MINE VENTILATION
on an operational or programmed event;
environmental control where the system responds
to environmental sensor networks inside the
mine; or tagging (activity-based) control, which
integrates with new or existing real-time location
systems to deliver the required air flow based on
personnel or vehicle locations in the mine.
The open architecture of NRG1-ECO, which is
now in its fifth generation, allows the system to
connect with operating systems already up and
running at these mines, according to Ouimet.
“At any point in time, there are several air
quality monitoring companies in the industry
and our NRG1-ECO software can work with any of
them,” he explained. “The integration with
machine tagging sensors and systems is
similar.”
The hardware and software of NRG1-ECO
leverages off these existing technologies and
sensors to do more than just control ventilation.
Ouimet explained: “We won a contract where
the NRG1-ECO became the energy optimisation
system of choice for all Vale’s North Atlantic
operations.
“Most people think of that as a ventilation
control system and VoD, but NRG1-ECO will
monitor and control dewatering pumps,
compressors, etc – any of the energy drivers of a
mine.”
SHYFTinc’s sister company, BESTECH
Engineering, developed and still supports the
NRG1-ECO platform. The BESTECH electrical and
automation engineers – all of whom thoroughly
understand a mine’s energy consumption
requirements – are able to complete detailed
analysis of how to reduce a mine’s costs over the
long term, according to Ouimet. This is then
embedded into the NRG1-ECO installation for that
specific site.
These same mining customers can also benefit
from using artificial intelligence-assisted code
authoring through SHYFTinc’s AutoGen platform.
AutoGen takes control of their processes and
devices by integrating all equipment – regardless
of vendor – into one platform.
Ouimet explained: “A mine can set up and
manage their processes through a simple drag
and drop interface using this industrial plug and
play technology.”
The company is looking to use its mine energy
knowledge by recycling some of the energy that is
currently
generated in mines
but goes unused.
It recently signed
an agreement with
Rentricity that
could see in-pipe
power generation
systems installed
on gravity-fed
piping in
underground or
open-pit mines.
Ouimet
explained: “In a mine, you may have 5,000 ft
(1,524 m) of pipe and water is moving down that
at high pressures. Instead of dissipating that
energy to heat, we are talking about taking that
energy and turning it into power to be used for
other processes or sold back to the grid through
in-pipe power generation systems.
“You could end up having 15-200 kWh systems
in place,” he said.
Tailored air time
While companies like SHYFTinc, ABB and Maestro
are diversified in other fields tied to automation of
operations, they are unlikely to leave the field of
ventilation altogether.
This is because underground ventilation
continues to account for around 50% of operating
costs for miners. This is a large chunk of the opex
pie to aim for, hence the potential for making a
real difference when it comes to miners’ bottom
lines.
This does not appear to have hit home with a
lot of in-development mines by the sound of it,
with many continuing to invest in fans and vents
that run at full speed and capacity regardless of
what activities are going on in the mine.
“There is a lack of understanding when it
comes to doing the right thing with mine
ventilation from the very beginning of operations,”
Nyqvist said.
Dello Sbarba said the short-term thinking
exhibited by contractors in charge of building
these mines is often the problem.
“When a mining contractor is in charge of
ventilation, it is a much harder sell,” he said. “If
the actual miner in charge of ventilation is
provided with this information, they often realise
“You can implement NRG1-ECO as an end-toend
complete process change, or you can
implement it as a scaled setup where you are
doing minimal work to start with,” Randy
Ouimet says
that the gains could be significant over the longer
term.
“Saying that, the upfront capex can often prove
to be a hurdle, which is why we have developed
financial solutions with our clients to overcome
these challenges.”
Spending a little bit more upfront for the longerterm
benefit of the operation will become more
important as the uptake of electric equipment
grows – again, equipment that currently comes
with a bigger price tag than the diesel-powered
equivalent.
And, so it will end up becoming just another
capex versus opex discussion.
What will undoubtedly change going forward is
the ability and need to tailor mine ventilation
solutions.
By scrapping conventional thinking around
ventilating for diesel tail pipe emissions, those in
the ventilation game will be asked and able to
create customised solutions that not only save
operating costs, but also enable maximum
productivity in a variety of situations.
Fernández concluded: “Each mine should be
analysed individually. With increasingly deeper
operations required, mining ventilation systems
will have to cope with higher rock temperatures,
increased air densities and other challenges.
Doing so will demand fully understanding the
capabilities of a ventilation system, as well as realtime
monitoring of the conditions in the work
environment.”
IM
Smart Solutions for the
Digital Mine
For more info on
NRG1-ECO®
Energy Optimization
Go to: SHYFTinc.com
JULY/AUGUST 2020 | International Mining 89