PRESS RELEASE: Located in South Australia’s highly prospective Gawler Craton, Carrapateena is approximately 160 km north of Port Augusta. It is proposed that Carrapateena will be a 4 million tonnes per annum sub level cave. Work on the Tjati access decline is underway.

Still in feasibility stage, Carrapateena has recently purchased its first refuge chamber; a MineSAFE 12-person Standard Design with an Aura-FX Digital Fixed Gas Monitoring System. Excited by the numerous benefits that MineARC’s new GuardIAN Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics System could provide, they elected to upgrade their refuge chamber.

With the vision to create a mine site that is technologically advanced and a leader in safety practices, OZ Minerals recognised the long-term value of GuardIAN. As Carrapateena continues to expand their refuge chamber inventory, the system will be able to provide centralised operational monitoring of their entire fleet via a secure, locally hosted webpage that is easily accessible from any computer, tablet or smartphone. During standby mode, GuardIAN will check for refuge chamber faults; thereby reducing maintenance requirements.

An advantage for OZ Minerals was the ability to closely monitor occupants of a refuge chamber during an emergency. GuardIAN’s live video streaming can greatly assist in evacuation planning; providing the capability to determine the capacity of the refuge chamber and monitor the well-being of occupants. Motion detectors on the IP cameras will notify GuardIAN to send out an email notice to designated staff with a still image alerting them to chamber usage. When activated, the cameras will send out a live, recorded stream of both the interior and exterior of the refuge chamber.

In addition, GuardIAN also equips the refuge chamber with a VOIP video phone. This facilitates face-to-face communication between the refuge chamber and the surface; improving the psychological well-being of chamber occupants during an emergency and providing assistance to perform any difficult or technical procedures.

The GuardIAN Remote Monitoring System was installed by at Carrapateena in early June of this year, with the ability to integrate with additional refuge chambers as the site continues to grow. MineARC looks forward to further assisting OZ Minerals in building a safe and technologically advanced mine site.