The Chinese State Administration of Work Safety will review interim refuge chamber regulations at the conference, while invited chamber manufacturers will present their products to the country’s 11 leading coal mining companies.
MineArc expects 2 billion yuan ($A325.28 million) of government funding to be announced to support refuge chamber purchases for preselected trial mines.
“MineArc is up against rival manufacturers from both China and overseas in the bid to secure orders, but is understood to be the only refuge chamber manufacturer with a ‘market-ready’ refuge model on display at the Shanxi conference,” the company said.
Last month, a modular version of MineArc’s CoalSAFE refuge model became the first certified by the Chinese work safety administration for manufacture and sales into the country’s coal mines.
“This approval is prior to the official publication of China’s own refuge chamber regulations and was fast-tracked specifically for the ‘trial’ mines program,” MineArc said.
The CoalSAFE refuge is the only chamber meeting the US Mine Safety and Health Administration’s best industry standards, with MineArc noting the Chinese based their own measures on these guidelines.
“We’ve long been confident that we have the safest, most reliable, most advanced coal refuge model on the market in the CoalSAFE,” MineArc managing director Geoff Whittaker said.
“We’ve now sold or have orders for over 110 CoalSAFE units in the US market thanks largely to the impact of MHSA’s tighter regulations. China from the start has looked to the US in developing its own benchmark.”
The two-day safety conference starts on Tuesday.
Preparing for business in China
To pave the way for manufacturing and supplying the Chinese market, MineArc plans to sign a joint venture with its Chinese partner, SYCCRI, in June.
The new MineArc Safety Equipment Manufacturing Company JV will use a temporary manufacturing facility in Fushun while the future complex is under construction at the new Shenfu City economic development zone.
Under the first phase of the new manufacturing complex, MineArc expects output of up to 300 CoalSAFE units a month with a 400-strong workforce.
MineArc general manager Mike Lincoln is now based in Fushun to oversee the move into China.
China’s coal industry claims thousands of lives every year.
Government moves to clamp down on safety have led to greater imports in safety equipment and greater Australian coal exports.
Leading coal producer China Shenhua Energy noted about 1000 small mines in Shanxi Province had been closed down in 2009 over safety concerns.
