A Year of GPS at Fording Coal Limited, Greenhills operations

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 89, No. 1002, 1996

Robin Sheremeta, Fording Coal Limited, Greenhills Operations, Elkford, British Columbia

Fording Greenhills first acquired GPS (Global Positioning System) technology with the commissioning of a GPS-based dispatch system in December 1994. The second exposure to satellite technology came with the conversion of the conventional optical survey system to a high-resolution GPS system in June 1995. In September 1995, a GPS-based grade control system was tested on the largest shovel (Marion 301 — 58 cubic yard). In January 1996, the system was added to all of the cable shovels (2 P&H 2800s). All three applications of GPS at Greenhills are fully operational and producing positive results. This paper will focus on the practical application of GPS in a mining environment and the effect that GPS technology has had on the Greenhills Mine.