Compressed Air Power Solutions () maintain standards through their in-house Centre of Excellence and high quality equipment and resources. Whether offshore, on land or underground, Caps Australia have delivered custom solutions for complex projects.
Woodside Energy recently contracted Caps Australia to supply an air instrument package for their North Rankin ‘B’ platform, which will extract natural gas in the North West Shelf. The package will feature three 160 kilowatt aircooled rotary screw compressors built specifically to meet a 30 year lifecycle and withstand the region’s extreme conditions.
Oil and air coolers will be purpose-built titanium, the internal oil handling systems are duplex and super duplex stainless steels, and all enclosures, filters and air dryers are made of 316 stainless steel.
The instrument air package will feature a centralised programmable logic controller (PLC) to control all three compressors, designed with full redundancy and emergency power supplies to ensure minimal disruption, even in worst case scenarios.
Caps Australia are familiar with the complexities of the project having supplied similar equipment for Woodside’s Rankin A project. Caps Australia also delivered infrastructure for another major gas project, Eni Australia Blacktip operation, recently loaded out from the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) at Henderson, Western Australia (WA).
An air instrument package, to be stationed at an on-shore gas plant in the Northern Territory was custom built at Caps Welshpool factory in WA and features two 200 kilowatt rotary screw compressors complete with two desiccant dryers and filters. With both the Rankin ‘B’ and Blacktip builds, Caps Australia also designed special lifting beams for safe and easy handling.
Caps Australia have successfully supplied packaged compressed air and blower solutions for mine sites both above and below ground. Caps Australia provided vital equipment for the Boddington Gold Mine project in WA including three Gardner Denver Blowers with 3.3KV 600Kw drive motors used for flotation tanks in the ore separation process.
These were supplied skid mounted with intake silencers, control valving and blow off silencers while air compressors, dryers and filters to power various components of the mine’s plant control systems were also part of the contract. BHP Biliiton utilised Caps Australia’s contracting floatation blowers for their Ravensthorpe Nickel project in WA in addition to ongoing maintenance of air compression systems at Olympic Dam, South Australia.
By combining standard Ingersoll Rand rotary screw and centrifugal air compressor technology with a rugged design and appropriate local modifications, Caps Australia deliver the high performance and efficient operation needed in harsh, dusty mining conditions.
Caps Australia have reputation for designing and developing tailor-made, fully integrated systems on base frames that require minimum on site installation and setup. Caps Australia are well ahead of the field when it comes to packaging these systems for underground locations, where conformity to mine site regulations and the exacting conditions require considerable experience in the design and servicing of compressed air systems.
A typical underground mine specification compressor package includes an oil injected rotary screw compressor modified for 1000v operation and the necessary electrical and mechanical modifications to ensure the machine runs reliably in dusty environments.
The compressor is mounted on a purpose-built base frame fitted with a roof structure to provide protection against damage from external debris, while a fire suppression system is fitted as standard. The compressor includes a compressed air filtration and dryer system feeding into an air receiver to provide a smooth supply of clean, dry, compressed air.
All interconnecting pipe work and electrical wiring are included, and because of its purpose-built design, the package can be easily transported between sites and dragged underground into location. Through its exclusive distributor arrangement with Ingersoll Rand, Caps Australia also supply ATEX certified Spark Proof Series Impactools, the tool of choice for specialised applications within the petrochem and mining industries, where hazardous atmospheres can occur.
Caps Australia have the resources, experience and expertise to deliver world class solutions custom built to service all mining needs.