Brazil: Mining Company Mineração Morro do Ipê (MMI) relies on Hörmann sirens to warn the population in case of a possible dam breach
The mining company Mineração Morro do Ipê (MMI) has chosen sirens from HÖRMANN Warnsysteme to warn the population in the danger zone of its dam.
The 19 sirens are connected to sensors and are automatically triggered in the event of a dam breach. The high operational reliability of the German manufacturer's sirens was a decisive factor in the decision to choose HÖRMANN. The project was completed in less than six months, from concept development to installation.
The use of sirens to warn the population became mandatory by law after two tragedies involving tailings dam failures in Brazil. Against this backdrop, all Brazilian mining projects with tailings dams must conduct a geotechnical dam failure study to predict the potential flood risk in the event of a dam failure. A geotechnical reassessment revealed that the flood zone at the dam owned by the mining company MMI had increased significantly. This necessitated the installation of twelve additional sirens. MMI decided to replace the seven existing sirens from another manufacturer with new sirens from HÖRMANN Warning Systems, which are known for their reliability. All 19 ECN-D sirens were installed by HÖRMANN's partner EKM do Brasil in Brazil.
The ECN-D sirens can communicate with and be triggered by the control center via both digital radio (DMR) and Wi-Fi. This redundant communication path ensures reliable triggering even if one communication medium fails. Each siren is also monitored by video. The MCE gateway, the communication center of a siren warning system consisting of several sirens, is equipped with two relays and, in the event of a dam breach, automatically triggers the Brumadinho area with nine sirens and the Igarapé area with ten sirens, either individually or together. For this purpose, the siren control center was connected to MMI's geotechnical monitoring systems at the dam.
The specific requirements for the warning system were:
- Reliable warning of the population in the event of an impending dam breach
- The first ten kilometers of the flood zone must be completely covered by electronic sirens with a sound level of at least 70 dB/30 m
- Connection of the sirens to the geotechnical monitoring system at the dam
- Operation of the sirens at locations without a power grid
- Reliability and low maintenance requirements
- Two independent communication channels for triggering
The project was completed in less than six months, from concept development to installation, in collaboration with HÖRMANN’s local partner and siren expert EKM do Brasil. All sirens are working perfectly and are always ready for operation. Maintenance costs are virtually zero. The automatic triggering of the alarm in the event of a dam breach prevents any loss of time in warning the population.