Summary

This review describes the control of dust in mines, including the use of water and proprietary chemicals to control the emanation of dust from mine roads, tailings impoundments, waste rock dumps, and other exposed surfaces. This review lists technology resources, websites, case histories, and consultants who work in and provide services to mines in the area of dust control.

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INTRODUCTION

Some mines include the untimely death or kidnapping of an executive in their list of emergencies. Some mines limit emergencies to situations that could lead to the death or near-death of staff. Some mines plan only for emergencies resulting from earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes.

In the most general sense, a crises or emergency is an unplanned event that impacts upon the safety or welfare of personnel, or the continuity of operations, and which requires an effective and timely response in order to contain, control, or mitigate the situation.

Here are some conditions that lead to common mine emergencies:

• Underground coal mining hazards include methane, coal dust, and coal's propensity to spontaneous combustion.
• Underground metalliferous mining emergencies arise from rock bursts, rock falls, hangingwall and pillar failures. The unplanned initiation of explosives and sulphide ore dusts may also give rise to an underground emergency.
• Surface mining operations involve risks relating to large-scale, high-speed mobile equipment, unplanned initiation of explosives, and slope stability.
• Mineral Processing-related Emergencies includes hazardous chemical exposure, spill or leak, and tailing dam failure.

If you are in a hurry or need to know what is in a Crisis Management & Emergency Response Plan, simply skip the following text and proceed directly to the final section of this article where I provide my list of typical mine facilities, emergency causative events, and possible emergency responses.