(1)Commissioning a Ventilation Expansion in a Saskatchewan Potash Mine

摘要

The Rocanville potash mine has historically been accessed through two shafts; a production and ventilation exhaust shaft, and a service and ventilation fresh air shaft. The mine is completing an expansion to increase nameplate capacity from 3.0 million metric tonnes per annum (MMtpa) to 5.7 MMtpa of finished potash products. The historical service shaft has been converted to a second production shaft. Construction of a new service shaft 15 km from the existing site is completed; three shafts are now available for mine ventilation. To facilitate safe production, the existing ventilation system capacity was increased from 142 m~3/s to 283 m~3/s. This paper summarizes the design, construction, and implementation of the expanded mine ventilation system.