Around 160 km south west of Darwin, a large mine, with an area expanding over 2000 km2, was placed on care and maintenance, effective June 30, 2017. With hundreds of miners working at the mine each day, producing thousands of ounces of minerals per year, some accommodation was needed.

With the village now in place, the mine and therefore the village had grown quite significantly. This meant it required an upgraded fire pump to service the area and keep everyone safe.

Challenges that arose

There were a couple of challenges that arose before this production could take place, being the distance the mine was from Allflo’s manufacturing facility in Shepparton, Australia, as well as the extreme tropical weather conditions where this solution was to be located. However, Allflo being such an adaptive company, these challenges were soon overcome.

Why was Allflo the answer?

The large growing Canadian-owned company, renowned for its enormous capacity of production, now had a large responsibility to keep their accommodation facilities at this mine-site safe.

Having worked with Allflo before on many different applications, and seeing the innovation they provide through pumping solutions, they were contacted to help with a solution to their challenge. The client needed support services that not only selected the correct pump solution for their need, but they needed services from initial engineering assistance through to on-site commissioning and after sales support.

With trusted recognition and proven performance, Allflo was the only one fit for this application. The well-known brand NischeFire, is firmly established as specialist and leading supplier to all the fire protection industry.

Allflo being the biggest supplier of NischeFire, with their friendly trained sales and service teams, worked hard to endure this company received the highest standards of support and service.

The final solution

The solution recommended by Allflo was a NischeFire Diesel Electric Combined Fire Pump, constructed to the AS2941-2013 Australian Standards. Because of this standard, they were confident this set was quality and it performed to its specifications.

Allflo offered the supply of 2 end suction centrifugal pumps with cast iron casing and zinc free bronze impeller, coupled to a cooled diesel engine and electric motor on a galvanised steel baseplate. This set also included, a control panel, fuel tank, instruments, muffler and interconnected wiring. The pipework being galvanised protected it from the harsh weather conditions and meant there will be less corrosion.

Servicing this equipment

Since Allflo was located such a huge distance away from the mine, one of their experienced technicians was flown over to the Northern Territory to commission this unit on site. He was put up in the mine’s accommodation, where he was provided with his own flat withy a bed and amenities as well as being provided with food and drink to give him the best commissioning experience as possible. Here, our technician was able to chat to some of those employed at the mine, consisting on the miners themselves as well as electricians, plumbers and maintenance teams. Here he was able to find out about the harsh conditions these people face, but as well as the good conditions they are provided with by their employing company.

Benefits that came with this solution

The company that is responsible for the operations of this mine site can relax, being assured that the safety of those on-site is fully in control from a fire perspective.

Fire can cause untold damage to a property before it is even recognised what is happening. Therefore, Allflo manufactures and supplies the NischeFire specialized fire pump packages to protect properties, like this accommodation, against the threat of fire and the devastating effects that can come from fire.

Overall this project was a huge success, with the company back a little while after asking for a second fire protection system stating that “the process went smoothly and was a good result all round.”