Industries that utilise open-air mining and quarrying produce a lot of dust. Some of this ends up in the atmosphere, and there is air quality legislation in force in Australia that can impinge on these industries quite severely. All operators have a responsibility to be aware of their obligations under this legislation in order to avoid fines or, ultimately, being shut down completely. At Proof Engineers, we have pioneered the Dustective, a mobile dust monitor that can tell an operator exactly where dust hotspots are and how effective your current dust suppression system or program is operating.

Right on Site

Open-air mining sites are by their nature very large. Monitoring dust emissions over a whole site accurately is essential, as the site does not produce dust evenly. A fully mobile dust monitor can be taken to any area of activity to determine exactly what levels of dust are being produced.

Sites are required to comply with air quality regulations by state and federal governments, so having a system that pinpoints where most dust is coming from saves time, money and effort in identifying problem areas on any given site.

Mine operators use a Dust Control Efficiency (DCE) matrix to monitor how successful their dust control systems are. This DCE measurement is essential data, which can be shown to inspectors as proof of the operator's compliance with air quality regulations.

On the Map

Our Dustective mobile dust monitor works by measuring suspended dust particulates in the air. The main cause of dust created in mining operations is kicked up by the tyres on the transporters that carry the product around site. These vehicles travel to the site boundary full, and return empty, causing a huge amount of dust to be produced in both directions.

Mine operators have dust suppression systems and processes to keep these emissions to a minimum. Mobile dust monitors have a mapping feature that shows where dust hotspots are, helping companies target areas to treat.

Treatment means watering, which itself can cause problems. Use of too much water on a specific area leads to ground damage, which must be remedied by relaying roads. This is an added expense to the company, and, causes more environmental damage.

The Dustective plots coloured areas of dust emissions on a live website using GPS technology. This enables a site operator to pinpoint any problem areas, and send water carts to that area specifically. There are different colours signifying dust levels, and these can be compared over time, giving exact indications of rising or falling areas.

Find out More

At Proof Engineers, we specialise in industrial solutions. We developed the Dustective from years of experience of transportation, haulage and monitoring systems. Measuring the effectiveness of dust suppression programs and systems is one of our many achievements. We are experts in our field, meaning, with our assistance that you don’t have to be.

To find out more about our expertise in this vital field of industry, call Proof Engineers on +61 7 5522 0855.