Q&A with James Rau – General Manager, MineARC Systems America, on;

18 May 2010
Dallas, Texas, United States

What do you see for the future of emergency shelters (esp given recent events in North America where they have become more important than ever)?

JR: The industry has finally recognized the critical nature of cooling systems in refuges and that steel structures can offer miners protection from a secondary explosion as well as easier deployment (compared to an inflatable style) in a stressful situation. MineARC refuge chambers can be activated in five quick steps that combined take less than two minutes.

MineARC®’s new two piece CoalSAFE Refuge consists of a separate refuge and cylinder bay that can be transported separately and reconnected once positioned in the cross cut.

The unit has an overall height of 44” or 48” with optional recessed wheels. The unit includes all of MineARC’s standard systems and features such as: 15psi explosion proof steel structure with surround package, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide scrubbing, breathable oxygen supply, push-button airlock flushing, powerless cooling and dehumidifying, external pre-shift gauges, and 100 plus of continuous operation.

Is the new low seam CoalSAFE approved for the US market?

JR: Yes. The MineARC CoalSAFE is currently approved by the West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health & Safety and is therefore grandfathered under the MSHA Final Rule. MineARC is currently preparing a draft testing protocol for submission to MSHA by end of May to commence federal (MSHA) testing for approval of its intrinsically safe scrubbing and cooling system.

MineARC has already manufactured CoalSAFE units for a number of underground mines in the US in Alabama (hottest mines in the US where cooling systems are essential for full entrapment). MineARC can reveal that one mine operator has already swapped out another manufacturer’s refuge chamber with MineARC’s due to this very issue.

What are the greatest benefits of the unit, and which mines will see the most advantages to the model? What was the impetus for design?

JR: The CoalSAFE is the only refuge model capable of intrinsically safe (non-electrically powered) refuge cooling and dehumidifying. The MSHA final rule stipulates that manufactures must specify ‘the maximum mine air temperature under which the refuge alternative is designed to operate when the unit is fully occupied. With the West Virginia Certification requiring manufacturers to meet only an external temperature of 55°F numerous mines, within the US are operating above these temperatures regularly.

MineARC has shown through independent testing that in mine temperatures exceeding 80°F, the internal temperature will rise quickly to an apparent temperature above 140°F (well above the 95°F maximum allowable by MSHA) which is considered life threatening for extended periods.

The new two-piece CoalSAFE design allows MineARC customers to have the benefit of a steel structure as opposed to inflatable (that is resistant to secondary explosion once occupied) without the logistical issues of transporting and handling an extremely long unit.

MineARC has always worked to tailor the CoalSAFE to client specifications and the two piece unit was developed in consultation with a major US coal company. The height restrictions of low seam operations however has previously presented issues due to our cooling system (MineARC will not supply a unit without a cooling system as temperatures can be unknown in a mine fire or explosion and significant heating in the mine can occur).

The new low seam unit potentially opens up a lot of the market to MineARC and the use of steel structures as opposed to inflatable units which are more common in low-seam operations.

MineARC Systems

For more info on this media release please contact Ben Johnson, Marketing Manager, on: +61 (8) 9333 4966 or ben.johnson@minearc.com.au
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