PRESS RELEASE: MAF-100, a four-person MineSAFE Compact Design (CD) refuge chamber, was procured through the supply chain specialist Tradecorp Logistics for Kibali gold mine. The Kibali gold mine is operated by Randgold Resources and comprises a 1,836km² integrated open pit and underground operation in the Moto Goldfields of the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The MineSAFE CD refuge chamber is a small, compact, ultra-portable refuge chamber which is easy to manoeuvre and position around a site. It is designed specifically for tight mining confines to provide a place of safe-refuge even in the most remote, inaccessible parts of the mine. For optimum autonomy, the CD chamber is equipped with a dual uninterruptible power supply (UPS) battery bank configuration. The chamber’s ‘extra-low-voltage-portable’ (ELVP) control system enables the chamber to sit standalone from mains power for extended durations. When the chamber is used in an emergency situation, the ‘primary’ battery bank is activated; powering the refuge chamber’s entire life support systems for a minimum of 36 hours.

Further standard features and vital life support systems of a MineSAFE CD refuge chamber include primary and secondary oxygen supplies in the form of MineARC’s Compressed Air Management System (CAMS) and oxygen cylinders, digital gas monitoring by the Compact Aura-FX, an air conditioning unit, positive pressure systems and MineARC's ELVP scrubbing system which ‘scrubs’ the build-up of harmful CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon monoxide) from the air inside the refuge chamber using pre-packaged MARCISORB chemical absorber cartridges.

The Kibali gold mine has opted to include a stepdown transformer and an oxygen candle kit for a third supply of oxygen. Structurally, chamber MAF-100 has been reinforced for blast shield protection with the addition of a polycarbonate porthole window protector, and external protection for the air conditioner unit, mine air, lights and sensors.

The Kibali gold mine has previously purchased three eight-person MineSAFE standard design refuge chambers, a 40-person MineSAFE permanent refuge chamber and HyperION cap lamps. MineARC hopes to continue the growing relationship with Tradecorp Logistics, the Kibali gold mine and Randgold Resources in the future.