Increased network coverage supports customer plans to drive productivity with new applications
TORONTO, May 19, 2009 – Active Control Technology Inc. (TSX-V:ACT) today announced a second ActiveMineTM purchase order by a Wyoming open pit coal mine. The mine, which deployed an ActiveMine wireless Wi-Fi network earlier this year, will expand its network coverage area with additional wireless Wi-Fi nodes and other equipment.
The customer seeks additional network coverage to support productivity-enhancing applications, to be deployed over the coming months. Planned applications include systems to monitor heavy machinery diagnostics and production, with the goal of minimizing equipment downtime, reducing operating costs and enhancing overall efficiency. The customer is also looking to use ActiveMine to support a sediment management system. The customer requested that its name and the value of the transaction not be disclosed.
“This new purchase order builds a foundation for ACT not only to deploy an ActiveMine network but also to sell 3D-P’s Intelligent Endpoints, which provide machine diagnostics and key operating data to mine managers,” said Steve Barrett, President and CEO, Active Control. “It also validates what surface mine operators are telling us – that they are most interested in ActiveMine’s data capabilities, especially for collecting and transmitting information from high-value equipment.”
Barrett added, “We look forward to helping our customer drive efficiency gains with new applications enabled by ActiveMine.”
A key feature driving the new purchase order is ActiveMine’s open standards-based network, which enables the deployment of a wide array of new and existing IP-based mine applications and protects the original investment by enabling future applications as they are developed.
“The opportunity for Active Control will be in providing 3D-P’s Intelligent Endpoints for numerous units of equipment,” Barrett said. “While the U.S. MINER Act is the immediate value driver for ActiveMine sales to underground coal mines today, data applications are the key long-term value driver for our network in both surface and underground environments.”
ActiveMine, the premier wireless voice communications and tracking system for mines, was originally selected by the mine to provide back-up for a legacy wireless communications network and to support future applications. The competitor’s technology did not support high-speed data applications and was less reliable.
The operating area of the Wyoming mine is approximately 14 miles (22 km) in length. Like most surface mines, it requires a lower density of ActiveMine wireless nodes compared with underground mines because of the greater range of above-ground nodes.
About Active Control Technology
Active Control Technology is a mining services company specializing in advanced wireless productivity and safety systems. The company’s ActiveMine system provides two-way wireless voice communication, real-time tracking of personnel and assets, and high bandwidth data applications such as streaming video and operational data from mining machinery, over a robust wireless Wi-Fi network. Located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Active Control trades publicly on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ACT. For more information, visit www.activecontrol.com.