Orica Digital Solutions today announced the next generation of its FRAGTrack™, helping customers access fragmentation intelligence closer to where operational decisions are made. Featuring a new hardware platform, the latest release gives mining operations greater visibility into fragmentation performance, enabling faster decisions, improved productivity and more predictable downstream outcomes. 

As mining operations seek safer, more productive and more predictable operations, incorporation of reliable fragmentation data into operational decision making is becoming increasingly important. Fragmentation influences downstream performance across loading, hauling, crushing and processing activities, making it a critical lever for operational optimisation.

Building on Orica's commitment to digitally connected mining solutions, the latest FRAGTrack™ release strengthens the company's ability to provide fragmentation intelligence throughout the mining value chain. A new hardware platform now allows for FRAGTrack™ deployment on excavators, delivering greater flexibility in how operations capture and utilise fragmentation data and helping customers make faster, more informed decisions that improve performance beyond the blast.

Orica Digital Solutions President and Chief Technology Officer, Angus Melbourne said:

 “The next generation of FRAGTrack reflects Orica’s continued investment in connected technologies that help customers turn operational data into actionable insights. By expanding access to fragmentation intelligence closer to the point of decision-making, FRAGTrack enables mining operations to improve productivity, enhance predictability and unlock greater value across the mining value chain.”  

Expanded flexibility for fragmentation measurement

The new FRAGTrack™ hardware has been designed to improve deployment flexibility, widening the range of mining environments that the system supports while incorporating incremental improvements to all areas of the system, including edge and Internet of Things (IoT) upgrades which will be rolled out to existing applications as available.  

It features a range of enhancements designed to improve performance, usability and deployment flexibility. Featuring higher-resolution optics, improved performance in variable lighting conditions, a more compact and robust design, enhanced cybersecurity and simplified installation, the platform helps customers access reliable fragmentation insights across a wider range of operating environments.

This enables operations to capture high-quality fragmentation data with greater efficiency while supporting the continued expansion of FRAGTrack™ deployments across mine sites globally.

Bringing fragmentation insights to the excavator

The flexibility of the new hardware platform has enabled Orica to extend FRAGTrack™ measurement to excavators, bringing fragmentation intelligence directly to a critical stage of the material movement process.

The new FRAGTrack™ excavator configuration captures fragmentation data as material is loaded, providing greater visibility of fragmentation variability across the bench and helping operations understand how blast outcomes influence downstream performance.

This new configuration expands the existing mobile equipment deployment options, giving customers greater flexibility to capture spatially referenced fragmentation data across digging and loading activities.  

Connecting fragmentation insights across the value chain

As part of Orica’s connected digital ecosystem, FRAGTrack™ can combine fragmentation measurements with blast design and geological information from solutions including BlastIQ™ and OREPro™. It can also connect with third-party machine guidance platforms, including Wenco® BenchManager. These connections help customers relate fragmentation outcomes to operational conditions and make more informed decisions from drill and blast through to downstream processing.

Turning fragmentation data into operational value

FRAGTrack™ is part of Orica’s broader suite of connected digital solutions, helping customers understand the relationship between blasting performance, material movement and downstream productivity. By replacing or reducing manual measurement activities and improving visibility of fragmentation variability, the solution can support safer measurement practices, more efficient material handling and better use of energy-intensive downstream equipment.

The new FRAGTrack™ excavator configuration is now available to mining customers globally.