MineARC’s newest home and South African Refuge Chamber Manufacturer is located in the heart of the North Riding industrial hub, 45 minutes outside of Johannesburg’s main centre. The workshop now proudly stands as MineARC’s third-largest global operation behind Australia and the United States, servicing many major mine sites across the continent.
Since opening its doors, the South African facility has been working incredibly hard to complete and deliver every chamber order ahead of schedule. While busy with multiple builds on the go at any one time, the workshop is also heavily involved in new product development; pioneers to one of MineARC’s most recent innovations in refuge chamber technology, the Extra-Low Voltage Permanent Portable (ELVPP).
Designed to fit an existing underground refuge bay, the ELVPP is essentially a portable airlock system. Providing a sealing doorway to a pre-existing permanent refuge bay, the compact system houses a CO and CO2 scrubber, UPS and air conditioning system.
The ELVPP is battery-powered engineered to accommodate 20 personnel for 24 hours (based on the client’s maximum room size). Fully mobile on tracks, as progress through the mine continues, the permanent portable is easily manoeuvred to the closest refuge bay. The ELVPP can also be engineered and custom manufactured to each customer unique requirements.