Howden

PIONEERING ENGINEERING IN UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENTS

As Howden offers high-end ventilation solutions to the mining sector, we discover more about the company’s evolutionary leap forward in engineering equipment with Managing Director Kudzai Nyangoni

Writer: Rachel Carr | Project Manager: Joshua Mann

Revolutionary engineering in the 19th century paved the way for various technologies that everyone is familiar with today. In 1854, James Howden founded a marine engineering company, and it was his early inventions which enabled the steamships of the era to

reduce their energy consumption by nearly 50 percent.

As industrial innovations increased, and the engineering industry expanded into homes with efficient appliances such as refrigeration and air conditioning, the company began to grow. Almost 100 years after the initial steps into

marine engineering, James Howden & Company Africa Pty was formed in 1952. After its recent acquisition by Chart Industries, the company has since rebranded as Howden.

The progressive and energy efficient solutions continue to this day, in fact, with the company and the team deeply rooted in sustainability. Its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) efforts are a fundamental characteristic of the Howden brand.

For more than a century, Howden has supplied ventilation systems and equipment to global mining companies from the Arctic to Africa. Whatever the type of mine, whether it is coal, mineral, or base metal, Howden’s technology offers a superior ventilation performance.

“In the last 14 years that I have been with Howden, I have overseen the design, manufacture, installation

AFRICA OUTLOOK: HOW DO YOU ONBOARD NEW TEAM MEMBERS AT HOWDEN, AND ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL QUALITIES THAT YOU LOOK FOR?

“Our employee onboarding process is strategic, as it is designed to build and establish engagement earlier in the employment stage. We have developed a five-step framework that starts from the day the new employee accepts the offer. We also utilise our buddy system that provides socialisation into the organisation as well as promoting team integration in the first three months of the onboarding process.

“The hiring process is comprehensive and varies according to the expertise required. At Howden, we believe in talent management as a strategic and holistic process for the business and for the individual. We look for candidates with a hunger for success and with relevant skills and knowledge in their chosen field, who also demonstrate good behaviour with a capability and potential to fulfil roles that are more complex and specialised.

“We also have a graduate programme for those who want to gain industry experience and build their careers at Howden.”

commissioning and maintenance of mine ventilation and mine cooling plants for some of the world’s deepest mines located in South Africa,” opens Kudzai Nyangoni, Managing Director of Howden.

As a supplier of diverse gas handling equipment such as air heaters, mine ventilation fans, industrial process compressors, and a wide range of air pollution control equipment such as bag filters, scrubbers, industrial and medical waste incinerators, heating, cooling systems and more, Howden offers a fully integrated suite of expertise.

“For the mining sector, Howden offers products and services under the Total Mine Ventilations Solutions (TMVS) strategy, ranging from pre-feasibility engineering studies, ventilation and cooling solutions and aftermarket services for installed equipment. The products and services are flexible, efficient and safe, and consequently, TMVS is a one-stopshop,” Nyangoni informs us.

FIELD SERVICES AND ENGINEERING

Facilities include a 25,000m2 workshop with a 20,000m2 laydown area.

- Overhead cranes

- Two GM technical services cranes – 100 ton per crane with 15 metre clearance

- 2x 35 ton cranes

- 9x 10 ton cranes

- 4x 5 ton cranes

FIELD SERVICES AND ENGINEERING

All employees from each division are tested and certified to all relevant standards and specifications.

Engineering and manufacturing capabilities include:

• Sub arc welding

• Flux-cored arc welding

• Gas metal arc welding (GMAW)

• Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW)

Offering a 24-hour breakdown service to minimise downtime and production loss.

FSE has core engineering and field service solutions with the following engineering and manufacturing services available:

FSE PIPETEC

Facilities include two dedicated 4,000m2 under roof workshops

- 4x overhead cranes

• General fabrication for the medium to large industrial sector, for example, ducting, fan casings, motor housings and structures

• Sand blasting and painting completed to meet customer requirements

• Reconditioning of gearboxes, pumps, hydraulic cylinders, etc.

• Manufacture of shredding machinery for the recycling industry

• Specialised welding of carbon steel, hardened and tempered steel, stainless steel, duplex stainless steel, aluminium and boilerplate

• General fabrication for the medium to large industrial sectors include, but are not limited to, structural steel, platework, and machining

FSE PIPETEC

• Skid manufacturing

• Ducting manufacturing

• Light/medium structural steel manufacturing

• Equipment manufacturing – tanks, vessel, cyclones etc

• Small and large bore pipe spool fabrication – carbon, stainless, duplex stainless, etc.

BPI

Facilities include

- 2x 10 ton overhead cranes

- 1x 25 ton mobile crane

- 1,500m2 light sheet metal workshop with a 4.5 ton overhead crane

BPI

• Sandblasting and glass bead blasting

• Painting

• Insulation and cladding – hot, cold and acoustic

Plate sizes range from 0.5mm to 2mm - aluminium, galvanised, and stainless steel

BPI is an approved applicator for Stonecor, Jotun and PPG/Sigma

Field Services and Engineering is the proud preferred supplier to Howden. Our group’s certifications include ISO 9001 and ISO 3834, and we have implemented ISO45001 and ISO 14001 management systems into the core of our business. B-BBEE Level 2 certified.

Howden has a solution for most gas handling processes with highend engineered solutions often supplied into industrial processes as packaged solutions or installed on a turnkey basis. The company also supplies ventilation systems and equipment to major mining companies in global settings.

“In recent years, we have added to our suite of air handling technologies. Ventsim™ software optimises underground mine ventilation and Ventilation on Demand (VoD) software to help mines save energy and reduce operating costs.”

INITIATIVES AND INNOVATIONS

The future of mining lies in the Ventsim™ initiative, a suite of solutions which comprises two software packages – Ventsim™ DESIGN and Ventsim™ CONTROL. Introduced in 1993, it is now licensed to over 1,500 mining sites, consulting and research agencies, universities, and governments worldwide. Ventsim™ DESIGN is the ultimate 3-D mine ventilation design system.

“It allows users to create a 3-D model of their tunnels, shafts and underground workings. This enables our customers to simulate, and animate, air flow and fan behaviour in

ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES

Howden is focused on sustainability, reflected in its vision of a sustainable world. Commitments for 2030 in a 2021 ESG report include:

• 50 percent - reduction of Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprints, becoming carbon net zero by 2035

• 50 percent - of zero waste to landfill

• 30 percent - reduction in mains water usage

• 40 percent - increase female representation on the Management Committee

• 35 percent - increase in female representation in senior roles

• 30 percent - increase in female representation overall

• 25 percent - employee volunteer participation through a community services programme

Impact explained by a case study at a Canadian Operation, where the following results were achieved:

• 43 percent - reduction in mine heating costs

• 56 percent - in underground ventilation electricity costs

• 76 percent - decline in surface ventilation electricity costs through VoD implementation

Another exciting prospect is the hydrogen movement, along with natural gas liquefaction. Following Howdens’ acquisition by Chart Industries, customers are offered a suite of products, along the value chain, to support a transition to renewable energy.

real time and analyse mine ventilation within a rich and dynamic visual environment,” details Nyangoni.

“Ventsim™ CONTROL enables the remote, and autonomous, control of ventilation devices as doors, fans and regulators. The technology combines ventilation modelling with a flexible control system and advanced control strategies. It is tailored for monitoring, control and optimisation in ventilation of underground mines,” he continues.

Fundamentally resting on the four pillars of Ventsim™ Engineering Services Turnkey Engineering Solutions: Mine Ventilation, Turnkey Engineered Solutions: Mine Cooling, and the Aftermarket Services, the TMVS is a single point of contact solution, focused on providing a fully integrated approach to mine ventilation, cooling and conditioning monitoring.

“It is aimed at creating work environments which are safe and risk free to the health of the employees, whilst protecting the environment. Through our products and services, we support our customers along the value chain, to achieve zero harm and ESG commitments.”

Engineering studies in the prefeasibility and feasibility stages of the project undertaken using Howden’s proprietary Ventsim™ software is the first part of the TMVS strategy, taking leading mine ventilation modelling software and applying it extensively across most mines globally.

“Mine ventilation and cooling studies offered under our consulting arm, Ventsim™ Engineering Services, lead to optimisation of mine ventilation and cooling systems that help our mining customers to comply with strict ESG requirements in most jurisdictions,” Nyangoni assures.

“The second part of the TMVS strategy is mine ventilation equipment ranging from the small 37 kilowatts (kW) auxiliary fan to the mighty 4 megawatts (MW) fans mixed flow primary ventilation fans. Howden has supplied the largest proportion of

fans on Africa’s mines in the past eight decades,” he explains.

FUTURE-PROOF VENTURES

After securing a contract for a Ventsim™ CONTROL system at Gold Fields South Deep gold mine (South Deep), the collaboration with Howden is to implement the state of the art ventilation optimisation system.

“The solution will support a safe working environment as well as reduce the mine’s energy consumption, which will contribute towards South Deep’s environmental and operational goals. Our ventilation

optimisation solution offers varying levels of control to suit the needs of the mine,” Nyangoni notes.

Level one and two allows for manual remote control and scheduling of ventilation devices. Meanwhile, the level four VoD, the solution employed by South Deep, allows ventilation devices to react based on feedback from environmental and operational goals.

Furthermore, it will adjust mine airflow in real time based on vehicle and personnel position, the solution also offers a 3-D modelling capability within the software, which helps users

to better predict, and control air flows based on what is evidenced in the simulation.

“The installation of Ventsim™ CONTROL will improve the operability and flexibility of the mine’s ventilation system to ensure a safe, healthy and efficient ventilation solution. Ventsim™ CONTROL will further reduce energy consumption and associated tonnes of carbon emissions,” he says.

As the system allows the mine to optimise its ventilation based on fully remote vehicle and personnel monitoring, it directly contributes to

“BY EMPLOYING OUR OPTIMISATION SOLUTIONS, WE HAVE SUPPORTED NUMEROUS MINES TO ACHIEVE THEIR DESIRED OBJECTIVES”

– KUDZAI NYANGONI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HOWDEN

achieving the emissions reduction targets, “something which the Howden team is very proud of.”

The mine is a world-class bulk mechanised mining operation reaching depths between 2,800 metres (m) and 3,300m below surface, located in the Witwatersrand Basin, near Westonaria 50 kilometres (km) southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sustainability and carbon footprint reduction have come under the spotlight in recent years, especially regarding mining practices, however, the savings and carbon reduction depends on the maturity of the solution.

“Ventsim™ CONTROL is a product we are extremely excited about.

Power consumption for ventilating the works of underground mines forms a substantial percentage of the operational expenditure for running

the mine,” states Nyangoni.

The percentages typically range between 30 and 50 but can be more in extreme cases. These high costs, and the associated impact on the environment, drive demand for solutions that offer operational efficiencies for ventilation systems.

“By employing our optimisation solutions, we have supported numerous mines to achieve their desired objectives.”

Priorities for the year ahead include remaining focused on helping customers across highly diversified end-markets and geographies, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their air and gas handling processes, and enabling sustainable improvements with regards to health, safety and environmental impact.

The mining industry’s value chain is very extensive. Engineering services

are required throughout the life of a mine from feasibility studies to mine development, mining operations, mineral extraction and processing as well as the reliable maintenance of equipment.

Therefore, it is difficult to find an industry that does not, one way or another, intersect with the mining value chain both upstream and downstream, therefore ensuring Howden’s success for centuries to come.

PRODUCED BY AFRICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE