On September 14, the slope radar monitoring system was tracking the stability of the mine’s slopes in real time at the slope monitoring station of Zhunneng Group’s Heidaigou Open-Pit Coal Mine. This system serves as a ground and underground intelligent safety barrier, ensuring the mine’s stable operation and personnel safety under harsh weather conditions.
With three slope monitoring radars in continuous operation, Zhunneng Group was among the first enterprises in China to introduce slope radar monitoring systems, generating geological data every five to eight minutes with a displacement error controlled within 0.1 millimeters, providing comprehensive monitoring coverage over a 1.8-kilometer work area. The radar system can detect even the slightest movements, especially during extreme weather conditions including heavy rain or strong winds. It can predict the timing and extent of potential wall collapses and landslides, issuing warnings two to 48 hours in advance in order to allow personnel and equipment to evacuate as soon as possible before any danger occurs.
Since its operation, the system has provided over 280 warnings of potential geological hazards, maintaining a 100% accuracy rate. With three radar units in operation, Zhunneng Group plans to purchase another three units to expand the monitoring range and enhance its early warning capabilities.
In addition, 114 slope and surface displacement monitoring devices have been installed at the waste dump, closely integrated with the satellite navigation system. These “eyes in the sky” precisely capture and report geological changes across the entire waste dump area. The MEMS underground displacement monitoring system works “deep into the underground”, tracking minute geological stress changes, detecting abnormal geological fluctuations, and issuing early warnings. This enables personnel to take immediate precautions, ensuring the safety of workers and the overall stability of the mining area.
Furthermore, Zhunneng Group has established close cooperation with the local meteorological bureau. By integrating a smart weather service platform into the mine’s command and dispatch system with advanced meteorological monitoring and big data analysis tools, the company receives accurate real-time information on weather conditions, wind speed and direction, as well as rainfall. Combined with historical data and meteorological models, precise forecasting of weather conditions and their potential impacts are better analyzed and judged, providing scientific decision-making basis for dispatchers to activate different emergency plans according to “blue, orange, and red” warning levels, so as to minimize the impact of extreme weather on the mine’s production.
