Covid-19 has done more than just close restaurants, bars and offices around the world. Access to mine sites have been significantly impacted, particularly for Australian mining specialists that travel internationally to give expert opinions on mine geology, engineering and operations.
This work is fundamental to the continued functioning of the mining sector around the globe. It helps miners access project finance, supports mergers and acquisitions, and uncovers ways to improve business operations. Generating this advice requires ‘eyes on the ground ’ at mine sites, which are often in remote locations.
Palaris is one such Australian mining specialist firm that was challenged by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Assisted by the Industry Support Cell of the Department of Defence ’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Palaris identified several technology options that could provide a solution. This included the Infinity Wearwolf™ App running on a RealWear Inc. HMT-1 ruggedised head-mounted wearable unit. Developed and owned by Western Australian company, Harvest Technology Group Limited (ASX:HTG), the Infinity Wearwolf™ App enables the secure delivery of high-quality live audio and video stream from any location, allowing Palaris ’ specialists to undertake virtual mine site inspections and provide real-time trusted assessments to its overseas clients.
After testing at sites around Newcastle NSW, Palaris successfully deployed the Infinity Wearwolf™ headsets to a gold mining project in Çanakkale, Turkey. The client feedback was as follows:
“Overall, I thought the experiment with the headset went very well. Congratulations are in order. Having the ability to have a “panoramic“ overview certainly helped focus attention on areas of particular interest.”
This innovative use of existing technology now provides Palaris with a platform to remotely service projects globally during COVID-19 and into the future. It plans to deploy the technology in Kazakhstan, Guinea, Mauritania, and Gabon.