Ventilation Management Protocols to Prevent Ingress of Gases and Blast Dust into an Open Pit Near Ventilation Shafts
Authors: Fabián Lazo and Alejandro Díaz (Chile)
October 10th and 11th, 2022
MiningiDEAS participated in the 3rd International Ibero-American Mine Ventilation Symposium, held in Mexico during October 2022. The conference was led by Engineer Fabián Lazo Leandro with the special participation of Engineer Alejandro Díaz Araya.
The Andina Division of CODELCO, located in the Valparaíso region, Chile, operates through mixed exploitation methods. It has an open-pit mine and an underground mine that contribute their daily production to underground plants.
Given the advancement of the open pit, which has already affected tunnels of the old underground mine, the division has developed main and secondary ventilation management protocols to ensure that products from blasts near the injection portals, along with gases and dust derived from these activities, do not enter the underground mine. In case of ingress, they are managed adequately through dilution to avoid concentrations that affect the health, safety, and integrity of their workers while maintaining continuous operation effectively.
Three specific cases of gas management and the strategies used are presented, which could serve as a model for mines with similar characteristics.
