Secure employee access to Newmont’s remote polymetallic mine in northeastern Mexico has been enabled thanks to a collaboration between HID Global and software company Alutel Mobility.

The solution combines HID’s OMNIKEY readers and Seos credentials with Alutel Mobility’s RAGTAB tablets and mobile app, to safeguard and monitor multiple entry points and car access in rural and underground mine locations, which are often impossible to equip with readers and lack internet connectivity.

“HID and Alutel Mobility’s solution delivers a highly secure process that addresses the need for monitoring, managing and authenticating employees in unconventional spaces,” said Steve Currie, VP and managing director, Extended Access Technologies with HID Global.

The solution is in complete operation at Newmont’s Peñasquito site in Zacatecas. 

Staff members simply tap their Seos credentials to a RAGTAB tablet with an embedded HID OMNIKEY reader. 

The Alutel Mobility app displays the person’s photo and data for increased visual verification and connects with Newmont’s access control platform for authentication. The tablet then displays signals to allow or deny site access. If there is no internet connectivity, the mobile device saves the data collected and verifies once the connection has resumed.

“With HID Global and Alutel Mobility’s help, Newmont has been able to establish an innovative access control system that is optimized for our specific needs,” said Daniel Tejeda, project manager at Newmont. “Previously, there was no control over who was on-site. We have gone from zero control to complete control.”