V05 Emerging

Title of paper:

Current trends and future opportunities in underground
hardrock ventilation practices

Authors:

Dr D J (Rick) Brake and Tony Nixon
Mine Ventilation Australia

Conference:

Underground operator’s conference
Perth, 2005

Corresponding author:
D J Brake
12 Flinders Pde, Sandgate, Qld 4017
(W) +61 7 3269 3733
(F) +61 7 3269 3538
(M) 0412 069 920rick.brake@mvaust.com.au

Page 1 of 20

ABSTRACT
The Australian mining industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years in
terms of mining methods, mining equipment and human resource policies. The
industry’s approach to safety and health in terms of attitudes, style of legislation, and
risk management techniques has also changed significantly. These changes have had
and continue to have majorimpacts on the design of underground mine ventilation
systems. In some areas, trends are clearly emerging. In other areas, mine ventilation
planning remains very “reactive” and is performing poorly in terms of providing a safe
and healthy work environment at a reasonable cost. New concepts involving the role of
ramps and shafts, the provision of refrigerated air, “ventilation on demand” and newegress and entrapment approaches are likely to be incorporated into mine planning and
operating practices over the next 10 years. This paper discusses these and other trends
and identifies some likely future developments in the area of hardrock mine ventilation.

Page 2 of 20

INTRODUCTION
Traditional hardrock mine ventilation practices in Australia were often developed
around large,long-life, shaft-access mining operations with very high tonnes per
vertical metre, such as Mount Isa, Broken Hill and Mt Lyell. However, underground
hardrock mines in Australia now use very large mobile equipment, much larger
development sizes, usually truck to surface rather than use underground crushing and
hoisting, may even be moving towards conveying to surface rather than use shaftcrushing/hoisting, often have low tonnes per vertical metre, short lives and are trending
towards much deeper (and hotter) operations. Many items of plant now have airconditioned cabins. In addition, mining legislation is trending towards duty of care
rather than prescriptive regulations and some States now regulate their mines using
generic workplace health and safety legislation rather thanmining-specific regulations.
Concerns about diesel particulates and problems with traditional approaches to second
means of egress and aided rescue using mine rescue teams are also impacting
significantly on ventilation design. Fly-in, fly-out operation is impacting on the
availability of ventilation staff and advice to be on site at all times. Cost pressures and
generally lower grade orebodies areresulting in a trend towards mass mining methods
such as sub-level caving. Auxiliary ventilation is becoming more critical in most
operations, as cost pressures reduce the economic ability to create flow-through
ventilation on working levels, or to provide dedicated return air collection horizons. The
use of remote loaders (and open drawpoint brows) has become common, which results
in stopesshort-circuiting between levels. Surface ramps are also now often the principal
(or only) intake, making provision of fail-safe fresh air bases impossible.
IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION IN HARDROCK MINES
It is frequently the case that mine management fails to understand the importance of
ventilation in a hardrock mine. One Canadian study found that workers complained
more to Mines’ Inspectorsabout ventilation than any other single topic (Crocker, 2002).
In addition, gas management and other coal mine ventilation issues are not as
uncommon in hardrock mines as might be expected. Consider some of the following
examples, all relating to hardrock mines:
•

One Australian hardrock mine currently has problems with hydrogen as strata
gas. SIMTARS has been on site and a coal-based gas...