Compressed air is vital for mining operations, either as a source of energy, as a means of transporting liquids and solids, as an input for a process or as a means of transmitting signals for instrumentation and control.
This system is necessary for the drilling hammers, which we will be using from now on, so that the work within the tunnel is more efficient. A compressed air supply and a water supply are required, which consist of different parts, which have been built since 2018.
The logistics for the installation of this entire network began with the purchase of the necessary equipment, the initially energy network construction and the installation of each of the equipment that give rise to the entire system. The company providing the electrical equipment offered a guarantee of operation that includes the visit of its representatives to perform the ignition of the devices to deliver them in optimal conditions, and so they did it.
For the complete and correct operation of the compressed air network, each of the following parts is required:
1. Power grid.
After the design and subsequent construction work, which we already reported in a previous article, we received the visit of the RETIE (Technical Regulations of Electrical Installations) to certify that everything installed was in optimal conditions. This certification was achieved and the CHEC network operator was requested to proceed to electrify it.
2. Electronic board.
The equipment to control the entire electrical system.
3. Air compressor.
Initially, this device was located and installed in a container ((this was already told to our entire community, in an article shared on our social networks), however, when it started to work it was possible to verify that it was overheating and generating high temperatures, which could affect the best development of the project, and that is why we had to work on the creation of a new (more ventilated) location, as you can see in the photo:
4. Pipeline for the compresser air transport.
5. Lungs for compressed air storage.
6. Hydration pipe, for water supply.
7. And finally, we have the drilling hammers, which are used in the expansion and adaptation of the tunnel.
In a following article we will give you more information about these drill hammers and details about the drilling activity in which they are used.
The InnovaMinex Team.
