Vale Canada Limited
Vale Canada Limited has engaged BESTECH to implement a mine-wide energy management and ventilation control solution (VCS).
This advanced VCS system incorporates innovative control strategies such as on-demand ventilation, utilizing open platform technology compatible with various industry-standard vendors.
SCOPE
The execution of the project involved the comprehensive development and design of BESTECH’s proprietary VCS system, featuring an industrial plug-and-play interface that ensures seamless integration across diverse mine operations. The engineering phase included the installation of both software and hardware components that facilitate numerous control features, such as real-time operation, time-of-day scheduling, event-based management, asset tracking, and environmental monitoring. BESTECH’s experts evaluated variable-speed auxiliary fans against dual-speed and traditional single-speed fans to identify the most efficient ventilation solutions throughout the project’s lifecycle.
This proprietary solution aims to decrease energy consumption by 30-50%, which helps alleviate pressure on the power distribution system, increases productivity and profitability, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and enhances worker safety. Additionally, it integrates with asset and vehicle tagging systems, optimizes ventilation flows, supports other energy-intensive systems within mines, and monitors and logs air quality data.
OUTCOME
Following the successful implementation and significant efficiency improvements, Vale has adopted the system as the standard ventilation solution across multiple sites.