Ural Engineers Offer Miners a Digital Dispatch System Without Costly Infrastructure
The Sverdlovsk NIR Center unveiled its RudNIR system at the RUDNIK exhibition in Yekaterinburg. The hardware and software platform is designed to turn a scattered fleet of underground mining equipment into a single, centrally managed operation without requiring mines to install new, expensive communications networks.
Heavy equipment operates throughout a mine's network of tunnels: haul trucks, loaders and drilling rigs. Surface dispatchers need to know where every machine is, what it is doing, whether it has broken down or is sitting idle. Satellite navigation does not always work underground, so mining companies install their own positioning systems. But these require expensive communications infrastructure, including cables, towers and equipment. Ural engineers have developed a less costly alternative.
A Network Coordinated from the Surface
The new system works by installing an onboard computer in each piece of equipment. Engineers connect wireless sensors to the computer to collect information about the machine's location, whether it is moving or stationary, and what it is carrying. Instead of transmitting this data through a centralized network, the system uses its own self-organizing wireless network. A signal from the first machine is relayed to the second, then to the next, until it reaches the surface. If a haul truck or loader moves away, the network automatically reroutes the connection through other machines. The equipment itself acts as a series of signal repeaters.
At the surface, specialized software consolidates the data and gives dispatchers a real-time view of what every machine underground is doing. Positioning accuracy is up to one meter, with coverage of up to 99% of mine workings. The system also accumulates operating data, including the number of hours each machine has run, which components fail most often and how routes can be optimized. This information can be used to schedule maintenance and allocate equipment more effectively. The projected gains are a 3–10% increase in productivity and a 5–15% improvement in equipment utilization.
The Path to Digitalization
Russia already has several operational solutions for digitally managing mining equipment. For example, Nornickel is testing a system that analyzes downtime among auxiliary mobile equipment, including concrete mixers, fuel trucks and buses. Sensors installed on the vehicles transmit data to a centralized system, recording what each machine does during a shift: whether it is working, moving or idle. Dispatchers can see the entire underground fleet on a screen in real time and quickly reallocate equipment as needed.
Sitronics Group, part of Sistema AFK, has deployed a precision positioning system for mining equipment in a mine more than 100 meters underground. The solution operates over a dedicated wireless LTE network with 5G readiness and provides positioning accuracy of up to five meters. Operators can monitor equipment location and speed in real time, adjust routes and generate reports.
At the Internatsionalny mine in Russia's Sakha Republic (Yakutia), ALROSA has deployed communications infrastructure throughout the underground workings, including a Wi-Fi network covering key production areas. More than 30 pieces of mobile equipment, including load-haul-dump machines, underground haul trucks and drilling rigs, have been fitted with onboard systems. Several years ago, the company reported a 12% increase in efficiency after introducing an underground mining dispatch system at its Udachny underground mine in Yakutia, and a 5% gain at the Aikhal mine.
RudNIR now offers accuracy and functionality comparable to those of existing systems, but without the capital expenditure required to build dedicated communications infrastructure.
Greater Accuracy and Safer Operations Ahead
According to Russia's Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), investment in digital solutions for the mining industry increased from RUB 4.2 billion (about $51 million) in 2019 to RUB 7.4 billion (about $91 million) in 2024. A study by Kept and Tsifra Group found that the solutions most in demand among mining companies include fleet dispatch and management systems (81%), AI-powered decision-support tools (76%) and integration platforms (75%).
RudNIR is entering the market with a solution designed to deliver a quick return on investment without requiring mines to overhaul established production processes. Its most important benefit is not necessarily higher productivity, but improved safety. Being able to see immediately where equipment is and why it has stopped is a step toward reducing the risk of accidents. In the longer term, RudNIR pilot projects could develop into full-scale industrial contracts and become part of the autonomous mining ecosystem.
