CASE STUDY | MINING

Minetek Adds Real Time Data Visibility & Monitoring to Critical Equipment

JH Tester integrates FactoryTalk DataMosaix into Minetek’s innovative mining evaporation systems, offering real-time monitoring of their critical assets, supporting mining operations in Australia and abroad.

Minetek is an innovative, solution-driven company specialising in engineering, designing, manufacturing and implementing conventional and advanced equipment used in the industrial and mining sectors. Since 1984, Minetek has supplied the mining industry with the highest-quality products and unparalleled customer service.

Challenge

Minetek wanted to provide customers with more real-time visibility on the performance of equipment, to enable proactive maintenance and validate agreed performance targets.

Solution

FactoryTalk® DataMosaix™

Result

More resilient and secure data connectivity – including all sensor information, alarms, and engineering documents – from a variety of source systems, for each of the remote assets.
Data generated enables Minetek’s customers to schedule optimised predictive maintenance schedules to reduce downtime and save cost.

Australian OEM Minetek, a global supplier of water evaporation systems, underground ventilation, and sound attenuation solutions for the mining industry, has enhanced its offering by integrating real-time monitoring technology into its critical mining equipment. This upgrade is the result of a collaboration with automation integration specialist JH Tester Industrial Automation, using FactoryTalk® DataMosaix™ platform.

JH Tester has more than 40 years of experience in electronics, robotics, bespoke machines, and automation technologies. Their work with Minetek reflects a shared focus on delivering innovation and performance to customers operating in complex, remote environments

Challenge

Minetek sought to improve how it supported customers with equipment across dispersed mining sites in Australia and globally. “Minetek wanted to provide its customers with more real-time visibility on the performance of the equipment, to enable proactive maintenance and to validate agreed performance targets,” said Murray Tester, director of JH Tester.

The goal was to enable remote, secure, and real-time data reporting from its water evaporators, providing actionable insights into asset health and performance without the need for physical infrastructure or intensive manual oversight. Michael Fraser, senior electrical design engineer at Minetek, said, “We saw an opportunity to enhance our portfolio by adopting an innovative technology that allowed remote, real-time reporting of critical assets.”

With performance spread across different sites and equipment types, Minetek needed a scalable, secure system capable of integrating multiple data sources while remaining user-friendly and cost-effective.

Solution

JH Tester implemented Rockwell Automation’s cloud-based FactoryTalk DataMosaix, a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform designed to contextualise and merge operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) data into a single, unified solution.

“JH Tester Industrial Automation was our chosen delivery partner, implementing Rockwell Automation’s cloud-based FactoryTalk DataMosaix technology. This has revolutionised how we work with our customers to critically monitor their remote assets,” Fraser said.

FactoryTalk DataMosaix enables satellite-connected remote access to data, storing all information securely on a cloud server. It captures sensor information, alarms, and engineering documents, presenting them via intuitive dashboards accessible anywhere, at any time. This makes it easier for Minetek and its customers to analyse real-time performance, compare historical data, and optimise maintenance schedules.

“We had to consider different equipment across multiple sites, and needed a solution that could bring everything together neatly, so we chose Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk DataMosaix,” said Murray Tester.

Minetek specifically uses the platform for data capture, visibility, analysis, and real-time reporting across its water evaporation systems. “Data security is essential to our customers, and this is built into the system, and is an area of speciality for both Rockwell and JH Tester,” Fraser said.

Result

Minetek has achieved continuous real-time visibility of its equipment, with deployments already underway across several sites and more to follow. This gives customers the ability to optimise performance and proactively manage maintenance, significantly reducing downtime.

“This real-time digitalisation of operating performance offers valuable insights into critical assets. Further performance optimisation, including analysis to assist with repair and maintenance, enhances overall operating efficiencies,” said Fraser.

Because it’s a SaaS platform, there’s no need for complex infrastructure or maintenance requirements, reducing upfront costs and supporting easier scaling. “This means that FactoryTalk DataMosaix was not only the right technical fit, but a more cost-effective solution that continues to deliver benefits over time,” said Murray Tester.

Customers with multiple sites benefit from rapid rollout, as adding a new location only requires an edge industrial PC running a FactoryTalk DataMosaix extractor. Looking ahead, the solution holds even greater potential. “DataMosaix has huge potential. It can be used for anomaly detection, predictive maintenance and scheduling, and it can compare real-time with historical data to optimise performance,” added Tester.

“There’s even the potential to set up FactoryTalk DataMosaix at an enterprise level so that all information is in the one place. Each asset can have manuals, technical data, maintenance logs and downtime all readily available in the one place.”

“While we are only using DataMosaix for operational technology data currently, it is capable and ready to integrate IT data, should Minetek or its customers wish to add this in the future.”

The collaboration between Minetek, JH Tester, and Rockwell Automation has laid the groundwork for long-term digital transformation and value creation in the mining sector.

Published June 5, 2025