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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
NOVEMBER 2015
10
MINING
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
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,
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
BBE GROUP CELEBRATES
a twenty five year history
Ventilation system at Maseve Fan Station.