Abstract:
Dust emissions from mining activities and their impact on the
surrounding environment have been and remain one of the major
environmental impacts associated with surface mining. Dust
emissions caused by the transportation of mined material on
surface mines are the most significant contributor. In previous
studies, as much as 93% of total dust emissions were found to be
associated with this activity. Dust emissions not only have a
negative environmental impact, but also impact on vehicle
maintenance and operating costs, and can affect the health of the
surrounding communities. Acontrolled study was conducted on
haulage roads to assess the efficacy of using a
lignosulphonate-based dust palliative, compared with a water-only
strategy to suppress dust. Asection of road that is representative of
a typical mine haulage road was chosen for the study. The road
was divided into two sections: one section was treated with water
only and the other section was treated with a lignosulphonatebased
dust palliative. The water-only method was used as the
baseline for the study. Operational parameters influencing haulage
road dust emissions were monitored and data concerning vehicle
frequency, water usage, product application frequency and dust
fallout were recorded. Dust fallout on the individual test sections
was measured over the study period using non-directional dust
buckets, and real-time dust concentrations were measured using a
personal Data Ram (pDR).
