ABSTRACT
The fundamental requirement of ventilation is to provide controlled air distribution within the underground mining operations to satisfy statutory and safety requirements with respect to ventilation quantity and quality. Ventilation design then facilitates this distribution while using modelling and predictive tools. The analysis of an operational ventilation network during both normal and abnormal conditions can be very complicated both on a theoretical and analytical level, requiring computer based solutions. Monitoring systems provide the ability to observe many aspects of the underground environment simultaneously. Robust, suitable and intrinsically safe instruments are available for measurement of, for instance, gas concentrations, air velocity and air pressure. These are often tied to extensive mine monitoring and communication systems.
