JOURNAL PAPER

 

An integrated and sustainable solution to ensure in-section dust compliance

 

 

N.F. Mashinini

Mining Engineering, University of Pretoria

 

 

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SYNOPSIS

Optimization of current control systems, proper maintenance and efficient training of personnel are recommendations made to control the amount of dust that underground employees are exposed to on a daily basis in the coal mining industry.
This dissertation forms as part of Sasol Mining's commitment to protect the health and safety of their employees by suppressing and controlling dust at their mines. This study aims to understand the relationship among mining processes, exposure to dust and dust suppression control measures.
The research phase of the project was done at the Sasol Mining Secunda complex where underground visits were undertaken to investigate current control systems and also new systems that are being implemented by Sasol Mining. This work was important because it helped determine the sources of dust underground and also to identify the shortcomings of current control systems and to test the efficiencies of the new systems implemented at Sasol Mining.
The most important result of the research work was the identification of which underground operators were exposed the most to dust as this assisted in designing a dust suppression system for the areas where these operators worked.
The main conclusions of this study are that the current control systems are sufficient for controlling dust and ensuring dust compliance if they are used efficiently and maintained properly.

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References

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Paper written on project work carried out in partial fulfillment of B Eng degree