Remote Monitoring of Hazardous Environment at Mining Sites Using LoRa Network

Mining sites are considered one of the most dangerous work environments due to the presence of hazardous gases. Workers are always at risk of being exposed to toxic and explosive gases such as methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO). Therefore, it is crucial to monitor these gases and other environmental parameters like temperature and humidity in real-time to prevent any potential risks to human life and the environment. Although generic IoT networks are very much capable of monitoring hazardous gases from a mining site but, given the harsh environment of a mining site and being always at remote areas, a stable internet connection cannot be expected. In this study we will be making use of LoRa network, which is a wireless technology that has gained popularity in the field of remote monitoring in the recent years. LoRa operates on a low-power, wide-area network that allows data transmission over long distances without the requirement of internet. This makes it ideal for mining sites where the distance between the control room and the mineshaft can be several kilometers. We will be discussing the implementation of one sensing node to be installed in the vicinity of the mining site and would be responsible for sensing all the information and transmitting the same securely using its integrated LoRa module, and one central node which will be installed in the control room, which will be responsible for receiving the data transmitted by the sensing node, analyzing it, displaying it and generating alert if any value seems to be rising or falling into a hazardous level.