Optimisation of mine secondary fan systems

Abstract

The rising cost of electricity in South Africa has driven deep-level gold mines to save on costs. The optimisation of mine ventilation systems has shown significant potential for energy savings. A literature study showed that no work has been done on the optimisation of deep-level gold mine secondary fan systems with the aid of simulation. From this problem statement the objectives of this study were defined as: * Develop a method for the optimisation of deep-level gold mine secondary fans systems with the aid of simulation. * Evaluate the feasibility of the developed methodology by implementing it on a case study. A methodology was developed to construct and calibrate a simulation model for the optimisation of a deep-level gold mine secondary fan system. This methodology can be summarised into four steps: * Gathering of information, * Construction of the model, * Calibration and verification of the model, and * Use the model to optimise the system. This methodology was applied to a case study on a deep-level gold mine in South Africa. A secondary fan system was identified and a simulation model was constructed. The simulation was calibrated using measured data and was used to evaluate the feasibility of optimisation techniques on this system. Six optimised proposals were developed and presented to the mine. The most beneficial optimised proposal was selected and implemented on the system. A cost saving of R 2 million per year was achieved with a total airflow reduction of 87 kg/s. The results after implementation were used to validate the simulation model and methodology. It was found that the simulation model had an average error of 11.7%. This verified the feasibility of using the methodology to optimise secondary fan systems in deep-level gold mines.