Symposium Schedule
The schedule of the symposium events is shown below:
| 21 June | Saturday | Workshops |
| 22 June | Sunday |
Exhibitors move in by noon, |
| 23 June | Monday | Technical Sessions |
| 24 June | Tuesday | Technical Sessions, Awards banquet (6:00-8:00 PM) |
| 25 June | Wednesday | Exhibitors move out by noon, Technical Sessions |
| 26 June | Thursday | Field trip |
Detailed Agenda
21 June 2025 (Saturday)
Workshops – Day 1
| Hall A | Hall B | |
| 8:00 AM – Noon | Fan Applications in Auxiliary and Main Ventilation (4 hr) John Almgren (Spendrup Fan Company) |
|
| Noon – 1:00 PM | Lunch Break | Lunch Break |
| 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
Ventilation Pressure-Quantity (PQ) Surveys (4 hr) John Bowling, P.E. (SRK), Nathan Wineinger (SRK) |
Calibration of ventilation and heat models and on-site data integration |
22 June 2025 (Sunday)
Workshops – Day 2
| Hall A | Hall B | |
| 8:00 AM – Noon | Solutions for Mine Dust Control: Technology, Application, and Innovation (3 hr) – Begins at 9:00 AM Guang Xu, Ph.D. (MST), Ping Chang, Ph.D. (Curtin University), Ashish Karoria, Ph.D. (MST), and Xuhan Ding, Ph.D. (Xi’an S & T) |
Mine Cooling and Maintaining Suitable Thermal Working Environment (4 hr) Stephen Hardcastle, Ph.D. (BBE Group, Canada) |
| Noon – 1:00 PM | Lunch Break | Lunch Break |
| 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
Underground Cooling Plant Design Fundamentals and Primary Fan System Environmental Controls (4 hr) Darryl Witow, and Katrina Mcdonald (Hatch, Canada) |
Primary Mine Fan System and Noise Considerations (4 hr) Glenn Savage, Howden Australia |
Opening Reception [5:30 – 7:00 PM] |
|
Location: Foyer |
23 June 2025 (Monday)
Technical Sessions – Day 3
Welcome (Dr. Ashish Kumar) and Keynote sessions
|
|
Miner Health and Safety – The Key Drivers in Mine Ventilation Abstract: In 1977 the presenter gave a paper at the SME Annual Meeting in St. Louis with Dr. Ramani of Penn State entitled “Optimization of Coal Mine Ventilation Systems” with a subtitle “Art to Science”, with a follow-up talk at the 1st NAMVC in 1982. In the years since, the field of mine ventilation has advanced tremendously, as witnessed by the success of the NAMVS, including the number and quality of its papers. There is a need, however, to constantly remember the driver for mine ventilation: miner health and safety. This presentation looks at the topic from that perspective, looking at great successes as well as the areas still in need of improvement and some of the challenges that lie ahead. |
|
The Evolution of Mine Ventilation Modelling and Its Practitioners Abstract: This presentation tracks the origins and evolution of ventilation modelling, exploring the key breakthroughs and achievements from the early days of physical models to the introduction of digital computers, and finally the evolution to modern 3D graphical methodologies. The impact on ventilation practitioners is also critically assessed by considering how software advances have changed productivity, practices and design methodologies, as well as exploring the possible negative effects and risks, such as core knowledge erosion, reduced technical understanding of modelling inputs and outputs, and the potential for errors.
|
| Morning Session | Parlor B Ventilation Planning |
Parlor C and D Diesel Particulate Matter |
| 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM | Ventilation Design for Access and Production Tunnel Development Activities in Uranium Mines (M. Kitindi | K. Lamont – Cameco Corp, Canada; E. De Souza – AirFinders Inc., Canada) |
Control of Exposure of Underground Miners to NO2 Emitted by Diesel-Powered Mobile Equipment (A.D. Bugarski, Ph.D. – NIOSH) |
| 10:50 AM – 11:10 AM |
Assessing Tailing Dust Suppression Efficiency Through Biopolymer Treatment: A Focus on Mechanical Property Enhancement |
DPM Controls to Assist Ventilation (D. Rose | F. Velge – Pinssar, Australia) |
| 11:10 AM – 11:30 AM |
Underground Mine Orifice Field Measurements: Airflow Regulator Sizing (H.D. Sbaraba – Dello Ventilation Inc., Canada) |
Development, Optimization, and Long-Term Evaluation of Diesel Emission Control Systens for Heavy-Duty Mining Engines |
| 11:30 AM – 11:50 AM | Comparison of Design and Field Parameters in an ventilation System Using Plastic Ducting: A Case Study at Vale Base Metals, Voisey’s Bay Mine, NL, Canada (S. Tahmasebi | L. Falk | C. Allen – Vale Base Metals, Sudbury, Canada) |
Diesel Emission Controls for Underground Light Duty Vehicles
|
| Noon – 1:30 PM | Lunch (Foyer and Parlor A) | Lunch (Foyer and Parlor A) |
| Noon Session | Parlor B Heating and Refrigeration – I |
Parlor C and D Dust and Gas Emissions – I |
| 1:30 PM – 1:50 PM |
Split-System Surface Condenser Cooling Design for an Underground Chiller Plant at Hecla’s Lucky Friday Mine (R. Janse van Vuuren – BBE Group, Australia; D. Bayer – Hecla Mining Company; J. Deen, Deen Engg, Montana, USA; J. Shaw | S.G. Hardcastle – BBE Group, Canada) |
Ultrasonic Nozzle Technology for Enhanced Control of Respirable Coal Mine Dust (M. Beltran-Marquez – New Mexico Tech; P. Roghanchi, Ph.D. – Univ. of Kentucky; M. Rezaee, Ph.D. – The Pennsylvania State University) |
| 1:50 PM – 2:10 PM |
Cryogenic Cooling – Preparation for Mine Air Cooling Trial (A.L. Martikainen, Ph.D. | F.K.R. Klose | D. Puk | K. O. Mickelsson | A. Gavrilas – LKAB, Sweden; D. Lévesque | D.R. Witow – Hatch; D.L. Cluff – CanMIND) |
Lab Testing of a Flooded Bed Scrubber: Mass versus Particle Removal Efficiency (F. Animah, Ph.D | M.E. Uluer | E. Sarver, Ph.D. – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blackburg, VA, USA; S. Schafrik, Ph.D. – University of Kentucky, KY, USA) |
| 2:10 PM – 2:30 PM |
Mitigating the Impact of Hot Fissure Water on Heat Loads and Ambient Temperatures in Underground Mines: An Applied Case Study (J. Llanca | A. Hutchison | S. Hardcastle – BBE Group, Canada; J. Dorado – Mina Cerro Los Gatos, Mexico) |
Hazardous Gas Generation at Different Stages of a Lithium-Ion Battery Failure Event (L. Yuan, PhD. | R.A. Thomas | J. Soles | N.S. Rayyan – NIOSH, Pittsburgh, USA) |
| 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM |
Air-Gap Design Implications in Surface Refrigeration Plant Performance (J. Shaw | A. Hutchinson – BBE Group, Canada; L. Falk – Vale, Sudbury, Canada) |
Convective Back-layering Observations in Deep Mine Tunneling Ventilation (D.R. Witow | D.G. Levesque | T.H. Mehedi – Hatch; C.S. Pawlowicz | M.A. Lawrence – Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, Canada) |
| 2:50 PM – 3:30 PM |
Interaction with the sponsors/ exhibitors | Interaction with the sponsors/ exhibitors |
|
Evening |
Parlor B Heating and Refrigeration – II |
Parlor C and D Dust and Gas Emissions – II |
| 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM |
Experimental and Theoretical Study of an Innovative Solution for Air Heating of Cold-Region Mines (M. Mohit | M. Xu | A.P. Sasmito – McGill University, Canada; P. Chauvat | R. Hamby – Glacies Technolgies, Sherbrooke, Canada) |
Evaluation of Method for Analysis of Respirable Crystalline Silica in Recovered CPDM Samples (A. Greth, Ph.D | E. Sarver, Ph.D. – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA; M. Yekich, NIOSH, Pittsburgh, USA) |
| 3:50 PM – 4:10 PM |
Heat Transfer Time Methodology for Cooling-on-Demand Applications in Underground Mine Ventilation Systems (G. Kolegov – Howden, Renfrew, UK; K. Tom – Howden, Canada) |
Efficiency Comparison of Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) Composite-incorporated Polyacrylonitrile Nanofirbous Filters for Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust and Coal Dust (M. Moradi | A. Kakoria, Ph.D. | G. Xu, Ph.D. – Missouri University of Sc and Tech, USA) |
| 4:10 PM – 4:30 PM |
Sustainable Heating and Cooling Options Study for a Sub-Arctic Underground Iron Ore Mine (M. Brown | C. McGuire – Hatch, Mississauga, Canada; F. Klose | A. Martikainen, Ph.D. – LKAB, Sweden) |
PVDF-Ti3C2Tx (Mxene) Ultrafine Nanofiber Membrane for Effective Fine Particulate Matter (0.1-2.5 µm) Filtration (A. Kakoria, Ph.D. | M.M. Zaid | A. Iqbal | G. Xu, Ph.D. – Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA) |
SME UVC Meeting [4:45 – 6:15 PM] |
|
Location: Allegheny B + C |
24 June 2025 (Tuesday)
Technical Sessions – Day 4
Keynote sessions (Dr. Sekhar Bhattacharyya) –
|
|
Mitigated Health Effects of Diesel Emission in Mining Application This presentation will review the issue/ challenges associated with diesel emission in underground mines and outline diesel emissions curtailment strategy/solution. In the nutshell 1. Diesel is still primary source of power for mobile underground mining equipment.
|
|
|
| Morning Session | Parlor B Fundamentals of Ventilation |
Parlor C and D CFD Modeling – I |
| 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM | Is Ventilation Network Modeling a Solution or a Problem? (E. De Souza, Ph.D. – AirFinders, Kingston, Ontario, Canada) |
Case Study of a Dual-Compartment Exhaust Shaft for a Passenger Rail Overbuild (R.E. Ray, Jr. – WSP USA Inc, New York, USA) |
| 10:50 AM – 11:10 AM | Determining a Wetness Factor for the Intake Shaft Systems at Malmberget Mine (F.K.R. Klose | A.L. Martikainen, Ph.D. – Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB, Sweden ) |
Numerical Investigation to Optimize Volumetric Airflow to Mitigate PM During Mucking Ore in A Polymetallic Underground Mine (A. R. Qureshi | S. Sabanov – Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan) |
| 11:10 AM – 11:30 AM |
Using Absolute Roughness Instead of Atkinson Friction Factors for Resistance and Pressure Calculation in Mine Ventilation Surveys and Modelling (C.M. Stewart, Ph.D. – Minware, Australia; D. Durieux – Resolution Copper, USA; M.D. Griffith – Howden, Ventsim, Sweden; A. Habibi – FTPI, Indonesia) |
Practical CFD and Network Solver Applications for Underground Mine Ventilation Systems at Vale Base Metals North Atlantic Operations (H. Zhang, Ph.D., P. Eng. | L. Falk | C. Allen – Vale Base Metals, Sudbury, ON, Canada) |
| 11:30 AM – 11:50 AM | Prediction of Aerodynamic Resistances in Ventilation Branches Based on Experimentally Determined Friction Factors in Typical Mining Roadways (M. Borowski | A. Szmuk | K. Zwolińska-Glądys – AGH University of Krakow, Poland) |
Characterization of Pressure Losses for Ventilation Raises with Emergency Stairs Using CFD Modeling (J.P. Hurtado-Cruz | S. Galdames-Munizaga | S. Pérez-Cortés – Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile) |
| Noon – 1:30 PM | Lunch (Foyer and Parlor A) | Lunch (Foyer and Parlor A) |
| Noon Session | Parlor B Heating and Refrigeration – III |
Parlor C and D Dust and Gas Emissions – III |
| 1:30 PM – 1:50 PM |
Creighton Mine Ventilation and Refrigeration Design of the Phase 5 Project Area (N. Saeidi | C. Allen – Vase base Metals, Sudbury, ON, Canada; J.M.A. Coelho | S. G. Harcastle | A. Hutchison – BBE Group, ON, Canada) |
A Laboratory Evaluation of the Vertical Air-Blocking Ring for Drill Shroud Dust Control (Y. Zheng | H. Jiang | T.W. Beck | K.S. Scott | W.R. Reed, Ph.D. – NIOSH, Pittsburgh, USA) |
| 1:50 PM – 2:10 PM |
Integrated Ventilation Design: A Study of Vale’s Copper Cliff North Mine (T. Irving – BBA, Sudbury, Canada; N. Saeidi| L. Falk | C. Allen – Vale Base Metals, Sudbury, ON, Canada) |
Application of Spatial Basis Functions for the Estimation of Airborne Contamination Distributions in Underground Mining Environments (K.W. Brown Requist, Ph.D. | M. Momayez, Ph.D. – University of Arizona) |
| 2:10 PM – 2:30 PM |
Reconsidering the Wetness Fraction in Geothermal Heat Transfer Modelling (M. Griffith, Ph.D. – Howden, Ventsim ) |
Experimental Study of Air Inducement of Single and In-line Series Water Sprays (H. Jiang | T.W. Beck | Y. Zheng | S. Klima – NIOSH, Pittsburgh, USA) |
| 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM |
Adapting the Thermal Work Limit for Dry Climates: A Revised Model for Heat Stress Evaluation (K. Tom – Howden, A Chart Industries Company, Canada) |
The Investigation of Wetting and Agglomerating Mechanism of Short-chain Fluorocarbon Surfactant Suppressing Coal Dust from Macro and Molecular Scales (X.H. Ding | K. Wang | Z.M. Luo | Q.Y. Fu | T.T. Wang | Q. Xu | X. Yi | R. K. Dai – Xi’an University of Science and Tech, China; H.P. Jiang – Dalian Univ. of Tech, China; Z.Q. Xing – Shenyang Res Institute China) |
| 2:50 PM – 3:30 PM |
Interaction with the sponsors/ exhibitors | Interaction with the sponsors/ exhibitors |
| Evening Session |
Parlor B Ventilation Operations – I |
Parlor C and D Ventilation Operations – II |
| 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM |
Preventative Maintenance on Main Fans at Henderson Mine (K. Kolobe, Ph.D. | D. Brokering, P.E. | C. Rutter | S. Nelson | N. Shea – Freeport McMoran Inc, Denver, USA) |
Managing Saline Water Discharge and Its Impact on Shaft Ventilation Efficiency: A Case Study (R. Morla | P. Kline | A. Trutwein – Genesis Minerals Ltd., Australia; P. Tukkaraja, Ph.D. | S. Sridharan, Ph.D. – SDSMT, USA; P. Chang – Curtin University; M. Shrivas – NIT, India) |
| 3:50 PM – 4:10 PM |
Simulation-Based Analysis of Energy Savings from Ventilation on Demand in Stopes and Development Areas of an Underground Open Stoping Mine (R. Iqbal | N.P. Widod – Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia; O. Erari – Freeport Indonesia Inc.) |
Regulation Changes in Ontario and their Risk Based Influence on Ventilation Design (C. Allen | R. Tiangco | M. Felton | A.G. Maria – Vale Base Metals, ON, Canada) |
| 4:10 PM – 4:30 PM |
Integrating Development, Automation and Electrical Concepts to Optimize the Life of Mine Ventilation Plan (K. Kolobe, Ph.D. | S. Nelson | C. Rutter | D. Brokering, P.E. | N. Shea – Freeport McMoran Inc, Denver, USA) |
VAMOX – Full scale RTO technology for the abatement of VAM emissions (G. Drounin | D. Kay | J-S D’ Amours-Cyr – Biothermica Technologies Inc., Montreal, Canada) |
Awards Banquet/ Dinner: 6:00-8:00 PM |
25 June 2025 (Wednesday)
Technical Sessions – Day 5
Keynote sessions (Dr. Shimin Liu)
|
|
Ventilator Blues Abstract: Don’t matter where you are; Everybody’s going to need a ventilator” – Rolling Stones. In this address, the presenter reflects on 30+ years as a mine ventilation practitioner. In an international career involving many interesting mining and related projects, some key events and life lessons stand out and will be shared.
|
|
Implementation of New Technologies into Ventilation Designs: An engineer’s Perspective
Abstract: There have been many advancements in the technology associated with subsurface ventilation over the past three decades. These advances have included areas such as modeling, the tier system of diesel emissions, ventilation on demand, and even the advancement of electric equipment. This discussion examines how we as ventilation engineers incorporate new and emerging technologies into our ventilation designs and the need to approach each new technology with caution so that we will ultimately develop safe and effective ventilation plans and designs. To gain the full effectiveness of new technology it must be balanced with the knowns and unknowns of the mine plan to fully enhance the safety, efficiency, and robustness of the ventilation plan. |
Panel discussion: SME UVC
|
| Morning Session |
Parlor B CFD Modeling – II |
Parlor C and D Ventilation Risk Assessment |
| 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM | Computational Fluid Dynamics – Machine Learning (CFD-ML)-Based Airflow Exchange Model for Large Opening Underground Mine (X. Song | S. Azam, Ph.D. | A.R. Kumar, Ph.D., P.E. | A. J. Snesavage | S. Liu, Ph.D. – The Pennsylvania State University) |
A Risk Assessment Method for Lithium-Ion Battery Selection in Underground Mines Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (S.T. Riaz | A. Iqbal | A. Kakoria, Ph.D. | G. Xu, Ph.D. – Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA) |
| 10:50 AM – 11:10 AM | Coupled Heat and Moisture Transport Modeling in Large-Opening Underground Mining Environments (S. Azam, Ph.D. | X. Song | S. Liu, Ph.D. – The Pennsylvania State University; A. Sarfaraz – Accenture, India) |
A Fuzzy Rule-Based Machine Learning Approach for Predicting Heat Stress Levels in Underground Metalliferous Mines (D.N. Gadhi | M. Shrivas, Ph.D. – National Institute of Technology, India; R. Morla – Genesis Minerals Ltd, Australia) |
| 11:10 AM – 11:30 AM |
Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) Modeling of a Large-Format LIB-TR Event in a Large Opening Mine: Evaluating Characteristic Lengths and Grid Independence (K.O. Said, M.S. | A.R. Kumar, Ph.D., P.E. | S. Bhattacharyya, Ph.D., P.E. – The Pennsylvania State University) |
Analysis of a Ventilation System for a Battery Electric Vehicle-Operated Underground Mine using Discrete-Event Simulation (M. Kahraman | S. Düzgün – Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA) |
| 11:30 AM – 11:50 AM |
26 June 2025 (Thursday)
Field Trip – Day 6
Komatsu Franklin Facility Tour (Up to 25 attendees)
Komatsu manufactures and services heavy equipment used in the extraction and haulage of coal and industrial minerals in underground mining. Come visit Komatsu’s Franklin Product Development Center and learn more about the innovative work we do here to advance automation and enhance safety.
Our vision is to be the trusted testing partner for underground by providing innovative solutions to real world problems. We continuously strive to be the leader in testing for engineering prototypes and first articles, regulatory certification support, test and diagnostic reports for field failures, and new product demonstrations for internal and external customers by having a close interaction with the engineering teams.
Learn about the history of the Joy brand.
C&A labs: Learn how we work through customer fault and software issues on our electrical panels to reduce downtime and improve productivity. Check out our pitch correction automation demonstration on a longwall shearer pan line.
Our Crow’s Nest remote operating center: See our longwall shearer running remotely to showcase our automation capabilities and how remote operation helps to enhance safety at the mine by removing people from the face.
Lithium-Ion battery charger testing area: View our lithium-ion battery hauler battery that shows the design requirements to operate in a challenging explosive atmosphere and our battery charger development test area for underground and surface mining applications.
Haulage equipment: See our shuttle car and battery hauler haulage equipment which are designed to efficiently remove cut material from the working face to maximize productivity of the overall section.
Rock and metallurgical lab: Meet our full-time metallurgist who evaluates engineering returned goods and first article suppliers to determine material chemistry and composition, case depth, hardness, porosity, etc. Our rock lab has the capability to measure unconfined compressive strength, CERCHAR abrasion class, equipment wear forecast approximation, material hardness, Brazilian tensile strength, mode I fracture toughness, specific gravity, impact energy, bond impact work index and bond abrasion index.
Continuous miner: Observe our continuous miner equipped with lidar technology used for heading control, proximity detection and automated cuts that enable our customers to move along on their journey to full autonomy.
Accelerated gear testing center: See our new prototype gear cases which are load tested or temperature stabilization run-in with vibration monitoring to minimize field failures, downtime and repairs. Visit our two sound rooms which have removable roof panels that help us maintain a healthy noise level throughout the test center for tests that are noisy and run continuously. These rooms also have a sand-filled steel bed that held reduce vibration as well as closed manifold and open loop cooling circuits. Observe our shuttle car wheel unit test stand which applies rotating, radial and thrust loads to the wheel unit to simulate mining operation conditions while data acquisition compiles torque, RPM, temperature and deflections.
LCTR – linear cutting test rig: Check out our cutting action simulator that determines fracture and cutting characteristics of hard rocks and minerals such as specific energy and abrasiveness. The cutting drag, normal and side forces are measured by a triaxial load cell and used to determine optimized drum design, machine selection and particle size distribution.
Dust collector testing: View our test ductworks that are used to test different air monitoring, screen and demister technologies, along with water blowby and fan system noise reduction investigations.
Autobolter test rig: See our test setup designed to develop and test software algorithms for drilling and bolting by using a dedicated HPU to remove operators from the dusty and noisy environment.
