Work on the system, which received MSHA approval in July, initially commenced following the 2006 Sago mine explosion in West Virginia that killed a dozen workers.
A Lockheed Martin retiree took his idea back to the company, and an engineer got to work on an intrinsically safe, wire-free and low-power battery operated system, which underwent research and development with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and, later, through successful testing in 2009 and 2010 before market.
MagneLink earned a portion of its name from the magnetic technologies at the heart of the device, which have the ability to penetrate deep rock without the need for high levels of power.
Lockheed Martin’s Dr Dave LeVan, MagneLink MCS inventor, said that he chose a self-contained TTE wireless system over other popular technologies because of its ability to provide survivable voice and text communications independent of in-mine infrastructure.
In fact, MagneLink provides not only digital voice and text but also beacon signal/location, portability at the surface and transportability within the mine.
The in-mine unit is housed in an MSHA-certified explosion proof enclosure, and the surface unit is housed in a light weight, man-portable enclosure.
“The operational concept envisions a trapped miner activating the automatic beacon signal and alerting responders of an emergency and approximate miner’s location,” LeVan explained.
“To establish communication with the trapped miners, responders would place the surface unit in close proximity to the location of the transmitting in-mine unit. Once communications are established, the responders and trapped miners can communicate using digital voice or text, passing vital information such as the number of survivors, injuries and mine conditions.”
MagneLink can also be equipped to interface with miner emergency radios to permit rapid communication with the surface just by switching to a pre-selected emergency channel.
With the system’s approval by MSHA in July, it has the distinction of being the first and only through-the-earth two-way voice and text-capable wireless communication system approved by federal regulators.
In June, the Maryland-headquartered company signed a distribution agreement with Carroll Technologies Group for the MagneLink MCS system.
Lockheed Martin will provide the technology and manufacturing of MagneLink MCS and Carroll, through its two operating subsidiaries Carroll Engineering and Delta Electric, will be the distributor, sales and service supplier.
“Lockheed Martin’s technology, paired with Carroll Technologies Group’s presence and experience in the mining industry, provides trapped miners the means to communicate with rescuers when no other form of contact is possible,” Lockheed Martin mission and unmanned systems business vice president Richard Holmberg said.
“It’s gratifying to apply our advanced communications and signal processing expertise in a new way to save lives.”
