Minetek was enlisted to deliver a ventilation solution that could tolerate extremely abrasive dust.

The leading Australian gold miner’s underground crusher at Cadia contains a high content of silica, and the abrasive silica dust had previously caused the crusher to suffer ongoing costs and downtime due to replacing the crusher’s fan impeller every 12 weeks.

Minetek general manager for ventilation Jeremy Sutherland said the company successfully delivered an upgraded ventilation solution that features a quieter and more durable fan.

“Our team thrives on challenges and this is exactly what was presented to us by this particular client,” he said.

“Not only have we designed a fan that outperforms the existing axial fan, but we have also supplied one that is quieter and smaller, with a unique design that allows the dust to travel through the equipment with minimal impact to the structure.”

The fan and impeller combination created by Minetek outperformed the miner’s previous set up 20 to one, with the miner ordering five Minetek fans in total.

Minetek specialises in the engineering, design, manufacture and implementation of mining ventilation solutions.