Gold Fields’ South Deep Gold Mine contracted Howden to supply the Vensim Control system. The solution will, among other things, enable ventilation-on-demand, allowing ventilation devices to react based on feedback from environmental sensors.
Howden said Ventsim Control will increase the safety of the underground workplace at the mine, and will help the miner achieve other critical goals. “Ventsim Control will further reduce energy consumption and associated tonnes of carbon emissions,” said Eric Vemer, regional president, Africa. “As the system allows the mine to optimize its ventilation based on fully remote vehicle and personnel monitoring, it directly contributes to achieving emissions-reduction targets, something of which the Howden team is very proud.”
Ventsim Control combines ventilation modelling of the mine with a flexible control system and advanced control strategies for monitoring, control and optimization of underground mine ventilation, Howden said. The remote and autonomous control of ventilation devices allows operators to view underground mine conditions in real time.
The contract was part of a program by the miner to implement a state-of-the art ventilation optimization system.
The mine is a world-class bulk mechanized operation reaching depths between 2,800 m and 3,300 m and is located in the Witwatersrand Basin, near Westonaria, 50 km southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.
