Mining Industry

Overview

The wireless radio coverage solution for mining operations consists of two parts: surface coverage and underground coverage.

Surface base stations are generally installed in communications equipment rooms and serve as the core of the system. A base station typically consists of channel units, equipment cabinets, combiners/splitters, power dividers, duplexers, couplers, antennas, and other components. The base station antenna is installed at elevated locations, such as antenna towers or rooftops, to ensure reliable wireless coverage across surface mining areas.

Where underground coverage is required, leaky feeder cables are used as the signal transmission medium. This significantly reduces the impact of tunnel bends, pipelines, overhead cables, and other underground structures on radio signal propagation. It also minimizes interference caused by harsh environmental conditions and industrial electrical sparks, ensuring reliable wireless coverage throughout underground mining areas.

Leaky feeder communication technology uses specially designed explosion-proof coaxial cables installed along underground roadways and tunnels. When tunnels or roadways extend over long distances, multiple bidirectional repeaters can be installed along the leaky feeder cable. These repeaters amplify uplink and downlink RF signals transmitted through the cable, compensating for signal loss during transmission. The repeaters are typically installed at intervals of approximately 350 meters.

The leaky feeder cable creates a continuous electromagnetic leakage field along the roadway and functions as a continuously distributed antenna. Through bidirectional coupling between the cable and mobile radio terminals, long-distance communication can be achieved between mobile radios, as well as between mobile radios and base stations.

The “leaky feeder cable + repeater” architecture has been widely deployed in railway and highway tunnels for many years, representing a mature, reliable, and proven communication technology.