Rosh Pinah Zinc has commissioned two new surface ventilation fans as part of its RP2.0 expansion, strengthening underground airflow as the southern Namibian mine prepares for expanded operations.
The fans were successfully brought online on 4 and 5 August after months of civil, mechanical and electrical work involving several contractors, marking another infrastructure milestone in the expansion of the zinc-lead mine.
The two units draw air through a newly developed 207-metre ventilation raise shaft, extending from surface to the mine’s 200 level. The additional ventilation capacity is intended to support the larger underground operation envisaged under RP2.0.
Howden Industries, part of Chart Industries, supplied and installed the fans after mobilising to site in early April.
Its arrival followed Namibia Construction’s completion of associated civil works at the end of March, allowing fan components to be transported to site and mechanical installation to begin.
Work on the ventilation system was carried out alongside development of the raise itself, with Master Drill still shotcreting the upper 15 metres of the shaft while installation activities were progressing.
Mechanical installation of both fans was completed around 20 June, after which the site was handed over to DRA for electrical, control and instrumentation work.
DRA and Raylec subsequently installed the motor control centre and cable racks and upgraded the area’s electricity supply from temporary construction power to the permanent 11kV reticulation feeding the ventilation fans.
Howden returned during the final week of July to undertake the remaining mechanical work ahead of commissioning, including motor direction testing, connecting the motor and fan shafts, alignment and balancing.
The first commissioning test took place on 4 August, when DRA technicians resolved interlock issues identified during preparations and started Fan No. 2.
The fan was operated for at least four hours while the commissioning team measured vibration, airflow, temperature and sound levels. Rosh Pinah said the unit performed strongly across all the measurements.
Fan No. 1 followed on 5 August, undergoing the same commissioning procedure and recording similarly positive results.
The ventilation infrastructure forms part of the wider RP2.0 expansion, which is intended to increase the scale of the Rosh Pinah underground operation and processing capacity.
The project has required development both above and below ground as the mine prepares infrastructure to handle increased mining rates, including underground development, ventilation and changes to its processing facilities.
The latest milestone comes as Rosh Pinah works through the construction and commissioning stages needed to bring the expanded operation into service, with the new ventilation raise and surface fans addressing a critical requirement for supporting increased underground activity.
Rosh Pinah credited the ventilation system’s completion to collaboration among Howden, Namibia Construction, Master Drill, DRA, and Raylec.
