Sercel’s WiNG Seismic Nodes Deployed at Africa’s Premier Copper Mine

Paris, France | Mar 1, 2022

Sercel is pleased to announce that its state-of-the-art WiNG land acquisition nodes are making a key contribution to a major mining exploration program in Zambia’s Katangan copper-bearing basin. A 30 km-long WiNG node array is being deployed to acquire passive seismic data over a nine-month period across the Kansanshi mine owned by First Quantum Minerals and the adjacent Solwezi basement dome. The program aims to explore the crustal structure of the mine area using background seismicity alone (ambient noise, mine blasting, local and regional earthquakes and teleseismic events). 

With the program requiring easy-to-deploy and ultra-low-frequency-sensitive equipment, the WiNG wireless nodal acquisition system was an obvious choice. Its lightweight form factor and compact design make it fast and simple to deploy compared to conventional seismometers. Featuring QuietSeis®, Sercel’s ultrasensitive advanced digital sensor, WiNG offers outstanding low-noise performance and detection of even the weakest signals.

The program is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Mines of Zambia, First Quantum Minerals and Oxford University’s Earth Sciences Department. It is part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Copper Basin Exploration Science (CuBES) project being led to address the anticipated growth in demand for copper, cobalt and nickel as a result of the energy transition.

Emmanuelle Dubu, Sercel CEO, said: “We are proud to play such a significant role in this program which is being conducted to help meet tomorrow’s global resource exploration needs. Our participation further demonstrates Sercel’s ability to provide cutting-edge equipment and solutions that meets the specific requirements of the mining industry and confirms our opportunity for growth in the environmental and alternative energy-related monitoring and observation markets.”
 

WiNG node used to explore the structure of a mine (image courtesy of Sercel).