Capital Equipment News November 2015

MINING

BBE GROUP CELEBRATES a twenty five year history

Ventilation system at Maseve Fan Station.

B luhm Burton Engineering (Pty) Ltd (BBE) started business in 1989 pro- viding a specialised consulting ser- vice to the mining industry in the fields of mine ventilation, refrigeration and cooling. The two founders of the company, Drs Ste- ven Bluhm and Rod Burton, originally em- ployed by the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation, were shortly joined by two of their colleagues, Frank von Glehn and Russell Ramsden. With entrepreneurial flair and some fortuitous timing, they embarked on providing a specialised consulting ser- vice to the mines at a time when the min- ing companies were rationalising their in- house consultants and specialists. From humble beginnings, but with extensive experience gained in the world’s deepest and hottest mines, they gradually developed a hub for their expertise. Young and ener- getic, they adopted a simple philosophy; taking every phone call, paying attention to detail, meeting deadlines and honouring their commitments. This philosophy prevails

BBE’s comprehensive services range from conceptual investigations through technical feasibility studies and the analysis of alter- native ventilation and cooling distribution systems, to the selection of the optimum system, preparation of detailed engineering design specifications, estimating and proj- ect execution and management for existing mines and new projects. Computer software is an essential compo- nent of all planning and design work in the mining industry and the company prides itself on being up to date with innovation and state-of-the-art technologies. Over the years, BBE has been a major contributor to the development of customised software for the analysis of mine ventilation, refrigeration and cooling networks. The most modern package, VUMA, comprises a suite of mod- ules that determine air flows, pollutant lev- els and temperature distribution throughout ventilation circuits and cooling networks, all displayed in full 3-D colour graphics with the capability of real-time modelling. b

in the company today, 25 years on, and has earned BBE international recognition as a world leader in mine ventilation and cooling systems. Today, the BBE Group is a team of well over 100 strong, the majority of whom are pro- fessional consulting engineers with vast and varied experience in mine ventilation, refrigeration and cooling practices, across all mining methods in all types of ore bod- ies in all climates around the globe. BBE team members have authored some 350 published technical and scientific papers, been editors of technical journals and have co-authored a number of standard text books on mine ventilation, refrigeration and cooling. BBE engineers have also received numerous awards for engineering and sci- entific achievement over the years and can boast five past presidents and two honorary life fellows of the Mine Ventilation Society of SA.

Operating worldwide in all types of mines,

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS NOVEMBER 2015 10