SilicaSense™
AI that detects what your eyes cannot.
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is one of the most dangerous airborne hazards in mining. Exposure causes irreversible lung disease, and regulators across Africa and Australia are tightening compliance. Yet today, mines still rely on slow, periodic laboratory sampling — leaving teams blind for weeks at a time.
SilicaSense™ changes everything.
A serious occupational hazard
Silica exposure causes irreversible lung disease — silicosis, lung cancer (IARC Group 1), COPD. Current detection is slow, manual and costly, and mines operate blind between sampling cycles, unable to respond to changing conditions in real time.
Real-time AI detection
By analysing particulate signatures from DustScout in real time, SilicaSense™ predicts silica-risk conditions using intelligent modelling, pattern recognition and adaptive baseline analysis — continuous, site-wide silica visibility the industry has never had.
Measurable results
Earlier detection means fewer health risks. Targeted suppression reduces water usage by up to 90%. Continuous monitoring strengthens compliance and reporting, and data-driven planning cuts downtime.
The silent hazard
Between lab samples: no data. No warning.
Respirable crystalline silica — quartz particles under 4 microns — travels past every natural defence into the deep lung. It is an IARC Group 1 carcinogen: silicosis is incurable, and lung cancer and COPD follow it. Yet most operations still measure it the way they did decades ago — a worker wears a pump for a shift, the filter goes to a laboratory for gravimetric weighing and XRD analysis, and the result comes back two to six weeks later. By then the exposure has already happened — to that worker, on that road, under those conditions.
SEC. 01 / WHY THIS EXISTS
The risk model
A Silica Risk Index your control room already understands.
Every zone and route carries a live 0–10 index with traffic-light bands. Amber is the action level — enhanced monitoring, pre-emptive suppression. Red means act now: water cart, speed limits, route diversion.
FIG. 01 / RISK INSTRUMENT
RCS est. 0.038 mg/m³ · TWA on track 0.041 mg/m³ · confidence HIGH
Every reading is geo-tagged to a named road segment — Pit Exit Ramp, Crusher Approach — so you know exactly which stretch of road drives your exposure, and whether yesterday's watering actually worked.
The science
An honest estimate, calibrated to your geology.
SilicaSense™ is not a direct silica measurement — and it never pretends to be. It is a continuous estimate built on your own laboratory data: the PM4.0 respirable fraction (the regulatory definition of respirable dust), corrected against gravimetric reference sampling at your site, multiplied by the crystalline silica fraction from XRD analysis of your rock. Every reading carries a confidence score.
FIG. 02 / ESTIMATION MODEL
Measure PM4.0
The respirable fraction — total mass of particles under 4 µm, sampled every second on the vehicle. This is the key number: PM4.0 maps directly to the regulatory definition of respirable dust.
Gravimetric correction
Optical sensors are factory-calibrated on reference aerosol, not your dust. The site factor comes from running DustScout alongside a gravimetric sampler (pump + cyclone + filter) over several shifts.
Site silica fraction
From laboratory XRD analysis of your rock and dust samples — quartz and cristobalite content combined. Refreshed quarterly, or when the geological zone changes.
RCS estimate
Environmental and activity factors applied, and the result is scored: this example reads 65% of a 0.10 mg/m³ OEL — with confidence HIGH attached.
Every estimate says how sure it is
Because this is an estimate, every reading carries a confidence level — Very High (>0.80) under optimal conditions: PM4.0 in its accurate range, moderate humidity, fresh gravimetric calibration. Stale calibration or extreme conditions lower the score, visibly.
Three inputs keep it honest
One-time geological configuration (XRD report: quartz + cristobalite %), quarterly gravimetric re-calibration against your own compliance samples, and — ideally — water-cart GPS tracking to close the suppression loop. That's the whole external footprint.
PM ratios tell you where dust comes from
A high PM2.5/PM4.0 ratio (>0.7) points to fine particles from crushing, drilling or blasting; a high PM4.0/PM10 ratio means a large share of all dust is in the dangerous respirable range. SilicaSense™ reads these signatures continuously, per segment.
REGULATIONS STILL REQUIRE PERIODIC GRAVIMETRIC SAMPLING — SILICASENSE™ FILLS THE GAP BETWEEN SAMPLES, IT DOES NOT REPLACE THEM.
From reading to action
Alerts that arrive with a recommended action.
TWA and Risk Index update every 30 seconds. When thresholds are crossed, the alert engine pushes to dashboard, SMS and API — each alert typed, severity-graded and paired with what to do about it.
FIG. 03 / ALERT ENGINE
| Alert type | Severity | Trigger | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEL_APPROACH | HIGH | A segment's RCS concentration exceeds the OEL, or the projected shift TWA is on track to breach it | Deploy water cart, reduce speed, verify PPE on affected routes |
| ACTION_LEVEL | MEDIUM | The shift TWA exceeds 50% of the OEL — the regulatory action level | Initiate enhanced monitoring and pre-emptive suppression; log for medical surveillance obligations |
| ENVIRONMENTAL | ADVISORY | Watering effectiveness dropping, or wind and drying conditions raising re-entrainment risk | Re-sequence the water cart; watch flagged segments on the next pass |
Behind the alerts sits the regulatory arithmetic, computed live: TWA = Σ(concentration × time) ÷ 8 h — the trip average — alongside the current dose rate, the speedometer. The TWA progress bar shows how much of the shift's 8-hour exposure budget is spent, with the action-level marker at 50% and a dashed projection to end of shift.
Capabilities
Key features.
SEC. 02 / KEY FEATURES
Real-time risk inference
Silica risk inference for every haul route, loading bay, crusher and pit — updated continuously. Works with existing DustScout hardware; no new sensor required.
High-resolution detection
PM signature detection identifies respirable particle patterns linked to silica presence. A self-calibrating site model learns material behaviour over time, improving accuracy with every measurement.
Water-saving insights
Target suppression only where risk is rising, reducing unnecessary water usage by up to 90%. Early-warning alerts via dashboard, SMS or API when high-risk conditions are detected.
Seamless deployment
Integrates with all DustScout deployments — no additional hardware. Generates a clear Silica Risk Index for every zone and route from day one.
Compliance
Your jurisdiction, your limits.
Select your regulatory framework in the platform — every TWA, action level and exceedance recalculates instantly. SilicaSense™ complements mandated gravimetric sampling; it does not replace it.
FIG. 04 / EXPOSURE LIMITS
| Framework | Jurisdiction | OEL — 8 h TWA (RCS) | SilicaSense action level |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA MHSA | South African mines | 0.10 mg/m³ | 0.05 mg/m³ |
| Safe Work Australia | Australian workplaces | 0.05 mg/m³ | 0.025 mg/m³ |
| WA WHS (Mines) | Western Australia · DMIRS | 0.05 mg/m³ | 0.025 mg/m³ |
| OSHA PEL | United States | 0.05 mg/m³ | 0.025 mg/m³ |
| NIOSH · ACGIH · EU | Reference frameworks | 0.025 – 0.05 mg/m³ | 50% of OEL |
Benefits
Why it matters.
SEC. 03 / WHY IT MATTERS
Protects workers
An early-warning layer that enhances compliance and supports proactive dust suppression, protecting workers from long-term health hazards.
Reduces water usage
Targeted suppression strategies reduce unnecessary water spraying by up to 90%, optimising resource allocation.
Improves compliance
Better compliance with evolving silica standards through continuous monitoring and comprehensive documentation.
Optimises operations
Context-rich environmental intelligence that enables data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency.
Silica liability is generational. So is the proof you managed it.
AUDITABLE HISTORY BEHIND EVERY NUMBER — TWA RECORDS, ALERTS, INTERVENTIONS, CALIBRATION CERTIFICATES
Put continuous silica awareness on your control-room wall.
SilicaSense™ runs on the DustScout hardware you already have — live in days, calibrated against your own gravimetric samples.