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Article: Air quality goes underground: cleaner-burning engines make mine engineering a little easier.
- Article from:
- OEM Off-Highway
- Article date:
- July 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Cygnus Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cool fresh air comes at a significant expense in an underground mine. Air pollution in a hardrock mine comes from a variety of sources--just as it does above ground--but emissions from diesel engines are near the top of the list of concerns. Mine engineers must consider diesel emission levels and ventilation routes, the latter driven by large fans that push and pull fresh air through the mine.
With the prices of raw material at record highs, the mining industry is going strong. After years of keeping older machinery on the job, mining companies are buying new machines in record numbers. Up until very recently the trend was toward boarding up mines and laying off ...