Cooling a 150-year-old copper mine in NSW

As the 150-year-old CSA Mine in Cobar continued to develop underground, there was a greater demand on the mines ventilation and refrigeration systems - meaning additional cooling was required. 

Due to the further development of the mine, the existing system that was installed by Aggreko was now no longer enough to cool the entire worksite. 

Without an additional system, the workers weren’t able to access key areas of the mine in the summer - putting the future success of ongoing production at risk.

Whilst the mine procures a permanent cooling system from a 3rd party supplier, Aggreko provided a temporary cooling system to supplement the existing cooling plant.

We provided a solution of three separate water-cooled refrigeration plants operating on-site through the summer. The third water-cooled chiller plant was put in place as a temporary solution whilst the permanent system was procured.

Thanks to the quick thinking and availability of Aggreko, the extended mine ventilation and cooling system allowed the workers to have safe access to the mining areas. 

Temperatures were able to drop to safe working levels and production in the mine was allowed to continue - even in the heat of the Australian summertime.