THE ISSUE

    Energy costs for underground mining operations are becoming prohibitive as operators continue to deepen their mines in pursuit of increasingly valuable and scarce ore bodies. Much of the massive energy usage is consumed by the ventilation systems. The mining industry needs a better ventilation control software/technology to help combat mounting costs in a sustainable way, improve control and optimize modeling of air movement systems.

    THE SOLUTION

    Applied research towards the development of a Ventilation On Demand system that will significantly reduce energy usage by directing ventilation in an underground mine into areas where equipment is operating, while at the same time optimizing mine-wide ventilation control settings.

    THE RESULTS

    With the purchase and installation of equipment at Vale’s Coleman Mine and Xstrata Nickel’s Fraser Mine, detailed field studies are now underway to measure and report on mine energy savings.

    Contact

    • Marc Boudreau, BESTECH
    • 705.675.7720 x 210
    • marc_boudreau@bestech.com
    • www.bestech.com

    Solution team

    • Glenn Lyle, CEMI
    • Cheryl Allen, Vale
    • Keith Bowness, Xstrata Nickel
    • Sustainable Development Technology Canada