ABSTRACT
New major international projects are already being planned with battery electric vehicle fleets (BEVs), and existing mines are converting to BEV and thereby completely preventing NOX-, CO- and heat-emissions from combustion engines underground. These factors result in reduced demand for fresh air in the working area, which reduces the mine’s energy consumption and thus cuts operating costs. These reduced air volumes also result in reduced air velocities in the mine, which in turn means that less dust is stirred up and dust generated during operation can settle quicker. However, in contrast to this general behavior related to the total dust, low air velocities lead to relatively higher loads of respirable dust in the mine air. Due to its particle size, the finest dust does not settle even at very low velocities but remains in the air. This poses a challenge for ventilation planning for mine operations based on battery electric vehicles.
