Optimising Mine Ventilation 2012

As mines become deeper and the acceptable limits for working conditions become more stringent, the cost of mine ventilation as a portion of the total mining cost is greater. Maximising the profits from a mineral reserve means optimising all the different mining activities and mine ventilation often has high operating cost.

This 3-day workshop starts with a broad review of critical knowledge in respect of airflow and the quality of air. Ventilation design criteria are concerned with mainly the quality of air and identified from the regulatory framework, codes of practice and good practice elsewhere. Because mines are frequently projects that last many years, potential future changes also need to be considered. Standards for the different mining activities are derived from the design criteria and these are used to establish the overall ventilation necessary for the mine.

Key Benefits of Attending:
• LEARN the fundamental steps required to undertake an optimisation of mine ventilation both as overall mine ventilation and auxiliary ventilation systems.
• UNDERSTAND that the capital and operating costs in mine ventilation are dependent on the design criteria and any overdesign in respect of these criteria may have significant cost implications.
• APPRECIATE the limitations of both not considering all the relevant design criteria and of not conducting a rigorous interrogation of each criterion presented. Merely stating that a company will be at the forefront of minimising employee exposures by adopting the lowest values may result in significant cost implications not justified by the change in incremental risk involved.
• MASTER the ability to review an external feasibility study design and ensure that it has taken into account all relevant factors.
• DISCOVER simplifications that enable an overall view of mine ventilation design and determine whether they are applicable to an external feasibility study.
• DEVELOP optimisat