Mining technology company Dwyka Mining Services has entered into a partnership with Canadian technology company Point Laz to introduce the Lazaruss automated mine shaft scanner to the African market.

This advanced scanner facilitates mine shaft inspections by offering mining operations a better understanding of their shaft conditions, enhancing safety and operational efficiency.

The Lazaruss scanner is designed specifically for harsh underground environments. It features a waterproof and dustproof aluminium casing built to IP-67 standards and can be installed and operational in less than ten minutes. Stainless steel components further protect the scanner from impacts and falls.

The device can be adapted to clamp to all cable sizes and is suitable for all types of mine shafts, using powerful real-time environment adaptive lighting consisting of seven 10 000-lumen lights to enable photogrammetry in dark shafts. It can descend at 1 m/s, enabling a full scan of a 3 km deep shaft in 50 minutes.

“Unless you're taking routine snapshots of the same place in a perfectly repeatable fashion, you’re bound to get varying datasets. That's why we recommend automation.

“Without it, repeatability is out the window,” Dwyka Mining Services CEO Jamie van Schoor told Mining Weekly during a demonstration at Gold Reef City, in Johannesburg, on September 4, where the Lazaruss scanner showcased its ability to generate automated PDFs and three-dimensional video, detecting changes between scans, and offering quick and accurate assessments of shaft conditions over time.

This demonstration was held in addition to Dwyka’s drone demonstrations at the FNB Stadium, which forms part of the company’s participation in Electra Mining from September 2 to 6.

The scanner can operate autonomously for two to three hours on standalone batteries, which are easily swappable, and requires no monitoring thanks to its onboard processing and data storage capability.  

Once the device returns to surface, the data can be downloaded and processed using a Web-based application that can be accessed using a laptop or any WiFi-enabled mobile device.

The scanner provides automated PDF and key performance indicator (KPI) reports, model-to-model deviation detection and a range of data visualisations, including point clouds, heatmaps, 360º videos and visual inspections.

Moreover, the system’s simple visualisation tools require no specific expertise to interpret to facilitate planning and maintenance work.

The Lazaruss scanner is also equipped with guide misalignment detection sensors with 5 mm accuracy, alignment analysis with PDF reporting and a flagging system that highlights critical guide irregularities. It can detect nominal shaft diameter deviations and presents this data in a rolled-out heat map view, complete with North, East, South, West and depth identifiers to easily locate positions within the shaft.

In addition to these features, the scanner automatically detects changes between current and previous scans through cloud-to-cloud change detection, highlighting these changes in red boxes on the heatmap and linking them directly to corresponding photos.

This makes it simple to track changes over time. Overview graphics provided by the system highlight depth ranges with the most significant changes, enabling mine staff to make informed decisions regarding maintenance and easily monitor overall changes in shafts.

Since the prototype release of the Lazaruss scanner, several improvements have been made.

Additional upgrades include a battery unit composed of cells that meet international safety standards and which are compliant with aeroplane carry-on requirements, simplifying transport. A new safety clamp has also been introduced to ensure the safe installation of the scanner, protecting both workers and equipment during setup.

Future updates to the Lazaruss scanner will include point cloud colourisation, which will enhance the detail and visual informativeness of the data produced for better analysis of shaft conditions.

An upcoming stop-and-go feature will allow the Lazaruss scanner to be used in conjunction with conventional manual shaft inspections, offering greater flexibility and efficiency for mining operations.

“By partnering with Dwyka Mining Services, we are confident that the Lazaruss scanner will set new standards for mine shaft inspections, improving safety and operational efficiency across the continent,” Point Laz chief revenue officer Joel Venne said.

Dwyka Mining Services will provide distribution and support services for the Lazaruss scanner in Africa.