The coal industry may be a holdover from an earlier time, what with environmental concerns about alternative sources of fuel and energy. In the United States, the increase in technology has significantly decreased the mining workforce from 335,000 coal miners working at 7,200 mines some 50 years ago to 104,824 miners working in fewer than 2,000 mines today. As some might see this as a sign that coal is a declining industry, its advances have reported an 83-per-cent increase of production from 1970 to 2004.
Even so, the industry is still a going concern. And at least a few players that do remain in that industry are embracing new technology to enhance their operations.
The beneficiary of that enlightened thinking is Burlington, Ontario-based Active Control Technology Incorporated (TSX-Venture: ACT), which trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ACT. In mid-April came word that a leading coal mining company has selected ActiveMine(TM) for the first of two underground coal mines in Kentucky.
ActiveMine is considered the premier voice communications and tracking system for mines, aiding productivity. Kentucky is powered in part by the coal industry, and ranks third among American states in coal production. The announcement follows similar success ACT has enjoyed with its product by mine owners in Illinois in late March.
What the system does is help monitor production, personnel and equipment in all types of surface and underground mining environments, including coal and hard rock mines.
As a company, ACT provides advanced wireless communications and tracking systems to the mining industry. The company's proprietary ActiveMine system enables mine operators to get more out of their mine through enhanced productivity and safety. ActiveMine 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.
ACT purports to do for mines what the Internet has done for the rest of the world – above the surface, if you will.
Deployment of the systems is subject to Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) approval of ActiveMine's wireless Wi-Fi telephones. Certification of the phones - the final stage of those approvals - is expected soon.
The stock price of ACT plumbed the depths of four cents a share last Christmas, after achieving a summit of 54 cents a share late last April. On the morning of the announcement, the stock settled comfortably around the 25-cent mark.
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