry solution is an active monitoring system for tracking movement and notifying users about potentially unsafe areas of an open-pit operation. A longrange I-Site 8820 laser scanner and dedicated software help sites measure and analyze unpredictable wall movement.

The I-Site point cloud data used in the Sentry solution can also be processed and modeled for survey reconciliation, stockpile volumetrics, geological mapping and kinematic analysis. Sentry allows several areas to be monitored within a single scan extent. Animations, continual analysis and graphical reports provide comprehensive information for reviewing results to guide future monitoring.

CMC is responsible for removing all of the overburden and bringing the ore to the surface at the Portia mine, which lies 100 km northwest of the Broken Hill regional mining center. At Portia, the gold occurs in a 2- to 3-m layer below 75 m of clay overburden (about 7 million m3), which is being removed to access the ore.

The Sentry solution will be applied to track movement and stability of walls in the pit. The I-Site laser scanner will also be used for routine survey applications throughout the operation. A Maptek mount attaching the I-Site laser scanner to the roof of a site vehicle, gives CMC greater flexibility for surveying large areas efficiently.

CMC Principal Steve Radford said, “Prior to mining commencement, we’ve remodeled and constructed 35 km of access roads and an airstrip, as well as establishing infrastructure such as workers’ camp, on-site concrete batching plant and maintenance facilities.

“In remote environments where you need to ensure worker safety, Sentry provides a diagnostic tracking tool with clear visualization and analysis capabilities so we can make reliable engineering decisions.”

The Consolidated Group of companies employs more than 450 people and owns and operates more than 700 items of plant in its general contracting business across Australia. CMC has a long-term affiliation with the Broken Hill region in New South Wales, conducting major earthmoving contracts, with specialization in open-cut mining. Activities include contract crushing and screening, bulk haulage and open-cut mining.