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Commercial success for Maestro

Sudbury mine ventilation company recognized for commercialization
Maestro_Gibbons
Michael Gribbons is the Vice President of Maestro

A Sudbury company is being recognized for a unique technology taking them deeper into mines.

Maestro Mine Ventilation developed a digital gas sensor as part of their participation in the $35 million Ultra-Deep Mining Network (UDMN). It was the first commercial success for the network of 76 members across Canada.

UDMN, a Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) hosted program, is working with some of the deepest mines in Canada – 2.5 kilometers and deeper – to help the mining industry develop and adopt innovative technologies that are commercially viable. 

In December, Maestro received UDMN's Outstanding Achievement in Commercialization award for their technical innovation, which ensures the safety of underground miners. They also won the Northern Ontario Business Judge's Choice Award this fall.

Underground mines have challenging environmental conditions that include toxic gases from the drill and blast operation or gases given off by the surrounding strata rock. A variety of sensors are required to transmit real time data from the underground workings to the surface control rooms. 

These sensors require frequent maintenance and calibration in order to maintain accurate measurements. The previous technology required underground calibrations at each individual location using test gases however several physical and environmental challenges prevented an accurate and repeatable calibration. 

Maestro tackled this real-life application by designing and developing a digital gas sensor that can be calibrated on surface in a stable controlled environment. The digital sensors can be “hot swapped” by a ventilation technician without the requirement of any sort of underground calibration. 

“This innovation has allowed our Vigilante AQS environmental stations to be installed in some of the deepest mines on the planet,” said Michael Gribbons, Vice President of Maestro. “Prior to this innovation, the underground miners lacked the confidence of the gas readings since there was no practical method of calibrating the sensors or understanding if the sensors were even working. This will result in major productivity improvements by getting the miners safely back to the face quicker.” 

“Maestro’s digital IoT gas sensors have already led to the early implementation of this technology at over 20 mines since the project has started. Many of these implementations are across Canada and the globe,” said Pat Dubreuil, UDMN theme leader and R&D program director said in a release.

 “It is companies like Maestro that quickly become successful because of their ability to identify a real problem, develop a viable solution and quickly commercialize a working product. UDMN is proud of its members and looks forward to announcing more commercial successes in the near future.”