Organising committee chairman, Stewart Gillies, of Gillies Wu Mining Technology said the congress series has become a very important way for those with an interest in mine ventilation and atmosphere control to share information and new developments.

Keynote addresses will tackle the theme: mine ventilation challenges and potential solutions over the next five years in the mining industry. Keynote speakers are Stewart Gillies, Tom McNider, of US company Jim Walter Resources and Russell Ramsden of South African company Bloomburton.

Gillies said over 50 refereed technical papers will be presented and a number of mine field trips to both metalliferous and coal operations are planned. Associated workshops and short courses should be of interest to many he added. ILN here highlights a selection of papers.

Paper highlights:

Fires

Simulation of the Effects of Inertisation of Fires on Mine Ventilation Systems, A D S Gillies, A M Wala and H W Wu

Effects of Open Fire on Ventilation in Coal Mines, R P Singh and S K Ray

Respirable Dust

An Investigation of Air and Dust Flow Patterns Around the Longwall Shearer, R Balusu, S Chaudari, T Harvey and T Ren

Control Technology Using Ventilation to Reduce Respirable Dust Exposures at US Metal/Non-Metal Mining Operations, A B Cecala, J A Zimmer, J F Colinet, R J Timk, G J Chekan and D E Pollock

A Field Demonstration of a Modified Wet Scrubber for Dust Control in an Illinois Coal Mine, Y P Chugh, M M Alam, A Patwardhan and K K Thatavarthy

Effective Control of Respirable Dust in Underground Coal Mines in the United States, J F Colinet, G V R Goodman, J M Listak, G J Chekan, J P Rider, D E Pollock and E D Thimons

State-of-the-Art in Monitoring Respirable Mine Aerosols, J C Volkwein, E D Thimons, R J Timko, E E Hall, S E Mischler and F N Kissell

Diesels

Diesel Particulate Matter Control Technologies and Measurements in US Mines, S E Mischler, A Bugarski and G Schnakenberg

Gas Occurrences, Drainage, Explosibility

Longwall Goaf Gas Drainage and Control Strategies for Highly Gassy Mines, R Balusu, N Tuffs, R Peace and S Xue

Experience With Production in a Gassy Environment, Oaky North Mine, R Packham

Heat

First Mexican Coal Mine Recovery After Mine Fire, Esmeralda Mine, M A Santillan Gonzalez

Spontaneous Combustion

Laboratory-Scale Assessment of Hot Spot Development in Bulk Coal Self-Heating, B Beamish

The Application of Numerical Modelling to the Assessment of the Potential for, and Detection of, Spontaneous Combustion in Coal Mines, D Humphreys

Other topics being covered include papers on Cooling and Heat Stress; Networks, Monitoring and Control; Case studies and eight poster papers.

Three workshops will follow the conference.

Workshop 1 takes place on Saturday, July 9 and focuses on Spontaneous Combustion

Workshop leaders include Dr Basil Beamish – Director, Spontaneous Combustion Testing Laboratory, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland; Associate Professor David Cliff – Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Martin Watkinson – Simtars and Dr Fiona Clarkson – Simtars

The workshop is designed to give mine managers, safety personnel, ventilation engineers, rescue professionals and others responsible for hazard management the opportunity to meet and discuss the usage of simulation approaches for developing a better understanding of mine fires and their consequences.

Workshop 2 takes place on Saturday, July 9 on Mine Fire Simulation. Workshop Leaders are Drs Stewart Gillies and Hsin Wei Wu.

Workshop 3 takes place Friday July 1 and Monday July 11 on the topic Respirable Dust Exposure, Utilising the R&P Personal Dust Monitor (PDM) and Diesel Particulate (DP) Measurement. Workshop leaders are Dr Stewart Gillies (PDM) and Dr Brian Davies (DP).

For further information contact conference@ausimm.com.au