Mining Industry Unearths Benefits of RFID for Safer Tracking System

Technological advances have always been directly related to mining and the use of precious minerals and metals. The mining of minerals and metals has taken man from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age to the Iron Age and beyond. Now, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is revolutionizing this age-old industry.

Some of the major challenges of the mining industry are safety of workers and efficiency of production. Although mining has come a long way since prehistoric times, most mining processes, especially regarding tracking, are still very manual and time consuming. Trucks that haul ores are usually logged from source to destination using paper-based records. Now, Ascendent ID has released a new material tracking system using RFID technology that allows miners to concentrate more on the mining and less on the paperwork. This helps create a safer environment for miners. This material tracking system replaces various manual labor-intensive processes that are prone to errors.

DuraTags are long-range, rewritable RFID tags that are installed on haul trucks for mining. They are tracked by RFID readers at loading areas, loaders, truck scales or dump sites. Data such as site location, time, date, product and loading number is automatically embedded on the RFID tag of the truck in the loading area. Once the truck reaches the destination, the information is automatically read by the RFID reader. This data is sent to the customer system, where the advanced reports are automatically created to track the progress and productivity of the drivers.

The RFID tags have a battery life of 8-10 years. They are designed for extreme temperatures and environmental conditions. They have significant benefits in longevity, price and accuracy. Their metal-reinforced mounting grommets let it be securely fastened to crates, dumpsters. trailers, trucks, shipping containers, rail cars and more. The RFID tags have reprogrammable IDs and have 256 bytes of rewritable memory. The material tracking system can also be expanded for use as vehicle access control for secured access into yards, plants and pit mines since the RFID tags can be customized and easily integrated to work with any 3rd party software.

According to Doug Crane, president of the company, “With our unique ability to reliably read and write to our tags at distances of up to 70 feet, we can save our customers considerable time and money due to increases in efficiency and error elimination.”

The material tracking system automates record-keeping processes for the mining industry, streamlining production and reducing costs. It allows customers to boost the productivity of their workers, saving time and money as well as maximizing profits.

Ascendent ID (www.ascendentid.com) specializes in manufacturing long and adjustable range RFID for yard management and process automation for large mobile assets. They are known for their innovation in the field of asset tracking and long range RFID for Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) for tolls, parking and security. They are based in the Pacific Northwest.

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