Providing a Health Environment for Miners

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) presented Tronox Alkali with the prestigious Mine Safety and Health Technology Innovation Award. The honor recognizes mining companies that have made an extraordinary effort to apply technology in innovative ways, above and beyond mandatory requirements, to improve mine worker safety and health.

Tronox Alkali Mine Engineer Arash Habibi recognized that the airborne dust generated when trona ore is handled or transported can be a hazard for our miners. Focusing on the conveyor transfer point as a significant airborne dust contributor, Arash and the Mine Engineering Technology Team working with other mine departments, deployed a dry scrubber system that separates the dust particles from the air and uses an automated compressed air pulse system to clean the filters. The removed dust is collected in a hopper where it is mixed with water and then pumped to a mine sump, then is sent to process as solution mine feed. “The system has delivered favorable results,” says Arash, “and plans are underway to have a second system operational soon.”

Pictured left to right are Rick Pasquier, Tronox Alkali general counsel; Dr. Jessica Kogel, NIOSH associate director for mining; Ed Flynn, Tronox SVP & president of Tronox Alkali; Mark Ellis, Industrial Minerals Association – North America president.