Komatsu to acquire Mine Site Technologies

Komatsu Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary in Australia, has agreed to acquire Mine Site Technologies Pty Ltd of Australia (MST Global), a provider of operational optimization platforms for underground mining that leverage communication devices and position tracking systems.

MST Global’s high-speed and low latency digital communication network, position tracking and proximity detection solution. Illustration: Komatsu

Komatsu is planning to close the acquisition on July 1, on the condition that all necessary procedures for closing are completed. The impact on Komatsu’s consolidated business results is estimated to be minimal. Terms were not disclosed.

As global demand for essential resources requires Komatsu’s customers to go underground for mineral deposits, the company is rapidly developing new technologies, equipment and solutions to support the industry’s future needs. Empowering its customers growing use of digitalization and automation to improve safety and productivity, Komatsu said it plans to work with MST Global to help customers build digital ecosystems with real-time insights and alerts, voice and communication technologies, software solutions, robust network infrastructure and wireless and geospatial technologies. Together the companies will work to increase availability of high-speed, low latency digital communication, which is necessary to: provide mission-critical communication, integrate IoT sensors, increase the volume of information communicated and enable real-time tracking, monitoring and automation of mine operations.

For 30 years, Sydney-based MST Global has consistently delivered innovative solutions to address the needs of customers today and for the future. The company specializes in developing and delivering ruggedized, fit for purpose solutions and services partnering with mining and tunneling customers on their digital strategy to unearth safety and productivity improvements.

MST Global solutions enable communication between operators and mining equipment, as well as position tracking for operators and equipment, leveraging optical fiber broadband communication systems, which create a real-time geospatial digital twin of underground operations: an important and fundamental building block for digitalization. With a global customer base, MST Global offers a platform to visualize and monitor the underground mining environment and enable control from a remote operations center, thus optimizing mine operations to increase safety and productivity whilst safeguarding the environment. The solutions contribute to the digitization and automation of underground mining operations.

MST Global’s real-time geospatial digital twin solutions in remote operations center. Illustration: Komatsu

By adding MST Global’s experience and expertise in the introduction of communication devices and optimization platforms, Komatsu said it aims to enhance the speed at which it offers advanced technology solutions, including the automation and teleoperation of mining equipment underground. 　

Komatsu has made it a goal to expand its offerings for underground hard rock mining, creating new value for customers with the development of new equipment, processes and technologies that it said will help operations step forward to the next stage for the workplace of the future and provide a more sustainable environment for the next generation.