This paper describes a case study for the ventilation planning at Hecla’s La Camorra mine located near El Callao, Bolivar, Venezuela. The La Camorra mine is a high grade narrow vein gold mine originally developed in 1994 by Monarch Resources Ltd. In 1999 La Camorra was acquired by Hecla Mining Co. and production was increased to approximately 450 tpd. The mine uses sub-level longhole and cut-and-fill stoping to extract high-grade gold ore from narrow quartz veins (0.2 – 3.0 meters in width). The ventilation system at the La Camorra mine was in need of improvement based upon required production needs. During January 2001 a survey of the ventilation system was undertaken in order to develop a computer model of the mine. The model was used to optimize the ventilation system, and identify ways to provide more air to the lower workings. Through the use of the ventilation model the airflow intaking the mine was increased by approximately 70% without the need for any major additional infrastructure. This paper describes the ventilation survey, model development, and optimization scenarios that were developed to improve the mine ventilation system.
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