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CIM Distinguished Lecturers
Cheryl Allen has 28 years of experience in the mining field and currently holds the role of principal engineer – ventilation for Vale’s Canadian Operations. She sits on the Deep Mining Research Consortium and Mine Legislative Review technical committees and is registered as a professional engineer in Ontario. She holds a bachelor of science in mining engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Prior to joining Vale, Allen worked at HudBay where she oversaw ventilation at all underground mining complexes and surface metallurgical plants. Upon graduating from university, she gained general mining experience working underground and then as a mine planner for ASARCO in the United States.
Distinguished Lecturer 2012-13
Lecture Abstract
Applying automation technology to underground ventilation systems
Increasing energy costs associated with mining have become an issue that must be addressed by industry to ensure sustainable production. As underground mine ventilation systems can account for 40% to 50% of a mine’s total energy requirement, initiatives to maximize their efficiency make a good business case.
Process technology is common place in surface facilities, but is not readily applied or accepted in the underground environment. The advancement of technology has facilitated the implementation of automation underground; however, careful consideration of technologies are required, due to the complexity and sensitivity of the underground environment, when automating critical systems such as underground mine ventilation.
The benefits of integrating and applying technology and automation to underground ventilation systems are being quantified and proven to reduce energy consumption and maximize efficiency of ventilation systems while ensuring air quality. This presentation will discuss technologies such as ventilation-on-demand, the process of implementation and benefits.
