AIRTEC IMPLEMENTS MONITORING, CONTROL AND INTEGRATION SYSTEM OF MAIN FANS FOR VOLCAN COMPAÑÍA MINERA S.A.A.
At its Carahuacra Mine in Peru. Soren Canepa, General Manager, Airtec S.A. explains the challenges they faced and how Maestro Digital Mine Solutions were applied in this featured article for the Rumbo Minero Magazine’s 130th issue.
We know that mining automation and digitization is imminent. The mining sector faces new challenges and therefore we need to be at the forefront. VOLCAN COMPAÑÍA MINERA S.A.A. has anticipated this and has acquired the specialized service on ventilation and automation from the Peruvian Company AIRTEC S.A.
Applying the know-how acquired in more than 50 years of being a company dedicated to air engineering in the manufacture of fans, AIRTEC S.A. has become a specialized company in fields like automation for underground mining ventilation systems, guaranteeing monitoring and control of the operations inside the mine, having as proof the various success cases in national and international mining units.
Airtec S.A. has an engineering and automation department that as of today has been leaving clients satisfied. Here, Airtec presents one of the projects that were worked on for VOLCAN COMPAÑÍA MINERA S.A.A. - U.M. CARAHUACRA:
THE CHALLENGE
Integrate 3 main axial fans located at RB-823 and RB-847 with a capacity superior to 100 KCFM to the SCADA system.
It is worth mentioning that the fans were not designed to be monitored; likewise, the start boards found in the field work with VFDs and Softstarters of different brands.
This project has as an objective the total integration to the system, generating an installed base for a future VOD (Ventilation on Demand) and the compliance of D.S. 024-2016 with its latest modification D.S. 023-2017. Taking this into account, a consensus on monitoring and control was made regarding the following critical variables:
SOLUTIONS
The system’s solution was developed using 3 important brands, ALLEN BRADLEY, MAESTRO DIGITAL MINE and YOKOGAWA. One of the important factors when integrating the systems was the compatibility and scalability that the equipment can provide.
AIRTEC S.A. has been representing the prestigious Canadian brand MAESTRO DIGITAL MINE. The project was developed using the Air Quality Station Vigilante AQS™ for the measurement of toxic gases. The station was made specifically for the rough underground mine environment, with Nema 4X – IP66 protection.
The pressure points were located strategically inside the fan, they were processed by the YOKOGAWA pressure transmitters and integrated into the system satisfactorily. The multiple starter board brands found in the field were no problem for AIRTEC, since they count with the converters, communication protocols and in the field developers to turn the complexity into a simple and intelligent way.
“Thanks to the more than 50 years of experience in ventilation, the robustness of the equipment, the technology, and the field developers we were able to execute the project in the most safe and efficient way”.
Read the complete article of the 130th edition of Rumbo Minero (page 250).
Read the complete article of the 130th edition of Rumbo Minero (PDF).