Ventilation, refrigeration and cooling specialist BBE has successfully commissioned, what it believes to be, the South African mining industry’s most compact surface bulk air cooler and refrigerant plant for Impala Platinum’s new No 20 Shaft mine. The 13.2 MW_R installation has a total footprint smaller than 50 x 50 m and is probably the industry’s most cost-effective bulk air cooling plant with a total capital cost of less than R4 million per MW_R of cooling duty. The installation, comprises a surface horizontal bulk air cooling spray chamber and three axial force fans (running in parallel), two refrigeration machines, condenser cooling towers, all piping, valves and pumps, all electrical and control equipment, plant room building and electrical buildings.

The No 20 Shaft refrigeration plant follows BBE’s successful completion of a similar bulk air cooling system at Implats’ No 16 Shaft. The first phase of the No 16 Shaft system provides 14 MW_R of cooling which will increase to a total of 40 MW_R when Phase 3 is completed around 2018. BBE conducted these projects on a complete turnkey basis, undertaking process design, civil, mechanical, piping and electrical engineering design, construction, project management and commissioning.

The company has completed similar installations for Implats in the past on an EPCM basis, but BBE’s Richard Gundersen says the move to turnkey projects “creates a win-win situation for both parties. The mine saves costs and we are able to conduct and control the project from the planning stage in a focused and personal manner. I’m delighted that our track record of successful mine refrigeration and cooling projects is being recognised in this way.”