Ekati Mine Manage Fans Underground to Save Energy
BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine in northern Canada has implemented thirty ControlPED units to control their underground fans.
The main driver was the energy savings achieved in remotely controlling their fans so they are not running unnecessarily. With energy cost at this remote mining site at a premium any reduction in overall energy usage reduces operating costs significantly. The key area of fan control will be at blast time. The fans will be remotely switched off prior to blasting, then switched back on to clear fumes before the miners go back underground.
Ekati has an extensive leaky feeder radio system, so a telemetry based system using the leaky feeder was considered, but the simplicity of installation and use made the ControlPED option more cost effective and easier to implement.
This is similar to the reasoning recently used by Barrick Gold at their Bulyanhulu Mine in Tanzania (see http://www.minesite.com.au/ped_system_for_barrick_mine_in_tanzania), where they installed a large ControlPED based fan management system as well. Ekati had the advantage of already having a PED Transmission System in place, as part of their Emergency Warning and Alert System, as well as their centralized blasting system (BlastPED).