Air compressor, pumps and generator rental supplier Rand-Air has played a pivotal role in a South African underground gold mine’s unbroken safety record during its seven-year business relationship with the mine.

Considering the demanding conditions and potential dangers in mines, Rand-Air has assisted in the achievement of this safety record by providing safe, reliable, high-quality equipment, with 24-hour standby support.

“While we currently supply only electric compressors to a particular shaft of the gold mine, other sister shafts and operations that form part of the same gold mining group have rented diesel compressors and high-pressure diesel compressors from us in the past,” says Rand-Air regional supervisor and team leader Neil Bezuidenhout.

While Rand-Air has recently launched submersible pumps as part of their rental fleet, he tells Mining Weekly that the pumps have not yet been installed at this particular mine site. “The mine has expressed interest in our newest pumps range and is specifically considering our dewatering diesel pumps, which would best suit the mine’s needs”.

The compressors that Rand-Air supplies to the gold mine have been enhanced and modified to withstand the underground mining environment. Bezuidenhout states that the compressor’s robustness is enhanced by a thicker steel framework and protective side-panelling, which also extends the underground life of the compressor.

Rand-Air also makes customer-specific modifications to the compressors, should the need arise.

“We have modified our standard 380 V compressors to operate on 525 V, as this is a standard voltage used at the mines, specifically in the Free State. There, mines use a higher voltage for their equipment to allow for lower amperage, therefore lowering the requirements for cabling and voltage transformation,” explains Rand-Air sales and marketing manager Byrone Thorne.

“We offer a viable alternative to a large centralised air system on a mine or in a minerals processing plant or refinery, in the form of our industrial plant rental long-term rental model, supplying electric compressors at the point of need. This model is also flexible, upgrading or downgrading as the customer’s requirements change.”

While Rand-Air is not involved in any underground operations outside of South Africa yet, within its South African projects, the company continues to adhere to industry safety regulations, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company strictly abides by all standard Covid-19 regulations and compliance regulations, such as social distancing and regular sanitising, as well as using protective equipment such as face masks.

“We are continually evaluating risks in our environment and we always attempt to mitigate these before starting any on-site work. Our aim operationally is safety, quality and service agility to meet customer requirements – and to minimise any risk as far as possible in the process - ‘pivoting’ quickly and using our expertise, experience and customer-focused solutions,” concludes Thorne.