Direct or indirect lightning strikes can cause devastating damage to a mining site, and all too often have fatal consequences. Not only does lightning pose a threat to people in and around the facility, but a strike may also cause expensive electrical equipment to fail, leading to costly disruptions to the overall mining operation.
Whilst there isn’t a known method of preventing a lightning discharge, with lightning protection systems operators can control the passage of a discharge in a manner that prevents injury to personnel or damage to property.
Just like any other mining equipment, it is one matter to find the best products, but having an efficient lightning protection system that you can rely on requires expertise to ensure that the system is optimised. nVent ERICO has robust industry knowledge of lightning protection systems, as well as a diverse product range that utilises a variety of protection methodologies to provide the most appropriate, application-specific lightning protection solutions for mining facilities.
nVent ERICO has been at the forefront of decades of research into the phenomena of lightning strikes and continues to be a pioneer in isolated down conductor technology and lightning protection systems, remaining committed to the development of lightning protection standards around the world. The company’s application engineers are certified to help its customers select and custom-build a lightning protection system for their specific needs.
The company’s lightning protection design service includes installation/design (including 3D modelling), site audits and assessments, lightning risk assessment calculations, on-site lightning protection system commissioning and testing, and regional support teams. nVent’s LPSD 4.0 software is optimised to get customers started on a new project by sharing a Revit project file or building a basic model from architectural roof plans and elevations.
Effective lightning protection design involves understanding that the location of air terminals placed in a lightning protection system is a critical factor in optimising strike and surge protection. For almost 40 years, nVent ERICO’s dedicated team of engineers has been developing lightning and surge protection solutions that have helped reduce equipment damage while improving the safety of workers.
nVent ERICO also provides expert training for the specification, installation, and maintenance of protection systems to ensure that it continues to operate optimally and in full compliance with safety regulations. The nVent team includes members of industry standards committees, including Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Standards Australia (SA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). All products undergo extensive development, testing and certification to ensure that they adhere to the requirements of certification agencies such as UL, CE, and Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
Custom-engineered solutions, along with application expertise and quality products provide reliable protection from the ground up, including earthing and bonding, surge protection and lightning protection. Engaging with a holistic approach to protecting facilities from the damaging effects of lightning and induced-surge transients, nVent ERICO continues to protect some of the most sensitive and costly equipment, buildings, and critical processes across the globe.
For more information about nVent’s lightning protection equipment, including its expert engineering capabilities, download the whitepaper below.
