Reliable control and portability are critical requirements for underground coal mining operations. A mine environment is an ‘enclosed space’ where explosive dust and methane gas can be present, with areas often many kilometres from the nearest exit. In such an environment, an intrinsically safe solution - not only for the ‘at-face’ mining equipment but also the associated communications system - can provide significant economic advantage compared with conventional systems using other explosion protection techniques. IS Ethernet in Coal Mining - Daw Mill Colliery