The Problem
Block cave mining depends on pulling ore evenly from hundreds of draw points according to a strict plan. Get it wrong and the consequences are severe: ore stranded in dead zones, waste rock contamination dropping grade by 20-40%, infrastructure damage from uncontrolled caving, and in the worst case, lethal air blasts from sudden void collapse.
Palabora Mining Company needed dispatchers to see what was happening underground in real time — not hours later on a paper log. That meant every LHD needed to report its position, its loading activity, and its progress against the draw card, continuously, from hundreds of metres below surface.
The Partnership
This project follows the same proven model as our work at Cullinan Diamond Mine. Graybeard Solutions handles the on-machine systems, sensors, and integration into the mine's existing underground network. Brandsplash builds the dispatch platform, the interfaces for dispatchers and planners, and the data layer that ties it all together.
- Graybeard: OT network integration, RFID positioning infrastructure, hydraulic load cycle sensing, LHD operator interfaces (IFM HMI), MQTT server infrastructure, field installation and commissioning
- Brandsplash: BCD Dispatch application, draw card engine, interactive mine maps, production tracking, reporting, role-based access, browser-based dispatch and planning interfaces
What We Built
The underground environment at Palabora is unforgiving — dust, water, vibration, and zero tolerance for systems that need babysitting. Everything we deploy has to work first time and keep working shift after shift.
- OT network integration: Palabora operates its own underground WiFi network. We worked closely with the mine's OT team to integrate our dispatch infrastructure seamlessly into their existing network, adapting our architecture to comply with their equipment standards and governance rules
- RFID positioning: Installed rugged RFID tag readers on LHDs and RFID tags throughout the tunnel network. The on-machine system knows exactly where the LHD is operating and whether the operator is authorised to load or dump at that location
- Hydraulic load cycle sensing: Custom hydraulic sensors detect bucket tilt and boom lift to identify completed loading cycles automatically. When the bucket is full, the load location is locked and reported to the dispatch system — no manual input from the operator
- Next-generation LHD operator interfaces: Built the operator interface on the latest IFM HMI touchscreen hardware, mounted in the LHD cab. The decision to deploy the newest available hardware ensures Palabora benefits from the same long hardware life cycle we achieved at Cullinan Diamond Mine. The operator sees their draw card assignment, current position, loads remaining, and has a two-way communication channel with dispatchers on surface
- MQTT server infrastructure: Deployed the MQTT messaging backbone with SSL encryption that ties every sensor, reader, and interface into a single coherent data stream. Plans and results flow continuously between surface and underground with guaranteed delivery and full fault tolerance
What the System Delivers
With our hardware layer in place, the full BCD Dispatch platform — built by Brandsplash — gives Palabora:
- Real-time draw card compliance tracking against planned tonnage per draw point
- Live equipment positions and status on interactive SVG mine maps
- Automated fleet dispatch and task assignment across three shifts, 24/7
- Two-way messaging between dispatchers and LHD operators underground
- Production tracking per shift, per level, per draw point with automated reporting
- Complete audit trails for machine status changes and delay management
Proven at Depth
This is not our first block cave dispatch deployment. The architecture and approach were refined over more than a decade at Cullinan Diamond Mine, where the same partnership between Graybeard and Brandsplash has kept a dispatch system running every shift, every day, across four active mining levels.
Palabora benefits from that decade of field experience. The hardware choices, the network architecture, the sensor integration — all of it was proven underground before it arrived at Palabora.
Lessons
Draw card compliance is not a software problem. It is a systems problem. The best dispatch application in the world is useless if the data feeding it is late, inaccurate, or missing. That is why the hardware layer matters — reliable positioning, automatic load detection, and seamless integration into whatever network the mine already runs.
Every mine is different. At Palabora, the network was already in place and governed by a dedicated OT team. The job was not to replace it — it was to adapt, integrate, and deliver the same dispatch capability within their existing framework. That flexibility is what separates a system that gets deployed from one that gets stuck in procurement.