Case Study: Curragh Coal Mine achieves reliable, real-time centimeter-level satellite surveying in deep pits with Trimble (R8 GNSS & NetR5)

Mining company - Customer Case Study

Curragh Coal Mine, an open-cut coal operation in central Queensland, faced a tough surveying challenge: a rapidly changing 31 km site with 70 m-deep pits, high summer temperatures and short-lived control points. The mine’s four surveyors depended on satellite positioning but struggled with limited sky visibility in the pits and unreliable reception of base-station correction data over UHF radio due to the site’s undulating terrain and spoil heaps.

The mine installed two Trimble NetR5 reference stations and Trimble R8 GNSS receivers (GPS+GLONASS) and implemented a VHF data-radio network with a packet controller plus mobile repeater boxes that convert VHF to UHF and use TRIMMARK 3 modems; a LAN/Web interface lets staff monitor and control bases. The result is real-time, centimeter‑level positioning across virtually the entire site with fewer repeaters, improved efficiency and comfort for surveyors, and reliable satellite visibility even in deep pits.