Analyzing the effects of natural ventilation caused by excavating the waste pass on the ventilation network of Anguran mine

One of the operating costs of exploiting underground mines is related to ventilation operations. The development of the underground network during the mine life and new excavations will cause a redesign of the ventilation plan over and over again. Excavating the waste pass in the Anguran underground lead and zinc mine and developing new access for the transfer of cement filling requirements from the surface will make it necessary to review the ventilation network plan. The present research aims to analyze the efficiency of the mine ventilation network through simulation with considering the effects of waste pass based on the consequences of natural ventilation. For this purpose, based on the estimation of the needs of the underground development plan, the required airflow intensity of this mine was 57.5 m3/sec and the air pressure drop was estimated to be 116.79 millimeters of the water column. The underground mine network was imported into the software by using Ventsim software, and the simulation and specifications of each branch have also been entered. Then, different positions of the main fan were examined according to the location of mine opening and airways the advantage of mine natural ventilation in different seasons, and finally, the most suitable design for ventilation was presented. Modeling natural ventilation was investigated in two parts before waste/ore pass excavation and after excavation in Ventsim software at temperature, pressure, and different humidity. According to the simulation, it was found that the minimum natural ventilation flow to the mining network is 14 m3/sec in winter, its use saves 16.02 Kwh of energy.