Boliden has legal responsibility for around 70 closed mines. They are scattered all over Sweden and are often very inaccessible, far from roads. They are often water-filled and the water needs to be monitored, and today their environmental technicians travel tens of thousands of kilometers every year to take manual measurements. To avoid this, they now want to automate water quality monitoring.
The system must be able to cope with extreme conditions, such as temperatures down to -40°C, deep snow and ice. It needs to measure pH, sulphate, conductivity, turbidity and metal ions such as Hg, As, Pb, Cd, U, etc.
A major challenge is that measuring instruments often need to be calibrated, something that Boliden wants to avoid. Another challenge is the energy source – as solar cells and standard batteries have not worked satisfactorily in these harsh conditions.
If you want to know more about this case, contact Erik Hagenrud, project manager for the SME Network.
