Improving environmental conditions of a Room and Pillar underground quarry using numerical modelling of the ventilation system

ABSTRACT Natural ventilation can play a significant role, which requires careful evaluation. It is necessary to adopt numerical calculation methods to study the ventilation circuit. This paper illustrates a numerical study of an underground gypsum quarry in Italy using the Ventsim computer program. Through this study, it was possible to determine the improvement interventions necessary to optimize the airflow that reaches the active sites of the mine, avoiding the risk of air recirculation in the deepest zones. A detailed analysis made it possible to detect how the planned interventions were also able to significantly improve the environmental conditions, considerably lowering the concentration of harmful gases emitted by diesel engines.