Ventilation and Air Conditioning
18.1 Introduction
The historic role of ventilation was to provide a flow of fresh air sufficient to replace the oxygen
consumed by the miners working underground. Contemporary mine ventilation primarily deals with
noxious gases (mainly generated by trackless equipment underground). Ventilation effectiveness in
this role depends on a simple fact: “once the noxious gases are mixed with air, they will remain
uniformly diffused and will never separate.” Therefore, if the problem gases (NOX, SO2, CH4, CO,
etc.) are diluted at their source with enough fresh air to render them harmless, they will remain safe
until eventually exhausted from the mine. In the typical underground trackless mine, the amount of
ventilation air required to ensure adequate dilution is far more than the amount required to replace
oxygen consumed underground by personnel and diesel engines. The required amount of air is also
sufficient to improve visibility and remove rock dust generated underground to the extent that
silicosis is no longer a serious threat.
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