Underground mine ventilation curtain or barrier

Abstract

A mine ventilation curtain (1, 20) is provided comprising, in the operative condition, a generally upright curtain or barrier extending from a foot wall (4) in an underground mine to an overhanging hanging wall (5, 25). The curtain has a foot wall compartment (3, 22) of a flexible sheet material with the footwall compartment being operatively filled with a suitable optionally settable fluent material (13, 27) such that the lower edge of the curtain or barrier substantially adopts an undulating shape of the adjacent foot wall. The fluent material is selected from a suitably heavy liquid and an optionally settable slurry of grout or backfill material. The mine ventilation curtain may be a flexible ventilation curtain (2) extending upwards from the foot wall compartment (3) and having its uppermost edge held in close association with the hanging wall. Alternatively, the mine ventilation curtain may be a generally rigid ventilation barrier (20) in the form of longitudinal segments each of which comprises a series of optionally interconnected superjacent compartments (22, 23, 24) extending from the footwall to the hanging wall with the uppermost compartment (24) adopting an undulating shape of the adjacent hanging wall.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to underground mine ventilation curtains or barriers and, in particular, but not exclusively, to in-stope ventilation control curtains or barriers used for creating ventilation passages between the hanging wall and foot wall in a mine stope.[0002]In this specification is to be understood that the term the ventilation curtain is intended to include flexible ventilation curtains and generally rigid ventilation barriers.BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION[0003]In the operation of a typical large tabular ore body in an underground mine, ventilation in the form of the provision of fresh, cool air to the entire extent of the mine workings is essential. The nature of the tabular ore deposits results in wide narrow mining stopes with vast worked-out back areas, which, if left open, waste large amounts of air cooling them unnecessarily.[0004]The flow of fresh air through a mine is required for two principal reasons, firstly, to provide an acceptable...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The nature of the tabular ore deposits results in wide narrow mining stopes with vast worked-out back areas, which, if left open, waste large amounts of air cooling them unnecessarily.

Ventilation curtains have been used for a very long time.

One of the main problems with conventional flexible ventilation curtains is air leakage above and below the curtain where gaps are left between the upper and lower edges of the curtain and to the irregular hanging wall and footwall.

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