A contribution, through research, to knowledge in the field of mine safety and health

Abstract

This thesis has been prepared for examination for the degree of Doctor of Engineering. As such it is a compendium of my research output from the early 1970s to date. The thesis contains seven chapters, with the first chapter being an expanded version of my CV, explaining my career and research choices. The final chapter highlights the areas where my research output may have made a contribution to mining engineering knowledge. The remaining 5 chapters are based on research output and each covers a discrete topic, as follows • Chapter 2 covers my early empirical research into fundamental aspects of rock excavation using both picks and disc cutters. This work formed part of my Ph.D. thesis and should not be considered in any current examination. However, it is so intricately interwoven with my post-doctoral work undertaken after October 1975, and which forms the remainder of the chapter, that its inclusion is warranted. • Chapter 3 records the development of the Wits-EHAC Index used by coal mines in South Africa to evaluate the propensity for spontaneous combustion of their coal. In addition, three examples of applied, industry based projects dealing with spontaneous combustion are included. • Chapter 4 describes my only venture into gold mining research and deals with the technical difficulties and costs involved in cooling ultra-deep mines. The research evolved from a simple consideration of the quality of insulation of chilled water pipes to the development of a model looking at the cooling requirements and costs for a notional, fully mechanised mine at a depth of 5 km. • Chapter 5 deals with the monitoring of respirable dust levels, which has been one of my research interests since the 1970s. Research undertaken while at UNSW influenced the decision to adopt gravimetric sampling in New South Wales. Research while at COMRO initiated a similar debate in South Africa. More recent research has yielded a much better understanding of respirable dust patterns in room-and-pillar coal mining. • Chapter 6 deals with my 40 years of research into coal seam methane, its accumulation in working areas, means of diluting and dispersing it and the prevention of methane and coal dust explosions. It also contains a brief description of my committee work promoting research into this topic. There are three appendices to this thesis. Appendix A is my CV, while Appendix B contains many of my publications and Appendix C contains relevant publications, theses and dissertations, which could otherwise prove difficult to find.