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February 6, 2023 No Comments  

TECH*CARNIVAL-23 100-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE #TECH4GOOD SHOW OF 2023!

It’s 100 days until the circus comes to town! Dwyka Mining Services Tech*Carnival-23 is the inaugural #tech4good mining technology festival taking place from 17-18 May at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, South Africa.

With a carnival atmosphere and core philanthropic ethos, this event will showcase how technology can support safer mining and skills development in our African mining community.

“After a brainstorming session last year, our team agreed that existing mining shows didn’t create the excitement we were looking for or leave a lasting positive impact. Imagine a festival-themed affair, where circus meets serious and mining technologies are the main event – all for a good cause!” shares Jamie van Schoor CEO of Dwyka Mining Services.

“As proud custodians of pioneering global technologies and with our established mining technologist programme, we’re excited to share our experiences with the mining community, in true Dwyka style,” says Rethabile Letlala, Operations Director at Dwyka Mining Services.

Attendees can expect to engage with Dwyka partners such as Maestro Digital Mine, Emesent, Clemcorp, LASE Industrielle, Inertial Sensing AB and Wingtra.

Online tickets are available via Howler, a third-party platform that makes it easy to purchase your ticket and make a donation. For more information about Tech*Carnival-23, visit Dwyka Mining Services or contact our team directly.

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt and adapt to evolving technologies. We focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Tech*Carnival-23

The Tech*Carnival-23 is the first #Tech4Good mining technology event in South Africa, which is focused on sharing safer mining practices and building a more inclusive tech-ready African mining community. All net revenue from ticket sales will be donated to registered NPOs, as voted by attendees.

ALL-ACCESS – TECH*STAGE

In a TED-x type format, the Tech*Stage international brands will share an inside scoop on their key technologies and how global teams are deploying their solutions. This will be supported by actual mining use cases in Africa from several leading global mining companies, as well as the Dwyka Mining Services team. Two themed sessions will share and unpack learnings with interactive panel discussions, with seating to host a whopping 400 #Mintech enthusiasts.

STEFAN HRABAR CEO EMESENT: “I’m excited to personally be attending the fun and festivities of the Tech*Carnival-23 to catch up with our customers and partners in Southern Africa, give back and showcase the latest autonomous mapping solutions from Emesent.”

JACOB LACHAPELLE | MAESTRO DIGITAL MINE: “Working closely with Dwyka Mining Services for over 10 years, we are always excited to partner with them. This year will be no exception with the plans we have to excite you with our interoperable partners for digitalisation!”

LIMITED ACCESS – TECH*EXPO & TECH*ARENA

For Limited Access daily ticket holders, the Tech*Expo and Tech*Arena will be accessible to all attendees. The TECH*EXPO exhibition will have a carnival theme with exciting activations and a festival fun product focus to make tech tangible and stimulate the senses.

Adjacent to the exhibition stands where partners will be exhibiting their solutions, visitors can ‘feel the metal’ and make technology personal with human touch games. Live demonstrations of the global technologies on stage at the TECH*ARENA will be rolling continuously with human plus machine demonstrations and showcases to make technology come to life within the big top-themed ring of fire.

JUSTIN COETZEE | GM CLEMCORP: “We love creating ways for our clients to engage with our heavy tech with high-tech platform opportunities. Tech*Carnival-23 will not be any different with some surprises up our sleeve to align with the circus-meets-serious theme of the Tech*Expo and Tech*Arena!”

LARS MOHR | LASE INDUSTRIELLE: “I can’t wait to see what Jamie and his team have in store after the Tech Co<LAB> at the Mining Indaba in 2022. With a #tech4good event we’re betting our bottom dollar this will be another exciting event and not one to be missed with our solutions on show!”

With an indoor drone cage, robotics obstacle course and planned drone racing this experiential zone promises to excite. With prizes in store, no one will go home empty-handed! Woven in between the circuit boards and cutting-edge technology, surprise human acts will also celebrate the complexity and skill of physical performers.

PARTNER ACCESS – TECH*TRAIN

Lastly, on the Gallagher Convention Centre campus, core technology partners Emesent, Howden Ventsim, Inertial Sensing and Ekahau will be rolling out Masterclasses in the lead-up to the event as part of the TECH*TRAIN offering. Excitingly, these training sessions have received a positive response across Africa so a diverse set of African mining professionals from across the continent is expected to join in the carnival fun and TECH*STAGE proceedings.

DAG BILLGER  | INERTIAL SENSING AB: “We love the concept of blended learning and exposure to interoperable partners. Our planned Masterclass aims to bring our base of African users together to elevate proficiency with new additions to our gyro hardware and software and adapt workflows to suit their unique site requirements.”

LEOPOLD FLECHSENBERGER | WINGTRA: “We’re thrilled to play our part in technology adoption and a #tech4Good cause that positively impacts the territories we operate in. Excited to see our Wingtra orange excite visitors at TC-23!”

With global technology partners and their C-Suite already locked in to present such as Boston Dynamics, Clemcorp Australia, Emesent, Getac, Maestro Digital Mine, Howden and LASE, blending serious technology value propositions with carnival fun will be core to the visitor’s experience. In a first of its kind in the African mining industry, all net revenue from online ticket sales will be donated to selected non-profit organizations that can be chosen when purchasing tickets.

With a clear focus on embracing the youth to upskill and adopt technologies early on, our philosophy to start at grassroots levels and excite young professionals remains a fundamental focus for our team. Visit our donation partners’ websites for more info below:

Siyafunda CTC: www.siyafundactc.org.za NPO NBR 60-961

Youth Employment Service (YES): www.yes4youth.co.za  NPO 217-849

Child Welfare South Africa: www.childwelfaresa.org.za NPO 000834

February 6, 2023 No Comments  

GETAC – GEAR THAT CAN LAST THE BLAST!

With a great deal of excitement Dwyka Mining Services is proud to announce it will be partnering at this year‘s Mining Indaba 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa at Booth C26 with Getac. Investing in Mining Indaba is the premiere mining exhibition on the African continent taking place this week 6 – 9 February in Cape Town.

A key focus area for Dwyka Mining Services is the support of connected worker programmes on mine-site. Connecting assets in real-time to enterprise software, support services, management and their colleagues has proven safety and productivity benefits. The reality of deploying these programmes is that reliable connectivity networks and suitable devices are integral. Mine-ready devices such as rugged tablets with increasing processing power are now being demanded as an entry-level requirement and with connectivity becoming more robust, the reliability and performance of devices in harsh conditions has become paramount.

Getac’s mining solutions are inherently rugged, built from the ground up to thrive in extreme conditions and withstand drops up to 1.8m and the hard knocks for the challenges in mining . Getac products are manufactured and certified by international third parties up to MIL-STD 810H, up to IP67 standards, ATEX explosive conditions and are built from independently verified and tested components.

“Getac devices are certified with the regulatory bodies in South Africa and designed with standard mounts and docking systems for backwards compatibility and are less likely to fail than consumer devices, resulting in excellent total cost of ownership (TCO) comparisons to current alternatives,” shares Austin Li, Regional Manager Middle East & Africa.

“During the course of this week we will be showcasing how Getac’s range of rugged tablets, laptops and impressive array of custom mounts for vehicle and personnel are available to connect your physical workforce and control a rapidly growing digital workforce. This digital workforce now includes drones, robots and other mission critical tools!” reiterates van Schoor.

Dr. Stefan Hrabar, CEO and Co-Founder of Emesent, their Hovermap solution also represented by Dwyka Mining Services, validates the Getac range for their use, “Safety and operational hazards at workplaces are important factors for mining companies, and we want to supply them with a comprehensive solution that not only enables them to operate but also improves efficiency without hassle. Harsh conditions in mining mean that we needed a device that was rugged enough and able to complement our smart mobile scanning unit. That is why we selected the Getac V110. Its ability to convert from laptop to tablet provides users the flexibility of both options. We also appreciate its hot-swappable dual-battery feature that enables users to process the LiDAR data underground regardless of whether they have access to power.”

“A key focus for us this year is to make tech tangible and accessible to all our customers and with that we mean getting people to demo, interact, engage and see how technology can make a difference at their operations. Join us to see how we control Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise robot from the new Android based ZX10 on the Getac Stand C26!” challenges van Schoor.

Dwyka Mining Services will also be co-hosting a Getac VIP Valentines Day showcase in Johannesburg at Dwyka Mining Services offices post Mining Indaba with the team visiting from Asia. Mining ICT / IM representatives have been invited to ‘kick the tires’ and get a first hand feel of the devices for their consideration – if you would like to attend please reach out to events@dwykamining.co.za.Terms and conditions, POPI Act considerations apply.

For more information about Getac, contact Dwyka Mining Services.

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Getac Corporation

Getac Technology Corporation is a global leader in rugged mobile technology and intelligent video solutions, including laptops, tablets, software, body-worn cameras, in-car video, interview rooms, and evidence management software. Getac’s solutions and services enable the vital work done by frontline workers operating in the world’s most challenging environments.

About Deep Tech Solutions

Start-up Deep Tech Solutions is a spin-off of the Dwyka Mining Services focused on adapting mature underground-ready solutions into non-mining and industrial applications for process improvements. With advanced remote sensing and intelligent automation empowering team’s capabilities to extract mission critical data safely from the world’s most challenging environments.

October 20, 2022 No Comments  

DWYKA MINING SERVICES AND WINGTRA PARTNER FOR ELEVATED AERIAL INTELLIGENCE

As the geospatial and remote sensing world gather at INTERGEO in Essen, Germany this week, Dwyka Mining Services (Pty) Ltd (DMS) is excited to announce a new partnership with Wingtra AG, developer of industry-leading VTOL survey and mapping drone technology for surface applications for the sub-Saharan African region.

“We felt it was fitting to launch our partnership in person with Wingtra in Europe during the exhibition to show our commitment as a team deploying their technology in Africa and importantly to engage with their successful resellers and their clients to elevate our offering and replicate their successes for our base of African mining clients,” says Jamie van Schoor CEO of DMS.

“With select underground technologies now being adopted for surface applications, we are beginning to embrace surface remote sensing solutions as part of our mining drone adoption roadmap. Ensuring that our clients have the best tools to deliver excellent data, we were thrilled to experience the WingtraOne Gen II platform’s user-friendly operation and aerial intelligence. With the power at our fingertips with tablet operation, we are confident our clients will embrace this solution for pain free large-scale mapping, plus we think Orange is a good look for us!” shares van Schoor sporting a multi-colour blazer on the stand.

The field of innovation leaders presenting new products at the Intergeo is significant as Wingtra and others will be on the launch pad of the industry’s first digital trade fair in the European drone sector since COVID-19 limited market engagement and client interaction. “Wingtra is excited about the access we will be able to accelerate with the Dwyka team’s African footprint and plans for drone adoption in the region. Selecting the right partner requires high trust operating globally with low physical touch. We are assured about Dwyka’s passion for their clients and the technologies they represent in the region and look forward to painting the African sky orange with Jamie and his team!,” Aleksandar Kostadinov, VP Sales and Customer Success

As a clear communication to the mining industry, the continued emphasis of a human + machine focus is critical for sustainable mining technology adoption. With the Wingtra technology and support offering matured over the last 8 years, augmenting human effort to map faster, map larger and map anywhere, is now a reality for pan-African adoption. “Our partnership with Dwyka communicates our focus on mining as a key sector for growth and our road-map development, where we are offering our WingtraOne Gen II as an easy to use mapping drone for capturing high accuracy survey data while cutting costs and ensuring site and worker safety. This solution has been designed specifically for mine surveyors, engineers and site managers for daily operations to map faster, larger and from anywhere!” Aleksandar concluded.

With select African mine sites already operating the unmistakeable orange vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) solution, the launch in October during Halloween is fitting with the streets preparing for a scary end to the month with Jack-o’-lanterns and the infamous trick or treating planning underway. Aligning with Halloween as a theme, all Wingtra prices from Dwyka Mining Services will be discounted 10% for orders received before 31st October 2022 – so get your enquiries in fast!

Visit Wingtra AG at Intergeo 18-20 October to touch the technology and see what their VTOL solution can do for your operation. For more information about Wingtra AG, contact Dwyka Mining Services or reach out on our sales@dwykamining.co.za mailbox for one of our technologists to assist you.

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Wingtra

Wingtra, developer of industry-leading VTOL survey and mapping drone technology, announced today that its Wingtra One GEN II (2022) drone is approved as the only VTOL mapping solution among a total of 14 UAVs on the Blue UAS Cleared List under the US Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Blue sUAS 2.0 program. Read more: https://wingtra.com/wingtraone-gen-ii-listed-by-us-diu-as-a-blue-suas/

 

September 15, 2022 No Comments  

INVENTING A NEW WAY FORWARD: INNOVATIVE DIGITAL TOOLS FOR THE VENTILATION TOOLBOX

After a long delay and missed connections with the postponement of the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa (MVSSA) in previous years, Dwyka Mining Services (Pty) Ltd (DMS) will be exhibiting at this year’s event at Emperors Palace 14-15 September 2022.

The genesis of Dwyka centered around supporting ventilation, occupational health and environmental solutions which has evolved into the Human plus Machine solutions stack represented today. Jamie van Schoor CEO shared, “Returning to the MVSSA conference today reminds me of our early days at Dwyka and reinforces our company’s mission to empower teams with technology for safer mining practices. We continually demonstrate how augmenting human effort with technology can elevate the lives of miners, especially around safety and we are proud to represent our partners Boston Dynamics, Clemcorp Australia, Emesent, Howden Ventsim and Maestro Digital Mine this week as a collaborative pursuit.”

Representing many of the world’s leading global brands in mining, DMS will be showcasing many of their cutting edge solutions to make technology tangible to delegates. As an end-to-end integrator they will be sharing three key technology enablers at their booth; Augmented Reality (AR) with a Clemcorp Virtual Fan Experience, Robotic DOGital Mobile Environment Monitoring with Boston Dynamics, Maestro Digital Mine and Howden Ventsim CONTROL and a collaboration with Terramin dust suppression solutions.

AUGMENTED REALITY IN VENTILATION

Clemcorp is globally regarded as developing high performance products that are expertly designed to meet the toughest conditions. This is proven by the established and continued supply of Clemcorp fans throughout the African market. Clemcorp have been extending the product range through continued investment in R&D and technology adoption and now assist many underground African clients with off the shelf as well as bespoke Ventilation on Demand solutions.

“As proud partners of Clemcorp Australia, I’m personally very excited about the opportunity to deliver end-to-end ventilation control solutions at our client’s operations especially as we begin automating control philosophy with interoperable partners Howden Ventsim with their CONTROL software suite. Our DMS team has proven fan control is possible but extending this success rests with the adoption and resilience of robust, high broadband connectivity forming the building blocks for future ventilation on-demand investments,” says Jamie van Schoor.

“Africa is an important market for us and with recent adoption and localisation efforts underway in South Africa, we are excited to support Dwyka’s market development efforts from down under. Adopting new technologies and designs is a fundamental part of our business and we are excited to be showcasing our fans and some new products in Augmented Reality (AR) using a HoloLens setup on the booth which I just can’t get enough of personally!” shares Justin Coetzee Clemcorp General Manager at Clemcorp Australia.

Clients with access to their Vuforia library will be able to review a range of AR enabled designs for training, product familiarisation and AR assisted troubleshooting directly with a Clemcorp engineer. “With the ability to visualise our large secondary and excitingly our new range of large surface fans in AR means that familiarisation, training and adoption will be possible anywhere with a HoloLens setup – even in our 3mx4m booth!” shares Hannes Burger Mining Technologist at DMS who is presenting a paper during the conference on “Using Hovermap to Capture the Reality of Airways”.

Features and benefits of Clemcorp’s VOD Control offerings on show include:

  • Automated Mining Ventilation Louver: These devices assist with the controlled distribution of primary airflow onto the various working levels. Automated louvers enable operators to automate ventilation flows on levels without utilising manual drop board regulator.
  • Automated Butterfly Dampers: These devices can be automated to enable complete control of a secondary ventilation system. This helps to manage ventilation flows and reduce costs.
  • Dual Speed Axial Fans : Clemcorp’s range of Dual Speed Axial fans provide a low cost entry point to capture power significant savings from simple motor speed adjustment.
  • Remote Start DOL 1000v and 525v Fan Starters: these fan starters are one of many axial fan starters that Clemcorp supplies specifically for the mining industry now being manufactured in South Africa. These are created specifically for secondary fan applications and include a range of features that can help to optimise your fan fleet.

ROBOTICS IN VENTILATION

Following a successful showcase at Mining Indaba, Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise robot, equipped with Maestro’s IIoT gas sensor and a new Emesent Hovermap ST will be demonstrated which can be operated on mine-site to detect and localize hazardous gasses, like Carbon Monoxide, without putting mining and ventilation teams in danger. Ventilation and mining teams will easily be able to add different gas sensors onto the connected Zephyr Air Quality Station, capturing critical environmental data to proactively identify gas or temperature challenges.

“The established client base of Maestro Digital Mine environmental sensors will allow us to make the technology mobile for broader applications. We’re very excited about this DOGital integration with Maestro Digital Mine as a future partner payload for Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise solution with Emesent’s Hovermap and look forward to continually improving worker safety for whole-of-mine deployment with our new best friend, Spot.” says van Schoor.

Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise, is an agile mobile robot designed to navigate all types of terrain, allowing organisations to automate routine inspection tasks, capture data securely and safely, and allow for streamlined operations in complex and dangerous environments.

Using the Spot Enterprise on-board processing the data is shared wirelessly over WiFi and gas and temperature sensor readings are captured while the robot is in operation and displayed in real-time via the MaestroLink application. With the addition of a SLAM scanning unit sensor, like the Emesent Hovermap, readings can be saved with precise coordinates in a high-fidelity point cloud that can be exported and examined in a variety of mining software packages.

Hot off the press, R&D is currently underway to populate Spot’s recorded environmental data LIVE on Ventsim CONTROL. “As a business we are always looking for ways we can deliver more value to our clients. We are excited for Howden to be collaborating in this first to market trial for real-time mobile gas detection off of a robotic dog for a future of greater, more agile environmental monitoring of an underground operation. This opens up applications for remote blast re-entry examinations and ventilation network inspections post-blast and we are looking forward to seeing some of this data streamed live to our Howden booth across the way from Dwyka’s stand!” shares Stephan Bergh, Howden Africa’s Mining Lead and custodian of Ventsim in Africa.

“Collaborating with our mud-in-boots partner, Dwyka Mining Services who are always pushing the envelope with technology integration with pioneering brands like Boston Dynamics, is in turn pushing us to innovate and collaborate with our core purpose of enhancing lives by the pursuit of productivity and safety excellence,” says Michael Gribbons, CEO and Co-Founder of Maestro Digital Mine.

“The Spot Enterprise package allows us to access confined spaces and this information could be used to undertake remote gas inspections so that we can accelerate re-entry to target getting ore to surface sooner without comprising safety,” says Jamie van Schoor CEO of Dwyka Mining Services.

See Maestro Digital Mine long walk to freedom at this year’s Mining Indaba

DUST ABATEMENT IN VENTILATION

With an industry focus on dust measurement and mitigation, a collaborative approach with family business Terramin, will also be showcase a new range of manual and automated dust suppression and water atomization technologies.

“Whether your mine is a drill and blast operation or exploring innovative new rock cutting technologies, dust and airborne particulates will be a risk for occupational health. Monitoring dust is a challenging practice but practical applications exist and we intend sharing ours for industry adoption to improve the lives of our end-users who operate day-in and day-out underground in these environments,” states Martin van Schoor Founder and CEO Terramin.

Speaking to the nature of a solution architecture, “Connecting the dots between innovative devices like the TERRABLAST® from Terramin with state of the art software like Ventsim CONTROL for visualization and actionable risk mitigating actions over last-mile solutions like Maestro Digital Mine Plexus PowerNet is the reason we can quickly solve problems for our clients and demonstrate return on their investment. We expect automation to fundamentally change the way we monitor and mitigate ventilation risks with mine-wide connectivity solved,” concludes Jamie van Schoor.

Visit DMS at Emperors Palace 14-15 September to touch the technology. For more information about Boston Dynamics, Clemcorp Australia, Howden Ventsim and Terramin offerings, contact Dwyka Mining Services.

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics’ mission is to imagine and create exceptional robots that enrich people’s lives. Building machines that can approximate the mobility, dexterity and agility of people and animals is a grand challenge. Curiosity and respect for the natural world are at the heart of our work on robots. We see products derived from this work as the next step in the human history of building machines to reduce the danger, repetition and physically difficult aspects of work. Learn more about Clemcorp solutions at www.bostondynamics.com

About Clemcorp

Clemcorp Australia has over 30 years of experience in the ventilation industry and is a leading supplier of underground mining ventilation equipment. Clemcorp provides extensive engineering support, analysis and troubleshooting for a wide variety of projects around the world. Learn more about Clemcorp solutions at www.clemcorp.com.au

About Howden Ventsim

Accurately model, design, evaluate, and optimize underground mine ventilation systems. Ventsim DESIGN creates an accurate simulation of the ventilation environment. Real-time animated 3D graphics represent actual airway dimensions and shapes with animated airflows. Ventsim DESIGN is an expert tool that’s useful in all stages of ventilation design, from assessing needs and selecting hardware in the early planning stages to ongoing optimization of everyday operations in a working mine. Learn more about Howden Ventsim solutions at www.howden.com/en-gb/products/other-products/mining-software/ventsim

About Maestro Digital Mine

Maestro Digital Mine manufactures Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) measurement and control instrumentation for the optimization of underground mine ventilation and underground digital networks for last mile communication. Maestro products are made exclusively for the underground mine automation, IT, and ventilation sectors, delivering energy savings and productivity improvements while meeting the highest health and safety standards. Learn more about Maestro’s digital solutions at www.maestrodigitalmine.com.

About Terramin

Terramin innovates dust control, ventilation and safety solutions for the underground mining industry, and maximises productivity, efficiency and well-being in underground working environments. They have served mining companies in South Africa and internationally for over 40 years. Learn more about Terramin’s solutions at www.terramin.co.za.

 

September 15, 2022 No Comments  

HYBRID VENTSIM DESIGN TRAINING: IMMERSIVE TRAINING FOR AFRICAN USERS

As borders open up and in a response to growing demand for OEM training for our African users after a long delay and missed connections with the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, Dwyka Mining Services (Pty) Ltd (DMS) are excited to share that annual training for Ventsim DESIGN will take place 14-17 November 2022 in Johannesburg at Gallagher Estate.

The genesis of Dwyka centered around supporting ventilation, occupational health and environmental solutions which has evolved into the Human plus Machine solutions stack represented today. Jamie van Schoor CEO shares from their booth at the MVSSA Conference, “Returning to the MVSSA conference today reminds me of our early days at Dwyka and reinforces our company’s mission to empower teams with technology for safer mining practices. We continually demonstrate how augmenting human effort with technology can elevate the lives of miners, especially around safety and we are proud to represent our 10-year strong partner’s Howden Ventsim this week and announce training dates in November as a collaborative pursuit for ventilation excellence.”

In a departure from stock-standard classroom training, users are invited to join a hybrid Kickstarter and Advanced Training workshop with DMS Trainer Kobie Fourie and Martin Griffith from Howden Australia. Training will include Master Classes from some of Africa’s leading Ventsim DESIGN Super Users including Kobie Fourie, Shane Ambrosio, Dion Marais and Jaco Venter as they share real-world case studies. Included in this will be a showcase of Ventsim CONTROL by Stephan Bergh as a future consideration for the automation of your ventilation network.

The hybrid package will allow you to pick a package (Kickstarter, Advanced or Combo) that suits your availability, level and budget, so for those new to the software and/or eager to refresh from the ground-up the 2-day Kickstarter on Monday and Tuesday will adequately prepare you for the Advanced 2-day training on Thursday and Friday. Note: The Advanced training will require previous certification or participation in our Kickstarter training to best equip users for the more complex modelling, simulation and planned guest lectures.

As a discounted Combo package the full 4-day package will deliver the most value, so we hope that users will join us for all four days as we trial a new immersive training programme for our users. To show support for the Movember initiative in the month of November, DMS will donate R500 to a CANSA affiliated NPO for each attendee joining for the duration of their training with a Moustache!

For a quotation, please reach out directly to Hannes Burger: hannesb@dwykamining.africa *Spaces are limited so RSVP as soon as possible to secure your space!

Visit DMS and Howden stands at Emperors Palace 14-15 September to see Ventsim DESIGN & CONTROL in action. For more information about Howden Ventsim and other partners contact Dwyka Mining Services.

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Ventsim Howden

Ventsim™ DESIGN is the world’s best selling mine ventilation software, used and trusted by over 1500 mines, universities, consultants, government and research organisations. Ventsim Design is a complete integrated mine and tunnel ventilation software package for the design and testing of ventilation circuits including airflow, pressure, heat, gases, power, radon, fire and many other types of ventilation information.  

MVSSA
September 5, 2022 No Comments  

Collaboration: The Critical Success Factor Technology in Mining

After a long delay and missed connections with the postponement of Electra Mining in 2020, we are excited to share that Dwyka Mining Services (Pty) Ltd (DMS) will be exhibiting at this years event at Johannesburg Expo Center 5-9 September 2022.

With a Human plus Machine focus and the industry’s appetite for technology growing Jamie van Schoor CEO of DMS shares, “engaging with our partners at events like Electra Mining allows us the opportunity to introduce new concepts, share real-world successes and learn from each other where we have failed. A big part of sustainable technology adoption is creating a platform to change mindsets and fostering an assurance for our partners to experiment.”

Representing many of the world’s leading global brands in mining, DMS will be showcasing and sharing many of their cutting edge solutions to make the technology tangible to visitors. Focused on embracing technology by empowering teams to make operations safer, their team of mining technologists will be on the stand supported by their growing digital workforce – batteries charged and ready to impress!

“As advocates that connectivity forms the building block for digitalisation, we see a future of collaboration in mining where connected humans, ground robots and aerial drones seamlessly schedule and safely deliver work to augment human effort,” shares Jamie van Schoor. To this affect Electra Mining has partnered with DMS to ‘employ’ Spot, Boston Dynamics robotic quadruped dog, to welcome delegates during Day 1 Registration – look out for Spot!

See Maestro Digital Mine long walk to freedom at this year’s Mining Indaba

As many of the world’s leading brands exhibit alongside DMS next week, the opportunity to collaborate and co-create end-to-end solutions that unlock value for clients will be raised, challenged and partnerships forged. Ensuring that sustainability is at the core of these discussions will ensure a lasting positive impact for the industry.

“Interoperability of technologies like Boston Dynamic’s Spot Enterprise’s is an excellent example where the ability to carry payloads from Emesent for 3D SLAM scanning and autonomy, Fluke Corporation for acoustic sensing and imagery and Maestro Digital Mine for mobile gas and temperature monitoring are real world collaboration initiatives making a positive impact in mining.

See Fluke SV600 Webinar with Boston Dynamics

“As we mine deeper to access increasingly valuable ore bodies the risks will be greater. Elevating our capability to extract ore and importantly data from complex and challenging environments more safely and more consciously of our ESG impacts will be critical for operations to remain globally competitive and sustainable,” states Rethabile Letlala Director at DMS.

See latest Spot Enterprise autonomy progress with Emesent Hovermap

A critical aspect of this long-term industry sustainability is the separation of good data and excellent data. Ultimately this rests with the innovative brands that are investing heavily in ensuring accurate data and solutions are mine-ready and can be adopted through critical skills transfer.

“Africa is perfectly poised to take maximum advantage of select second mover opportunities for technology adoption. By learning and adapting strategies from the successes and failures of pioneering global mining companies, African operations can ensure that employees are educated and excited for this change and we are excited to support our clients on this inclusive journey!” shares Phophi Marara, DMS Mining Technologist and panel speaker at this year’s Woman in Mining event at Electra Mining.

Visit Stand G1 Hall7 to meet Spot and the Dwyka Mining Services team at Electra Mining this week at Johannesburg Expo Center Cnr Nasrec Rd and Rand Show Johannesburg, Gauteng 2013, link for pre-registration: https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/electra-mining-africa-2022-visitor-registration

May 9, 2022 No Comments  

Dwyka Mining Services and Maestro Digital Mine Unlocking Value in the Last-Mile: Connected Worker and Robotic Dog Solutions for Safer Mining

Cape Town, South Africa, 9 May 2022: Dwyka Mining Services, authorised reseller of Maestro Digital Mine, is a specialized manufacturer of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices to give mining teams up-to-the-minute information about worker safety underground.

With over 10 years in invested effort and partnership in Africa, this highlights both companies’ continued efforts to improve worker safety and productivity in the African mining industry. With South Africa having many of the world’s deepest and hottest mines, the adoption of innovative solutions for ventilation, occupational health and environmental (VOHE) and extension using automation platforms to ‘make safe’ using proactive visualisation is paramount for industry sustainability.

Hazardous gasses underground are an invisible threat to mining teams, who often don’t know they are in danger until it’s too late. This gas buildup can be created through the exposed strata, blasting, daily “mucking” and even runaway battery fires on critical machinery. Traditionally, the gas levels are measured by the ventilation system at the return air raises or wearable sensors donned by miners. While this fixed infrastructure has saved countless lives, mobile autonomous inspection on aerial and ground robots of strategic areas before re-entry or in emergency situations are the next step to complete real-time coverage.

In a new development being showcased for the first time at Mining Indaba, Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise robot, equipped with Maestro’s IIoT gas sensor which can be operated on mine-site to detect hazardous gasses, like Carbon Monoxide, without putting mining and ventilation teams in danger. Ventilation and mining teams will easily be able to add different gas sensors onto the connected Zephyr Air Quality Station, capturing critical environmental data to proactively identify gas or temperature challenges.

“The established client base of Maestro Digital Mine environmental sensors will allow us to make the technology mobile for broader applications. We’re very excited about this integration with Maestro Digital Mine as a future partner payload for Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise solution and look forward to continually improving worker safety for whole-of-mine deployment with our new best friend Spot.” says van Schoor.

Boston Dynamics Spot Enterprise, is an agile mobile robot designed to navigate all types of terrain, allowing organisations to automate routine inspection tasks, capture data securely and safely, and allow for streamlined operations in complex and dangerous environments.


Using the Spot Enterprise on-board processing the data is shared wirelessly over WiFi and gas and temperature sensor readings are captured while the robot is in operation and displayed in real-time via the MaestroLink application. With the addition of a SLAM scanning unit sensor, like the Emesent Hovermap, readings can be saved with precise coordinates in a high-fidelity point cloud that can be exported and examined in a variety of mining software packages.

“Collaborating with our mud-in-boots partner, Dwyka Mining Services who are always pushing the envelope with technology integration with pioneering brands like Boston Dynamics, is in turn pushing us to innovate and collaborate with our core purpose of enhancing lives by the pursuit of productivity and safety excellence,” says Michael Gribbons, CEO and Co-Founder of Maestro Digital Mine. “This relationship will open up immediate opportunities to Dwyka Mining Services and Maestro in Africa and extend mobile environmental monitoring to our current installations at over 170 mines in 38 countries globally using our patented edge based IIoT sensor technologies once the solution is fully embedded.”

“We are excited about extracting value from ‘no-go’ and ‘fly low’ mining areas typical at the majority of narrow reef mining operations in Southern Africa where the use of enterprise GPS-denied drones become limited. The Spot Enterprise package allows us to access confined spaces and this information could be used to undertake remote gas inspections so that we can accelerate re-entry to target getting ore to surface sooner without comprising safety,” says Jamie van Schoor CEO of Dwyka Mining Services.

As the doors open to this year’s Mining Indaba on Monday, delegates will be able to see Spot ‘in the metal’ with a Zephyr AQS at booth 908 at Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB> in its custom see-through kennel, ready to deploy and dock back onto its charging station ahead of its next mission.

“We are excited to share our new best friend Spot and its amazing capabilities with the delegates of Mining Indaba and the global mining industry. In the spirit of technology collaboration, we have assembled the world’s best mining technologies to be on the stand with us to share and conceptualise end-to-end solutions for maximum impact for our mining clients,” states van Schoor.

With Spot set to perform a number of ‘tricks’ from the stand, the four-day conference will involve experimentation with a series of partner payloads. These devices that can be attached to Spot, extend the robot’s ability to capture and process data, acting as remote sensing devices this will allow Spot to hear, see and smell in a virtual capacity.

“Spot is an amazing platform with almost unlimited applications. The ability to get live environmental monitoring data ‘on the go’ by extending our remote sensing capability to ‘smell’ for hazardous gas detection from our new robot dog is very exciting,” says Rethabile Letlala Operations Director Dwyka Mining Services.

The adoption of underground mining technology is linked closely with the extent of mine-wide wireless connectivity available up to the working face. Generally referred to as the ‘last-mile’, the underground section from a level access to the blast face, this area is complex to deliver robust wireless coverage. Dwyka Mining Services has delivered a range of successful projects fully deploying WiFi coverage (see Case Studies) and Spot’s capability to connect over WiFi extends mines opportunity to control Spot from surface for remote gas inspection.

Plexus PowerNet™ delivers a high speed, low latency digital communication network that provides PoE+ power to Wireless Access Points (WAPs), cameras and any other IP based device. The system eliminates the need for costly outside fiber optic contractors and can be installed and maintained by any internal tradesperson. With global success as a last-mile solution to connect mission critical assets, robotic dogs are the next connected device to be connected as we race to the face.

Join the mining fraternity as we walk a mile in Spot’s shoes on Wednesday 11th May 2022, morning of Day 3 of Mining Indaba. Joined by the NSPCA as an identified link to Spot’s furry friends, this will involve taking Spot for a stroll from the V&A Waterfront to the CTICC. With over a mile walk (1.6km for the metric measurement) planned from Nobel Square in the harbour of the V&A, Spot will be sent on its way by Nobel prize winners like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, capturing and streaming live content all the way to the CTICC.

If you want to ‘Come Walk Spot’ Spot in person, Spot will be leaving 08h00 this Wednesday from Nobel Square at the V& Waterfront – get your walking shoes on and join us by registering your interest at events@dwykamining.africa.

For more information about Boston Dynamics and partner payload offerings, contact Dwyka Mining Services. 

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB>

As the mining industry plans and begins executing on their digital adoption roadmaps, Dwyka Mining Services will be showcasing leading global technologies at booth 908 as part of our Dwyka Technology Showcase Co.<LAB collaboration.

About Maestro Digital Mine

Maestro Digital Mine manufactures Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) measurement and control instrumentation for the optimization of underground mine ventilation and underground digital networks for last mile communication. Maestro products are made exclusively for the underground mine automation, IT, and ventilation sectors, delivering energy savings and productivity improvements while meeting the highest health and safety standards. Learn more about Maestro’s digital solutions at www.maestrodigitalmine.com.

Maestro Contact:

Nataly Argüello

Marketing Manager

Nataly.arguello@maestrodigitalmine.com

Office: 1-705-805-6918, x 218

May 9, 2022 No Comments  

DWYKA MINING SERVICES TECH CO. AT MINING INDABA 2022

Cape Town, South Africa, 9 May 2022: With a great deal of excitement Dwyka Mining Services is proud to announce it will be exhibiting at this year‘s Mining Indaba 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa at Booth 908. Mining Indaba is the premiere mining exhibition on the African continent taking place this week 9 – 12 May in Cape Town.

As the mining industry plans and begins executing on their digital adoption roadmaps, Dwyka Mining Services will be showcasing leading global technologies at booth 908 as part of our Dwyka Technology Showcase Co.<LAB> collaboration. With a sum of the parts often more than the whole, Dwyka’s key partners will be joining the team on the stand to offer their view and standpoint with technology on hand for visitors to appreciate how visualization in mining is driving digitalisation.

“We are really excited to have our key partners Emesent, Clemcorp, LASE, Skycatch, Inertial Sensing, Boston Dynamics and Maestro Digital Mine as a ‘United Nations’ representation to showcase the very best global mining technology stack at Mining Indaba this year,” says Jamie van Schoor from CEO Dwyka Mining Services. “We are passionate about our ability to excite our customers and challenge them to think of what their future digital mine will look like. Having these technologies gives us a “digital sandbox” to experiment, change mindsets and lead discussions around their digital workforce considerations that will help lay the foundations for these ambitions.”

“The sustainable mining companies of the future will be technology companies that are involved in the resource sector not the other way around. This shift in thinking is driving new entrants like Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX interest into extractive industries.” (see Financial Times article)

“During the course of this week we will be showcasing how these technologies can extract unique value and amidst global competition, share how investing in technology is mission critical to future-proof your operation. Collaboration with a shared vision is key and we look forward to the Tech Co.<LAB> platform to have these discussions with all parties on the booth at Mining Indaba,” reiterates van Schoor.

“A key focus for us this year is to ‘make tech tangible’ for our customers and with that we mean getting people to demo, interact, engage and see how technology can make a difference at their operations. Covid-19 has made demonstrations, trials and proof of concept execution increasingly challenging and this year our ambition is to take technology to the people. We have some exciting and innovative ways that we will be engaging our clients at their mine-sites, watch this space for the launch of this at Indaba!”

A further extension to the collaboration and invested time with partner technologies is to map how these mining technologies, operating ins dark, dirty and often dangerous environments can add value, primarily to elevate safer working environments for industrial and non-mining clients through start-up and spin -off of Dwyka Mining Services based in Cape Town, South Africa.

“Deploying mine-ready technologies successfully into tough environments has us excited about curating technology and teams to augment human effort to extract mission critical data from other challenging environments. We are being approached by heavy industries like forestry, oil and gas, security and renewable energy utilities to see how we can adapt workflows to meet their needs and we are very excited to make a difference to these worker’s lives as well!” exclaims van Schoor.

Dwyka Mining Services will also be hosting a VIP only technology showcase the week after in Johannesburg 18.05.2022 and will be giving away 10 VIP Golden tickets to the event ~ interested parties should reach out with a mail to events@dwykamining.africa.Terms and conditions, POPI Act and COVID-19 considerations apply.

For more information about Boston Dynamics and partner payload offerings, contact Dwyka Mining Services. 

About Dwyka Mining Services

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future.

About Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB>

As the mining industry plans and begins executing on their digital adoption roadmaps, Dwyka Mining Services will be showcasing leading global technologies at booth 908 as part of our Dwyka Technology Showcase Co.<LAB collaboration. Key partners include:

  • Boston Dynamics
  • Clemcorp Australia 
  • Emesent
  • Inertial Sensing
  • LASE Industrielle Lasertechnik GmbH
  • Maestro Digital Mine
  • Skycatch

About Deep Tech Solutions

Start-up Deep Tech Solutions is a spin-off of the Dwyka Mining Services focused on adapting mature underground-ready solutions into non-mining and industrial applications for process improvements. With advanced remote sensing and intelligent automation empowering team’s capabilities to extract mission critical data safely from the world’s most challenging environments.

May 6, 2022 No Comments  

Dwyka Mining Services and Skycatch Early Adopter Programme: Demystifying Drone Adoption in Africa 

Cape Town, South Africa, 6 May 2022: Dwyka Mining Services, authorised reseller of Skycatch’s enterprise-grade drone mapping and data analytics products, today shared the success of the Skycatch Early Adopter Programme and planned roadmap for African drone industry. 

Skycatch develops and sells proprietary advanced software and hardware for generating fast, reliable, survey grade 3D data from drones. More than 10,000 of the world’s largest and most complex mining, construction and industrial job sites trust Skycatch to collect, process, analyze and visualize their geospatial field data with the fastest time-to-data in the market. 

“With our client’s pursuit to collect and process their own aerial photogrammetry data rapidly for more responsive and decisive action, we are thrilled to have seen the market’s positive response by our early adopters. With the fastest flight-to-data processing and GCP-free workflow for survey grade drone data now at their fingertips, the sky is the limit!” says Jamie van Schoor CEO at Dwyka Mining Services.  

Skycatch provides safe, easy-to-use, accurate, fast and scalable End-to-End solutions. The Early Adopter Programme has been a pivotal initiative to launch Skycatch in the African region. “Thanks to Dwyka’s regional footprint and longstanding relationships, we were able to produce tremendous results. We indeed secured large, listed mining deals in challenging markets and we are excited to continue providing added value to end customers in the region,” says Matteo Triacca, Regional Manager EMEA for Skycatch.   

“I am really excited about the new possibilities and disruptive technology that Skycatch brings to the professional UAV/drone aerial surveying and drone analytics industry. Embedded solutions like the DataHub, High Wall Scanning, and future compatibility with the next generation of aerial robotics and sensors, will open up the professional UAV surveying and mapping analytics market for Africa at scale,” says Henno Morkel, Sales & Account Executive for Skycatch sub-Saharan Africa”.   

“In an effort to showcase the offering, all the technology will be on show at our Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB> booth at Mining Indaba to demystify drone-based solutions for the rapid integration of accelerated workflows. Our clients need a new set of tools to navigate rapid digitalisation – Skycatch is one of these additions to their digital toolbox,” says van Schoor.  

Features and benefits of Skycatch’s product offering include: 

  • Fully automated solutions compatible with your operations & workflows 
  • Easy to use, proven & robust technologies to capture, process and analyze your data. 
  • Significantly improve safety in drone data collection 
  • Up to 75% time gain in data capturing 
  • Repeatable sub 5cm accuracy in x,y,z without GCPs (RTK & PPK corrections) 
  • Online (near real time) and / or Cloud processing 
  • Skycatch Edge 1 base station and in field processing unit 
  • Unique, end-to-end solution for highwall mapping with 5cm triangular spacing 
  • Easy localization & outputs in local coordinate systems 
  • Best-in-class software features – from cut & fill, volumetrics, distance & grade, multi-layer 

comparisons to automatic object removal, 

For more information about Skycatch’s products and service offerings, contact Dwyka Mining Services.   

About Dwyka Mining Services 

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt, and adapt to, evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future. 

About Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB> 

As the mining industry plans and begins executing on their digital adoption roadmaps, Dwyka Mining services will be showcasing leading global technologies at booth 908 as part of our Dwyka Technology Showcase Co.<LAB collaboration.  

Dwyka’s key partners will be joining the team on the stand to offer their view and standpoint, with tech on hand for visitors to appreciate how visualization in mining is driving digitalisation. 

About Skycatch 

Skycatch offers enterprise-grade drone mapping and data analytics and focuses on using laser scan level accuracy to reimagine the process of building, tracking, and inspecting complex and hazardous job sites for top industrial firms, including mines. 

Offering an all-in-one solution for drone survey and high wall mapping, Skycatch combines state of the art hardware with cutting edge cloud processing and computer vision software to provide precise, high-fidelity 3D models of vertical surfaces. Clients can choose to configure their High Precision Package (HPP) with a drone of their choice and to process data offline or in the cloud.  

May 5, 2022 No Comments  

Dwyka Mining Services announces first SA deal and GoGyro launch

Cape Town, South Africa, 05 May 2022: Dwyka Mining Services, an authorised reseller of Inertial Sensing’s range of borehole survey tools, today announced that they have secured their first client in the South African mining industry. The client is a listed diamond mine and will be using Inertial Sensing’s original BlastGyro package to improve drill and blast performance through cutting edge visualisation. 

“The BlastGyro concept was born in 2012 in the development of Swedish Iron Ore mines and since then has scaled to be a global leading solution, adopted by many African mines. The BlastGyro™ is a unique survey system designed for efficient surveying of production blast holes. At the heart of the system is the SlimGyro, the world’s slimmest integrated survey gyro. The length of the tool is 140 cm, with an outer diameter of only 25 mm and a weight of 3 kg”, says Swedish based Dag Billger Business Manager from Inertial Sensing One AB. 

“Our Dwyka DNA is focused on delivering end-to-end visualisation solutions. After a recent Webinar hosted by Trevali Mining Corporation sharing the benefits of blended visualisation techniques with the Emesent Hovermap and a positive proof of concept on SA soil, we are buoyed by the value we can unlock for our clients with Inertial Sensing. With the BlastGyro’s proven performance and unique design, the tool delivers robust data and doesn’t collapse and kink under gravity like competitive alternatives. This allows us to measure the full length of drilled boreholes in any direction, safely and efficiently for optimised drill and blast performance where the business case is delivering ROI globally,” says Jamie van Schoor CEO at Dwyka Mining Services.  

“Apart from standard blast holes, the BlastGyro is also ideal for use in injection holes, grout and jet grout holes, canopy tubes, pilot holes, pile holes and more. At this year’s Mining Indaba and Tech Showcase to follow in Johannesburg, we are excitingly launching the GoGyro. This tool is designed for simple and easy everyday use, no matter what the application and we are excited to offer the breadth of applications that this unit will solve for our clients,” says Duncan McCleod Technical Manager at Inertial Sensing One AB. 

Features and benefits of Inertial Sensing’s original BlastGyro package include: 

  • World’s slimmest survey gyro: the integrated SlimGyro 
  • Lightweight and compact system size with fixed fibre reel 
  • BlastGyro can survey at all angles including vertical holes 
  • Efficient surveying of production blast holes 
  • Dedicated “BlastGyro Mode” makes repetitive surveying of a blast ring or vertical section more efficient and error-free. 

For more information on the latest updates to Ventsim Control, contact Dwyka Mining Services.   

About Dwyka Mining Services 

Dwyka Mining Services is a pan-African mining technology platform that assists underground mining clients to adopt and adapt to evolving technologies with a focus on supporting efforts to improve safety, health and environmental conditions in the collaborative pursuit of the digital mine of the future. 

About Dwyka Mining Services Technology Co.<LAB> 

As the mining industry plans and begins executing on their digital adoption roadmaps, Dwyka Mining services will be showcasing leading global technologies at booth 908 as part of our Dwyka Technology Showcase Co.<LAB collaboration.  

Dwyka’s key partners will be joining the team on the stand to offer their view and standpoint, with tech on hand for visitors to appreciate how visualization in mining is driving digitalisation. 

About Inertial Sensing  

Inertial Sensing One AB was founded in 2010 by business partners Dag Billger and Duncan McLeod. Together, Billger and McLeod have more than 40 years of experience in developing commercial positioning and tracking systems. Inertial Sensing develops, manufactures and supplies gyroscopic and magnetic borehole surveying systems with outstanding quality and reliability. Utilizing rugged modular hardware and intuitive software, the systems give fast results with a high degree of accuracy.