CHAPTER 5 SHAFT CLEANING, VENTILATION AND DRAINAGE

CHAPTER 5
SHAFT CLEANING, VENTILATION AND DRAINAGE

5.0 Cleaning

This is the removal of the blasted rock at the shaft bottom. It may be carried out using
two main methods: Manual and Mechanized.

Manual method: Here manpower is employed to shovel the muck into the sinking
bucket to be hoisted to the surface. The method is used especially when bench round is
employed for drilling and blasting. It is slow and productivity is rather low, and does not
afford high rate of advance. Its main advantages however, are that, no special
machines are needed and therefore initial costs are low. Furthermore, the crew do not
require any special skills.

Mechanized methods: They are classified as mechanized methods because they

involve the use of specially designed equipment employed in mucking the broken
material from the bottom of the shaft and hoisted to surface.

5.1 Ventilating The Shaft Bottom During Sinking Operations

At the time of erecting the shaft collar at the initial stages of sinking, the atmospheric air
or the natural ventilation provides adequate ventilation for the sinking crew. However, as
the shaft deepens and the intensity of the blasting operations increases, natural
ventilation would no longer be adequate, there would therefore be the need for installing
ventilation equipment.

The main purpose for equipping the sinking process with ventilators is to, as quickly as
is practicable, dilute the products of the blast with enough fresh air so that the sinkers
can proceed with the mucking operations without much delay. To achieve this objective

ASSOC PROF S. AL-HASSAN

CHAPTER 5 SHAFT CLEANING, VENTILATION AND DRAINAGE

requires that fans (either centrifugal or axial flow fans) be used. The capacity of the fans
may be estimated using Equation (1):

21.4
Q= WV , m3/min (1)
t

where Q is the quantity of air flow in m3/min, t is the time required to ventilate the shaft
bottom in minutes, W is the quantity of explosives consumed in kg, and V is the volume
of the excavation m3.

When the combination method of ventilation (Forcing and Exhaust methods) is used,
the ventilation requirement is determined by the following formulae:

(i) Where the distance from the face is less than 50 m and the forcing type ventilation is
used, then (2):

15.6
Q= WV , m3/min (2)
t
and
(ii) where the distance from the face to the forcing fan is greater than 50 m then the
ventilation requirement is determined by Equation (3): -

112
Q= WV , m3/min (3)
t

The forcing type of ventilating the shaft bottom during sinking is better than the
exhausting type. The combination method of ventilation is used in deep shafts. When
the depth of the shaft is about 50 m, two fans are normally installed: one is to ventilate
the shaft bottom after the blast within the stipulated time, (say within two hours), while
the other one is to improve the working condition at the shaft bottom for the workers.
When the depth of the shaft is about 1 000 m, two fans are installed in series in the
ventilation ducting to improve on the efficiency of the ventilation system. The two fans

ASSOC PROF S. AL-HASSAN

CHAPTER 5 SHAFT CLEANING, VENTILATION AND DRAINAGE

are used after the blasting operation and one fan during the remaining period of the shift.

5.3. Drainage

Water Ring: When water is encountered in the shaft an arrangement of grooves, sumps
and pipes is made to collect the water for eventual pumping to the surface or
underground sumps. This arrangement is referred to as a ‘water ring’. These ‘rings’ are
placed at intervals down the shaft to intercept falling water that is then led to a sump
and eventually pumped to the surface. In construction a groove is cut around the shaft
to a depth of about 0.5-0.6 m. A dam is then made at one end with timber embedded in
concrete or clay, or with clay or concrete alone to form a channel behind which the
water is collected and led to the sump.

In timbered shafts water is guided into the ring by short planks placed in inclined
position to intercept the water as it falls. In concrete shafts the rings are placed behind
the lining, water being led to them by lines of pipes placed vertically in or behind the
concrete. A small projection on the inside of the lining, like a lip, serves to catch the
falling water. The ring is sufficiently graded to lead the water to the outlet pipe.

Pumping: Single or multiple stage pumps are used to remove accumulated water in the
shaft bottom, or bailing buckets may be used to remove the water into bailing tanks
which is eventually sent to the surface via the sinking stage/platform

ASSOC PROF S. AL-HASSAN