Mining Mirror August 2019 | Page 14

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