Glencore plc (an acronym for Global Energy Commodity Resources) is a multinational commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Europe. It is the world’s third largest family business and it ranks 10th in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest companies. Glencore is in effect the world’s leading producer and marketer of commodities.
Mining-related fire protection requirements are extensive and dissimilar, as the industry is defined by large operations with high capital investment and complex production processes. Fires and explosions pose a constant threat to miners as well as to the productive capacity of mines. Incidents involving electrical energy present a wide variety of hazards and risks to both personnel and assets.
Design, supply, install, commission and maintain a fire detection and rapid reaction fixed active fire suppression system for the electrical substation and power transformer located 1.8km underground of the Mount Isa mines in Queensland. The system must be designed according to Australian Standards (AS4487-2013) and be able to provide a fast, reliable and effective response to tackle any fire scenario that can prove extremely dangerous to the mining operations.
The mining industry has seen more austere budgetary constraints in Australia as well as across the globe. As a result, Safety Engineers and Operators now demand more ingenious and costeffective solutions across operations. FirePro was selected as the best solution to protect these particular assets because of its effectiveness and very low maintenance requirements. FirePro Generators have a 15 year product life, while the complete system conforms to both stringent international and Australian standards.
Glencore’s Mount Isa mining operators and safety consultants gave the green light to the FirePro solution as it combined all the operational and technical parameters required for this challenging project. FirePro distributors in Australia, Fire Safety Equipment, designed the system and its trained and certified personnel completed the installation 1.8km underground, within the required time frame.