BHUBANESWAR: Premier central public sector enterprise Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has introduced drone technology in coal mines by launching a portal ‘Vihangam’ along with a drone and ground control system.
The portal allows an authorised person to access real time drone video from the mine through a dedicated 40 Mbps internet lease line near the mines. There is a control station that flies the drone and the system can be operated through the portal from anywhere. Engaged in coal mining activities in Sundergarh, Jharsuguda and Angul districts, MCL contributes more than 20 per cent of the total coal produced in India.
“The pilot project is now operational at Bhubaneswari and Lingraj opencast mines of Talcher Coalfields. MCL is making use of drone technology for environmental monitoring, volume measurement and photogrammetric mapping of mine for digitalization of mining process,” said a mines department official.
Besides deploying the state-of-art technology to further enhance record coal production, MCL has also stepped up the use of latest equipment to further enhance safety standards.
It has recently introduced robotic nozzle water sprayer in its coal stockyard. Coal companies use robot-assisted firefighting and dust suppression advanced technology to carry out difficult and dangerous jobs. The equipment can spray water up to 70 metre in the form of mist. Termed swivel nozzle, it been installed on a water tanker of 28 kilolitre capacity.