ABSTRACT
Ibbenbüren Anthracite mine was owned and operated by RAG Anthrazit Ibbenbüren GmbH, a subsidiary of RAG AG enterprise in Essen/Germany. Mine’s capacity was 2 Million tons per year, average employment before mine was closed in 2018 was about 2,500. Product sales went into an 838 MW power plant at mine site and in heating markets. From 2011 until 2014 RAG’s Ibbenbüren mine was participant at international research project “OPTI-MINE” co-funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) of European Commission. First, a redundant fiber optic network in meshed ring structure and consisting of standardized intrinsically safe network components (switches) with coal mining ATEX approval was installed. After elimination of the initial difficulties, it was fully functional and operated reliably. With this new network, a reliable high bandwidth data transfer and control of production facilities could be achieved. Based on this network and by integration of RFID and WLAN products systems for personnel communication via handheld, remote control for machine operations and material tracking and logistics support were designed and created.
