MineARC states that it has recently seen a rise in the number of mines worldwide implementing its patented Permanent Hard Rock Refuge Chamber technology. In the past few months seven Permanent Chambers have been installed in mines across Australia, Turkey and the Philippines, in new and existing excavations and often doubling as lunch rooms. MineARC Permanent Refuge technology is capable of sustaining over 150 occupants in a single confined space. Most recently, Argyle Diamond Mines Australia installed two 80 person lunch room conversions at their underground sites in northern Western Australia. In northeastern Turkey, Inmet Mining implemented life support systems in two 30 person lunch rooms at Cayeli Bakir mine site.

The MineARC Permanent Hard Rock Chamber features “the most advanced technology of its kind” according to the company and has been designed to clean the air of harmful gases and toxins from within confined spaces. The Permanent Refuge Chamber offers a practical alternative to standard ‘portable’ refuge units. Unlike portable refuge chambers, permanent chambers can offer a host of variable factors which require careful consideration before a suitable refuge solution can be implemented. The most critical aspect for designing a permanent refuge chamber is the volume of the chamber versus the number of occupants. This ratio is critical for determining a number of factors; the ‘dead air’ space available, compressed air flow regulation, the size of the scrubber, and the amount of metabolic heat generated for sizing a cooling and battery backup system. All of these factors are calculated by MineARC using proprietary models. To perform the technical engineering evaluation MineARC requires and uses the following information: volume of refuge station; number of persons; entrapment duration (36 hours is MineARC standard); bulk head material; bulk head thickness; maximum external temperature and surrounding rock type.