Background
Northern Star
Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia
The Kanowna Belle Gold Mine is located near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and is run by Northern Star Resources. As a major gold producer, the site needs regular maintenance to keep its underground operations running smoothly. Giant Inflatables Industrial creates inflatable debris fall protection systems and barriers to keep workers and equipment safe during these shutdowns. When the Kanowna team needed to repair the surface ventilation systems, they looked for a reliable way to prevent accidents and protect equipment from falling debris.
Challenges and Design
The team had to maintain a large surface ventilation fan installed on top of a vertical shaft that is 4.3 metres wide. Dropped tools or materials could fall down the shaft and endanger workers and equipment. The main challenge was the tight deadline. Custom industrial inflatables usually take four to six weeks to deliver, but Northern Star Resources needed everything, from design to delivery, finished in less than ten days.
The team chose strong PVC-coated fabric for the inflatable plug. This material holds its shape under pressure and seals tightly against the shaft walls, while also resisting punctures from dropped tools or sharp rocks. Giant Inflatables Industrial added the NP06S Intelligent Air Pump, which has a smart sensor to monitor pressure in real time and stops automatically at the set level to prevent overinflation. The system lets users check the internal pressure on a digital screen during maintenance.
The Results
A closer look
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in industrial inflatables
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