Equipping the South Africa Mine Site
PMC purchased its first MineARC Refuge Chamber in 2013, the first chamber to be manufactured and supplied out of MineARC’s South African facility. Since then, they have purchased a further two 26-person MineSAFE Standard Design chambers and six Permanent Refuge Chambers, the largest accommodating 100 people.
Palabora maintains a diligent service schedule for their refuge chambers, with a regular MineARC Service Technician visit every four months. Although MineARC Systems services the refuge bays, numerous PMC technicians have completed the free MineARC Service School course to have certified technicians on-site for ad-hoc maintenance and urgent repairs.
Recently, PMC has upgraded their three portable chambers to include a camera monitoring system. To upgrade to the GuardIAN Refuge Chamber Monitoring shortly. GuardIAN RCM will provide Palabora with real-time monitoring, communication and diagnostics of their refuge chamber fleet whilst on standby and during an emergency.
The Palabora Limpopo mine now has six EnviroLAV toilet systems onsite, with five located underground.
"MineARC has been a great asset to PMC. They have provided technical expertise on our Refuge Chambers' maintenance, proactively recommended and implemented improvements in areas that add value and have provided real backup on spare parts. A pleasure to work with and always accommodating, their staff is very personable, and they handle all my Refuge Chamber needs."
MineARC’s relationship with Palabora Mining Company (PMC) continues to grow, as the mine site embraces regular servicing and refuge chamber upgrades.
About Palabora Mining Company (PMC)
PMC has been operational since its incorporation in 1956 and is South Africa’s major producer of refined copper, producing approximately 45 000 tonnes per annum. Located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, the R9.3 Billion (AUD 930 Million) Lift II Project will see the copper mine continue to operate well into 2033.