In Johannesburg, the office and manufacturing facility of MineARC Systems Africa opened in 2013 and services the entire African continent. This quarter, they reached a milestone with the manufacture of their 100th refuge chamber, MAF100.
MAF100, a 4-person MineSAFE Compact Design (CD) Refuge Chamber, was procured through Supply Chain Specialist, Tradecorp Logistics, for Kibali Gold Mine. Kibali Gold Mine is operated by Randgold Resources and comprises a 1,836km2 integrated open pit and underground operation in the Moto Goldfields of the North East Democratic Republic of Congo.
The MineSAFE CD Refuge Chamber is a small, compact, ultra-portable refuge chamber that is easy to manoeuvre and position around a site. It is designed specifically for tight mining confines to provide safe refuge even in the most remote, inaccessible parts of the mine. For optimum autonomy, the CD chamber is equipped with a unique dual UPS battery bank configuration. The chamber’s Extra-Low Voltage Portable’ (ELVP) control system enables the chamber to sit stand-alone from mains power for extended durations. When the chamber is used in an emergency, the ‘primary’ battery bank is activated; powering the refuge chamber’s entire life support systems for a minimum of 36 hours.
Further standard features and vital life support systems of a MineSAFE CD Refuge Chamber include primary and secondary oxygen supplies in the form of MineARC’s Compressed Air Management System (CAMS) and oxygen cylinders, digital gas monitoring by the Compact Aura-FX, an air conditioning unit, positive pressure systems and MineARC’s ELVP Scrubbing System which ‘scrubs’ the build-up of harmful CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon monoxide) from the air inside the refuge chamber using pre-packaged MARCISORB chemical absorber cartridges.
Kibali Gold Mine has opted to include a step-down transformer and an oxygen candle kit for a third oxygen supply. Structurally, chamber MAF-100 has been reinforced for blast shield protection with a polycarbonate porthole window protector and external protection for the air conditioner unit, mine air, lights and sensors.
Kibali Gold Mine purchased three 8-person MineSAFE Standard Design Refuge Chambers, a 40-person MineSAFE Permanent Refuge Chamber, and HyperION Cap Lamps. MineARC hopes to continue the growing relationship with Tradecorp Logistics, Kibali Gold Mine and Randgold Resources in the future.