The CODELCO El Teniente mine is one of the largest underground copper mines in the world. Present production exceeds 130,000 tpd. CODELCO is planning a major expansion at the mine where the panel caving systems will move to a single level below the existing workings. This paper describes the ventilation design of this planned new mine. Production is expected to be 137,000 tpd with an option to expand to 180,000 tpd. Multiple options were considered in the design for production and haulage level ventilation, including multiple intake and exhaust fans for each ventilation segment, area booster fans and regulators, and portal fan installations. Particular challenges included identifying the ramp up of the ventilation system required to support the early stages of production in conjunction with the full ventilation system. In addition to ventilation modeling over the life of the mine, underground mine fire modeling was performed to help engineers understand evacuation and refuge station design. The basic design criteria used for the planning is also discussed.
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