Mining
Fachmann/Sectors/Mining
Sector / Mining

We make mining
a safe process.

ISO 13849-1ISO 14119ISO 13850IEC 62305IEC 60079IEC 61508

Mining works with large, heavy machines spread over huge areas: crushers, mills, vibrating screens, conveyors several kilometres long, stackers and loading silos. The risks repeat across the whole plant: uncontrolled access to hazard zones, unexpected start-ups during maintenance, equipment that keeps turning by inertia after stopping, and an environment with dust, vibration, weather and lightning. Fachmann integrates machine safety, access management, lightning protection and interfaces for classified areas under a single technical contact, from risk assessment to commissioning, aligned to the standard each function requires.

Typical applications

Applications
in mining.

Crushing and screening · Grinding · Ore transport · Stockpiles · Rail dispatch · Auxiliary services

Mining conveyor between ore stockpiles with a stacker in the background
01
01 / 08

Conveyor belts

The problem

The conveyor is the longest system in the plant and runs for kilometres between the pit, crushing and the plant. The risk is along the whole run: entrapment at drums, rollers and transfer points, unexpected start-up during cleaning, and a misaligned belt rubbing the structure until it breaks or starts a fire. An e-stop at the foot of a 200 m span does not protect someone in the middle, and wiring every signal to a distant electrical room multiplies the points of failure.

The Fachmann solution
PILZbackbone

PSS 4000 automation system: processes safety in a distributed way along the conveyor, with field I/O stations communicating over SafetyNET p instead of point-to-point wiring. On shorter conveyors, the PNOZmulti 2 configurable controller (up to PLe, SIL 3) evaluates pull-wire stops, drift sensors and transfer-point guards. Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.) defines who can enter each section and in which operating mode.

IDEM SAFETYdifferentiator

Guardian Line pull-wire switches along the whole run: a single double-head switch covers up to 250 m of belt, with wire-break monitoring and an LED visible from a distance. Python Line belt-drift switches, with one warning and one stop contact, to correct the belt before it is damaged. Both lines come in 316 stainless steel and flameproof versions.

Featured families
  • PILZ PSS 4000 automation system
  • PILZ PNOZmulti 2 configurable controllers
  • PILZ Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.)
  • IDEM SAFETY Guardian Line pull-wire switches
  • IDEM SAFETY Python Line belt-drift switches
Standards
EN 620ISO 13850ISO 13849-1ISO 13857
Tracked mobile crusher discharging crushed material in a quarry
02
02 / 08

Crushers and vibrating screens

The problem

The crusher breaks rock with enormous forces and the screen sorts material with continuous vibration. Both machines need frequent interventions: unjamming a crusher, changing meshes or liners, inspecting bearings. The serious risk is someone starting the equipment while a person is inside, especially in large plants where the hazard zone cannot be seen from the panel. Padlocks and tags depend on every person following the procedure.

The Fachmann solution
PILZbackbone

Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.) with the Key-in-pocket function: each person authenticates with their own transponder key and the machine cannot restart while anyone is logged into the zone. It supports up to 20 people at once on the same machine and includes the blind-spot check that ISO 13849-1 requires for plants without an overview (PLd, Cat. 3; SIL 2). Permissions are assigned by person, machine and period, and the audit log records every action tamper-proof. PITestop emergency-stop pushbuttons with monitored contact block, evaluated on PNOZmulti 2 or the myPNOZ modular relay.

IDEM SAFETY

Trapped-key interlocking for the highest-risk accesses: the isolation sequence is solved mechanically, and the key that opens the guard cannot be in the panel at the same time. A solution robust to impact and vibration.

Featured families
  • PILZ Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.) with Key-in-pocket
  • PILZ PITestop emergency-stop pushbuttons
  • PILZ PNOZmulti 2 configurable controllers
  • PILZ myPNOZ modular safety relays
  • IDEM SAFETY Trapped key interlocking
Standards
ISO 12100ISO 13849-1ISO 13850IEC 62061ISO/TS 19837
Ball mill in a concentrator plant with railings and maintenance access
03
03 / 08

SAG and ball mills

The problem

A mill is a drum of hundreds of tonnes loaded with balls and ore. When the drive is cut, it keeps turning by inertia for a long time. Liner changes and inspection require entering the drum, and the risk is twofold: opening the access before the mill stops, or the drive being energised with people inside.

The Fachmann solution
PILZbackbone

PSENmlock guard locking on access doors: holds the door with 7500 N up to PLe, with power-off locking by bistable solenoid, three-level RFID coding against tampering and an integrated mechanical restart lock. The door is released only when the standstill monitor confirms the drum has stopped. For inspection windows where the process is what is protected, PSENslock 2 holds with 1000 or 2000 N. The myPNOZ modular relay builds the logic without software: up to 8 expansion modules, input modules to command and monitor guard locking, and independent safety zones for each part of the installation. PITestop pushbuttons at operating points.

Featured families
  • PILZ PSENmlock guard locking
  • PILZ PSENslock 2 electromagnetic locking
  • PILZ myPNOZ modular safety relays
  • PILZ PSWZ standstill monitors
  • PILZ PITestop emergency-stop pushbuttons
Standards
ISO 14119ISO 13849-1ISO 13850ISO 14120
Elevated conveyors discharging onto stockpiles in a storage yard
04
04 / 08

Stockpile stackers and reclaimers

The problem

Stackers and reclaimers travel along the stockpile, slew the boom and handle bulk material continuously. The hazard is in the area the machine sweeps and at its accesses, where a person may be present without the operator seeing them. Dust and weather foul optical curtains and scanners: they trip falsely, stop production and end up bypassed.

The Fachmann solution
PILZdifferentiator

PSENradar safety radar: volumetric presence detection with 4, 5 or 9 m ranges depending on the sensor, PLd, Cat. 3. It detects by radar rather than optics, so dust, vapour and lighting do not affect it. The evaluation unit integrates via PROFINET/PROFIsafe. PITreader access authorisation system to enable entry and operating mode only for authorised staff, and PNOZmulti 2 as the machine safety controller.

IDEM SAFETY

Pull-wire and belt-drift switches on the boom conveyor, with the same lines used for ore transport.

Featured families
  • PILZ PSENradar safety radar
  • PILZ PITreader access authorisation system
  • PILZ PNOZmulti 2 configurable controllers
  • IDEM SAFETY Guardian Line pull-wire switches
  • IDEM SAFETY Python Line belt-drift switches
Standards
ISO 13849-1ISO 13850EN 620
Loading silo with conveyor above a train of hopper wagons
05
05 / 08

Rail wagon loading silos

The problem

The silo discharges ore into wagons moving or stopped under the loading chute. The gates, feeders and conveyors that supply it have moving parts that keep running by inertia. During loading, unloading or maintenance, a person may enter the area before the equipment has fully stopped, and a shaft-mounted speed sensor does not last in such a dusty environment.

The Fachmann solution
PILZbackbone

PSWZ standstill monitor: detects standstill from the voltage the motor itself generates while stopping, with no sensors on the shaft. It enables access only when both redundant measurements fall below the set threshold, with PLe, Cat. 4 and SIL CL 3. On drives with a frequency converter, standstill is verified after the converter is blocked. The loading logic runs on PNOZmulti 2 and I.A.M. records who accessed and when.

Featured families
  • PILZ PSWZ standstill monitors
  • PILZ PNOZmulti 2 configurable controllers
  • PILZ Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.)
Standards
ISO 13849-1IEC 62061IEC 60204-1
Lightning strikes over an industrial area lit at night
06
06 / 08

Lightning & surge protection

The problem

Mining sites are extensive, remote and exposed, often at altitude. A lightning strike can damage instrumentation, drives, safety controllers and control systems, with downtime that costs far more than the protection, besides the risk to people and structures. Distributed conveyors and substations multiply the entry points for surges.

The Fachmann solution
OBO BETTERMANNbackbone

Type 1+2 combined arresters (MCF and V50 lines, tested with 10/350 µs lightning current wave) at incomers, panels and substations. Type 2 (V20) in distribution and Type 3 (VF) next to the protected equipment, as the last line of defence. Air-termination, down-conductor and earthing systems for exposed structures.

GMI

D9000 arresters for instrumentation loops, SIL 3 and ATEX and IECEx certified: protect barriers and transmitters against induced surges.

Featured families
  • OBO BETTERMANN MCF and V50 combined arresters
  • OBO BETTERMANN V20 and VF arresters
  • OBO BETTERMANN Lightning protection systems
  • GMI D9000 instrumentation arresters
Standards
IEC 62305IEC 61643-11IEC 61643-21
Underground mine drift with control box, emergency stop and beacon next to a vehicle
07
07 / 08

Classified areas and underground mining

The problem

Where an explosive atmosphere may exist (gas in underground mining, fuel storage and transfer, combustible dust), field instrumentation must communicate with the safe area without carrying energy capable of causing ignition. Underground, ventilation monitoring and gas detection also sustain the safety of the whole operation, and many of those functions have a SIL requirement.

The Fachmann solution
GMIbackbone

D5000 intrinsic-safety barriers with galvanic isolation, up to SIL 3, for transmitters, detectors and digital signals from the classified zone. D6000 SIL 2 isolators for safe-zone signals. F5000 safety relay, SIL 3 coil-to-contact and compatible with the monitoring pulses of DCS digital outputs. HART 5700 multiplexer to access diagnostics of up to 256 transmitters without changing the control architecture.

IDEM SAFETY

Flameproof pull-wire, belt-drift, limit switches and emergency stops, Ex d IIC T6 Gb and Ex tb IIIC T85 °C Db, for zones 1, 2, 21 and 22.

Featured families
  • GMI D5000 intrinsic-safety barriers
  • GMI D6000 galvanic isolators
  • GMI F5000 safety relays
  • GMI HART 5700 multiplexers
  • IDEM SAFETY Explosive-atmosphere line
Standards
IEC 60079ATEX / IECExIEC 61508IEC 61511
Control panel with power supplies, relays and terminal blocks on DIN rail
08
08 / 08

Panels: signal, power and continuity

The problem

Behind every safety function there is a panel: bearing temperatures on conveyors and mills, process signals that must be isolated, stable 24 Vdc power and continuity against micro-outages that should not stop the plant.

The Fachmann solution
CABURinfrastructure

Temperature converters with galvanic isolation, from PT100 or thermocouple to 4-20 mA, for bearing monitoring. Galvanic signal isolators. 24 Vdc DIN-rail power supplies from the CSL and XCSE series, and XCSU DC-UPS to keep controllers and actuators running during mains outages. Push-in, spring and screw terminal blocks for panel wiring.

Featured families
  • CABUR Temperature converters and signal isolators
  • CABUR CSL and XCSE power supplies
  • CABUR XCSU DC-UPS
  • CABUR Push-in, spring and screw terminal blocks
Standards
IEC 60204-1IEC 60947-7-1
Sandvik Mining and Construction · Austria

Reference
case.

Sandvik Mining and Construction, Austria. On the Bolter Miner, a continuous miner for underground mining, rock cutting can release methane. Water nozzles on the cutting head reduce that risk and must maintain minimum flow, water pressure and air pressure. PILZ's PSS 4000 automation system supervises the nozzles and detects blocked or missing ones, and PNOZmulti 2 handles functions such as the emergency stop. The same solution is applied across several types of Sandvik machines.

Reference regulatory framework

Referenced
standards.

The safety design rests on the international ISO/IEC framework, which in Argentina is articulated with Law 19.587 on Occupational Health and Safety, Decree 249/07 (Health and Safety Regulation for Mining Activity) and the SRT resolutions.

ISO 12100
Machine safety. General design principles, risk assessment and risk reduction.
ISO 13849-1
Safety-related parts of control systems. Performance Level (PL).
IEC 62061
Functional safety of machine control systems. Safety Integrity Level (SIL).
IEC 61508
Functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable electronic systems.
IEC 61511
Functional safety in the process industry. Safety instrumented systems.
ISO 13850
Emergency-stop function. Design principles.
ISO 13857
Safety distances to prevent access to hazard zones.
ISO 14119
Interlocking devices associated with guards. Design and selection.
ISO 14120
Fixed and movable guards. General requirements.
ISO/TS 19837
Trapped-key interlocking systems. Design and selection.
EN 620
Continuous handling equipment. Safety requirements for belt conveyors.
IEC 60204-1
Electrical equipment of machines. General requirements.
IEC 60947-7-1
Terminal blocks for copper conductors.
IEC 61643-11
Surge protective devices for low-voltage networks.
IEC 61643-21
Surge protective devices for signal and telecommunication networks.
IEC 62305
Lightning protection.
IEC 60079
Equipment for explosive atmospheres.
ATEX / IECEx
Certification of equipment for gas and dust explosive atmospheres.

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