Barrick Gold, a gold industry leader, with interests in 26 operating mines and a pipeline of projects located across five continents, have been using MDT's SMART products to ensure a safe working environment at David Bell Mine.

An underhand cut and fill trial run was conducted in the lower zone of David Bell Mine. Barrick tested three types of sill mat designs - steel rebar with welded wire mesh, chain link mesh and geo-textile fabric. They employed MDT's MPBX and Contractometers to monitor the stability of the sill mat and used MDT's GMM Connectors to take readings with their handheld readout unit.

The project was a great engineering success. MDT's instruments let Barrick know that all three types of sill mats were designed and implemented perfectly. "The instruments confirmed that everything had worked" said Patrick Langlais, Ground Control EIT at Barrick Gold "they also told us that the workplace was safe and that our workers could proceed with development under the sill mat without any major issues."

While the project did not end up being financially viable, the trial run provided invaluable insight. "The viability and safety of the project would have been very difficult to gauge without MDT's instruments."