High pressure water mist fire suppression systems provider FOGMAKER South Africa is using Electra Mining Africa 2022 as a platform to showcase its renowned fire suppression systems, as well as to introduce new products and technologies to the mining industry.

“Based on our past experience, this mining exhibition serves as an excellent meeting point for all our stakeholders, from customers, end-users and industry experts to our original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners,” says FOGMAKER South Africa MD John Russell, who adds that this year’s show will also see the unveiling and introduction of Q-TEC Fire’s foam fire suppression solution into the company’s product portfolio.

Considering that fires present a real and serious threat to mining operations, especially considering that every diesel engine-operated vehicle and machine is susceptible owing to the presence of heat, rapid airflow and flammable fluids, Russell emphasises that steps need to be taken to minimise the fire risk through design and operational procedures.

Where the fire risk is still unacceptable, ensuring that there is an effective, certified and reliable fire suppression system in place is paramount as a small fire in a mine can spread quickly, leading to catastrophic results including loss of life as well as exorbitant costs linked to damages and downtime.

“Building on the tremendous success of the live demonstrations of our FOGMAKER triple-action fire-suppression system at the 2018 show, visitors to our stand P17 in Nasrec’s lake area can once again look forward to seeing this highly effective system in action,” continues Russell.

“The daily live demos will be conducted on a FOGMAKER system fitted on to an OEM mining machine, highlighting the total flooding capability of water-mist technology as well as the ability to integrate our technologies into OEM equipment to ensure safe operation.”

A large delegation from FOGMAKER International will be traveling from Sweden to participate in the exhibition, and stakeholders will be able to engage with them on FOGMAKER’s global activities and operations.

“We are also extremely excited to announce that we will be showcasing real FOGMAKER installation on various OEM equipment on partner OEM stands,” Russell enthuses.

PRODUCT INFO

The low-weight, low-maintenance FOGMAKER system uses the power of the purest extinguishant (i.e. water) in the form of high-pressure mist to effectively suppress the fire in seconds.

The system combines water with 3% Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) to rapidly attack all three components of the fire triangle namely heat, oxygen and fuel.

“We refer to this as the FOGMAKER TRIPLE ACTION3 effect,” adds Russell.

The FOGMAKER system is suited to any application where diesel driven machines are being operated and is smartly engineered to be compact and installed in any orientation.

This makes it particularly suitable for machines where space to mount a storage cylinder is limited as is the case with most mobile mining equipment. FOGMAKER systems are manufactured according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and have been certified by globally recognised authorities to meet global fire suppression standards.                                     

“We recently expanded our reach for solutions into very large mobile equipment and fixed plant with the introduction to our product portfolio of the Q-TEC Fire Services foam fire suppression system,” he further notes.

Q-TEC is based in Australia, and the company has a proud 30-year history providing foam fire suppression systems manufactured there.

Q-TEC uses the F3 Fluorine Free Foam Agent that is compliant with all US Environmental Protection Agency laws and offers the “most advanced and developed foam-spray fire suppression systems to the mining industry”.

Russell explains that the system is ideal for larger mobile mining equipment, as well as fixed plant such as diesel bowsers and conveyor belts.

The FOGMAKER and Q-TEC fire suppression systems are also suitable for the military, marine, ports and harbour, airport, bus and coach and forestry sectors.

“Our offering includes rent-own financing options to facilitate the protection of large fleets where the upfront costs are normally restrictive,” adds Russell.

Russell further points out that while the effectiveness of the company’s fire suppression systems, which are validated through extensive global certification, is the key factor in selection, “the effectiveness of any fire suppression system when called into action is ultimately defined by the design, installation and maintenance of the system”.

He explains that this is in turn dependent on the ability and training of the installation technicians, and that the company prides itself on its “highly skilled and professional team”.

Further added value delivered by the FOGMAKER and Q-TEC solutions includes low total cost of ownership, driven by extended life cycle, low maintenance and machine availability.

“Moreover, the ability of our systems to seamlessly integrate with OEM and third party systems enhances safety by ensuring that the machine cannot operate without an active fire suppression system,” affirms Russell.

“We extend an invitation to all Electra Mining visitors to please come and join us on our stand to see these systems in action and to meet our specialist team in person who are eager to share more about our products and technologies. We look forward to a highly successful show and to entertaining everyone at our infamous Thursday evening function with live entertainment,” he concludes.

FOGMAKER South Africa is a proud subsidiary of GiGi Investments and will be exhibiting at Electra Mining with sister companies Integrated Air Solutions, Integrated Pump Technology, Integrated Pump Rental and Sunward Africa.