Mine diesel monitoring for the loss that never trips an alarm
Mine diesel monitoring is for the theft that doesn't look like one. Queensland Country Life reported about 7,500 L allegedly pumped at a Moranbah mine over five weeks in 2022.
That's roughly 215 L a day, which hides inside a busy fuel farm's normal draw.
No machine fails to start. The tank and the dispensing records drift apart, and nobody sees it until the stocktake.
- Weekly or monthly reconciliation finds a shortfall, but not when it happened.
- A card or tag system shows who drew fuel at the pump, not litres leaving by a hose or fill point.
The same five weeks, with and without level sensors
Without monitoring
- Week 1Fuel starts leaving after hours. Nothing looks wrong.
- Week 3Dips and dockets look a bit light. Nobody knows when.
- Week 5The month-end stocktake shows the shortfall.
With monitoring
- Night 1Level drops outside work hours. Text goes to your phone.
- Day 2Daily email shows losses above dispensed litres.
- Week 1You have times and volumes to take to security.
How mine diesel monitoring works on a fuel farm and a well site
- 1
A sensor on every tank
A non-contact level sensor sits on top of each tank and reads every 5 to 15 minutes.
- 2
Radio to the gateway
Sensors send by LoRaWAN (long range wide area network) radio to a gateway, which goes out by 4G or Starlink.
- 3
Level against litres dispensed
The dashboard puts measured level beside your dispensing records, so the fuel balance is checked daily.
- 4
The text lands on your phone
A step drop, a drift or a low day tank texts the people you nominate.
What we fit on the fuel farm and at the wells
Sensors on each tank, a gateway at each site, and the alert rules set to your operation.
-
Tank level sensor
Sits on top of each fuel farm tank and well-site day tank, and reads litres.
Reads every 5 to 15 min
-
Dispenser and hatch contact
Texts you when a dispenser cabinet or tank hatch opens out of hours.
Alerts on change
-
LoRaWAN gateway
Collects every sensor by radio at the fuel farm and at each well.
Hourly heartbeat
-
4G backhaul
Sends the texts out where there's mobile coverage.
Starlink if no coverage
-
Fuel dashboard
Shows tank level beside your dispensed litres.
Daily drift email
What lands on your phone when the fuel goes missing
Fuel farm T2 loss above dispensed litres
Dashboard view
- T2 level
- 31,800 L
- Loss today
- 410 L
- Well 12 day tank
- 18%
Today versus with mine diesel monitoring
| Topic | Today | With monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Finding a loss | Weekly or monthly reconciliation, after the fact | A text within minutes of a step drop |
| Time of loss | Unknown, somewhere in the period | Timestamped, with litres lost |
| Slow drift | Hides inside the normal daily draw | Daily loss compared with dispensed litres |
| Well-site day tanks | Checked on the visit run | A low-level text before the generator stops |
On a fuel farm and out at the wells
We walk the fuel farm, map the tanks and dispensers, and test signal at each tank and each gateway position. The same goes for each well-site day tank.
Storage still follows AS 1940 and your WHS manifest duties. For fuel tax credits, the ATO wants records of fuel lost or stolen, and level data adds timestamps.
Watching other tanks? See mine reagent tank monitoring. Running remote generators? See mining camp generator alarms. Worried about the wells? See well site cable theft alerts.
What it costs
We set a fixed price after a short scoping call or site visit. It depends on how many tanks you have, how far they are from the gateway, and how the texts get out. After handover you can add an ongoing support plan.
Price a fuel farm alertThe fixed price covers
- Level sensors for each tank you want watched
- Gateway and 4G or Starlink backhaul
- Installation and electrical work under QLD Electrical Contractor Licence 1513082
- Alert set-up, calibration to your dip or strapping chart, and a known draw-down test
- An ongoing support plan: we keep it running, fix faults, replace batteries and sensors, and tune alerts
What this monitoring won't do
- It shows litres lost, not who took them. A loss is seen soon after it starts, not prevented.
- Non-contact readings are indicative. Dip to verify before acting.
- It's not a dispensing control, a fuel management system, or a certified overfill or leak detection system.
- No coverage means no text. It supplements bunding, venting, locks and cameras, and theft still goes to police.