Global
to best protect its assets and, by implication,
safeguard its people and production.
“Our relationship with Ambatovy spans
back to 2008 when their maintenance
manager at the time first made enquiries about
Sandvik’s Eclipse fire suppression systems.
Having used and seen our fire suppression
systems in action while at a previous mine, he
enquired about the suitability of our systems
for plant equipment, pump houses and other
at-risk equipment on the mine, which was still
in the developmental stage.
“Having met all the mine’s requirements, we
won the supply tender and were able to supply
systems for mobile earthmoving equipment
including dump trucks, dozers, excavators,
wheel loaders and graders, as well as pump
engines and generators throughout the mine.
Every new piece of equipment since then has
also been outfitted with a fire suppression
system,” he says.
may render a machine or entire area inoperable
for an entire shift.
In the event of a serious fire the foam-
based solution has other advantages, including
having a cooling effect, which can prevent
reignition. It is also able to extinguish the fire
without hampering visibility, as is not the case
with powders. This makes it safer and easier to
evacuate an area in the event of a serious fire.
Furthermore, the foam is not harmful to the
The Sandvik Eclipse use an entirely water-
based foam system that attacks all aspects of
the fire triangle.
Clean-up and recharging after triggering
of the system is quick and easy, as opposed to
powders, which can take hours to clean and
Foam extinguishing agent
An areal view of the Ambatovy nickel mine in Madagascar
environment, is biodegradable, is non-toxic
and is suitable to be used on all diesel-
powered equipment.
“Our client also trusts the failsafe triggering
ability of our devices, which is kept under
pressure and will only activate in the event of a
loss of pressure caused by special sensor tubes
detecting excessive heat in the presence of
fire or when activated manually. Being stored
under pressure also provides an additional
failsafe when the operator checks the gauges at
the beginning of each shift,” says Steinz.
Fleet safety
The ore body at Ambatovi consists of two large, weathered lateritic nickel deposits located approximately
3km apart.
In terms of fleet safety, it is critical to have fire
suppression systems in place to prevent the
loss of a machine and give the operator time to
safely exit the machine and move to safety. The
system also needs to be flexible enough to be
used on different types of machines and robust
enough to remain functional in typically tough
mining conditions.
Sandvik fire suppression systems have been installed on the equipment used at the Ambatovi mine.
[12] MINING MIRROR AUGUST 2019
www.miningmirror.co.za