Digital mine
technology from Orange Business Services is
helping mining companies expand into remote
regions, automate operations and improve
safety protocols. Several of the top gold
mining companies in the world, including
Zapadnaya Gold Mining, use fully integrated
terrestrial and satellite network services
from Orange Business Services to connect
their digital mines.
The Orange Business Services integrated
network allows Russian gold mining company
Zapadnaya to enjoy reliable unified
communications and video conferencing
services between its headquarters and
hard-to-reach mining sites in Siberia and
the Far East of Russia. This includes six
sites that Orange engineers connected
entirely via satellite because of their
remote location.
With the Orange network solution,
Zapadnaya has radically improved
collaboration and increased employee
productivity over its eight locations. The
company uses the video conferencing and
unified communications solution for
corporate training, business meetings and
remote resolution of business and technical
issues. This has helped Zapadnaya reduce
costs while improving safety and
productivity in its gold mines.
Building the
digital mine
Orange defines “digital mines” as
state-of-the-art mining sites that integrate
network technology with smart, connected
devices to provide real-time collaboration.
Video surveillance, IP sensors, Wi-Fi
connectivity and unified communications all
contribute to increased production, reduced
safety-related issues and reduced operation
costs.
For example, remote video technology can
explore suspect shafts that are too
dangerous or unreachable by manned
exploratory teams. Another example includes
remote sensors embedded in mining equipment
for tracking productivity and maintenance.
This data can be shared over the network to
better guide the deployment of people and
resources and improve the effectiveness of
mining operations.
“For many companies, unified
communications improves employee
collaboration and efficiency, in addition to
serving as a vital substitute for expensive
and lengthy business travel. Demand is
growing not only in Russia, but worldwide,
and we have the expertise to help empower
companies with borderless collaboration
solutions around the world,” says
Anne-Sophie Lotgering, senior vice
president, Europe, Russia and CIS, Orange
Business Services.
"We use video conferencing via satellite
communication as a reliable and effective
alternative to business trips and in-person
visits. It helps us control costs and
improve safety across the organization.
Through video conferencing, our experts can
take part in meetings and analyze activities
at our mines across Russia – for example in
the Sakha Republic and the Trans-Baikal
region in the same day,” says Yuri Shabanov,
IT manager at Zapadnaya.
