Published in the May 2007 American Longwall Magazine

“We are the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of underground refuge chambers and pioneered the carbon monoxide scrubbing system for underground use,” said company representative James Rau. Because producing shelters for the worldwide industry is all the company does, Rau said its attention to detail and safety is high and its advantages stacked.

Rau said its sales in other markets have rocketed. “Our chambers have been tested and refined over the last 10 years with ongoing input from major mining companies. We supply all the major mining companies such as Rio Tinto, Newmont, BHP Billiton, Newcrest Mining, Xstrata, Barrick Gold, Kennecott and many others.”

Its work in the coal sector, he adds, is continuing and the chambers should be available by the end of the year for the country’s underground coal complexes. “We are currently designing an intrinsically safe coal refuge chamber for the US market. We currently have one of our standard hard rock refuge chambers in a coal mine at the Solid Energy coal mine in New Zealand.”

The refuge chamber is 64 inches high and is powered by a UPS back-up that provides more than the current requirement of 96 hours of air. Additionally, it features a compressed air cylinder that runs an air locking system and interlocking controls that are controlled by methane levels and a data cable connection ensures that remote monitoring is available to surface crews.

“All lighting and air conditioning is intrinsically safe through either low voltage application or explosion protection,” Rau noted. “Full diagnostics, real-time monitoring, video camera capabilities and programmable maintenance can all be received in real-time read-outs.”

Lead time for orders in other markets is currently averaging about seven weeks, and chambers in use now worldwide include the operations of Newmont Mining, Kennecott Copper Utah, Barrick Goldstrike and delivery of a chamber to the Yucca Mountain project scheduled in May.

Rau cites two significant objectives of the company’s mission that solidifies its long-term commitment to its customers and those whose lives depend on their product – the country’s miners.

“Our integrated system solutions allow us to support our customers in their safety and mine production goals and processes. Our continual research and development program is integral to MineARC maintaining its position as the number one seller refuge chamber in the world.

“MineARC’s refuge chambers have been subjected to rigorous testing and used in real-life emergencies to save lives,” he added.

As of press time, MineARC’s intrinsically safe chamber is still being manufactured and is set to be certified and tested in Australia to MSHA standards, followed by US availability. “The chamber will be launched at the AMEX show in Sydney, then brought to the US for approval and manufacture,” he said.

It is the chamber’s robust design developed specifically for underground mining, low maintenance needs, reduced consumable cost and internal cooling system, that makes it an all-around strong unit for use at mines across the US, he said.

As it seeks MSHA approvals, which will then allow commercialization of the units, MineARC said it will work closely with both the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to ensure design standards for efficient and safe use were met.

“The Miner Act has not affected us to date, as it simply states in Section 13(a) that it is going to investigate the use of refuge chambers through NIOSH with the report to be issued in 2008. I have provided a lot of literature and information on our chambers and general information to NIOSH for their report,” Rau explained.

“As we are not new to this business, we have simply gone about our normal business in offering what we believe is the safest and most-effective refuge chamber on the market.

“In doing this we believe cooling for metabolic heat build-up is essential. This creates additional design challenges, as an electrical powered system is necessary for cooling. As a result, we have not sought approval for the state of West Virginia under the new legislation mandating refuge chambers.

“However, latest research and development at MineARC Systems could potentially yield a powerless refuge chamber with cooling capacity specifically for the West Virginia market. Latest third party assessment already supports the feasibility of this unique design but man test will be required before commercialization.”

He also said the decision to purchase chambers and the units chosen must be carefully taken into consideration mine-by-mine based on its own needs: “The application of refuge chambers should be done on a risk management perspective in conjunction with a whole range of factors such as mine design, ventilation, means of egress, emergency preparedness, mine rescue equipment, etc. All of these facets need to be examined in conjunction with the style of refuge chamber to determine how many are required and if at all.”