The shift toward electric mining equipment is changing the ventilation requirements associated with underground mobile fleets. Diesel machines contribute exhaust gases, diesel particulate matter and engine heat to the underground environment, creating additional airflow requirements to dilute contaminants and manage thermal conditions. Replacing some of this equipment with battery-powered machines can reduce those loads, although ventilation remains necessary for workers, blasting, dust, heat and other underground conditions.
Regulatory frameworks illustrate how closely ventilation requirements can be tied to diesel equipment. Ontarioโs underground mining rules, for example, calculate airflow requirements for diesel-powered equipment according to certified airflow values or engine power where certification is unavailable. As diesel equipment is reduced, some of the ventilation demand directly associated with combustion can therefore change.
The effect depends on the mine and its fleet. Key variables include:
- The number and type of diesel machines being replaced
- The operating power and duty cycles of those machines
- Mine depth and ambient underground temperature
- Production areas where diesel equipment remains active
- Existing airflow and cooling requirements
Research at Swedenโs Malmberget mine is providing field evidence of this change, with preliminary work indicating that replacing diesel-powered machines with battery-powered equipment can reduce ventilation requirements and ventilation energy consumption in the studied area.
Heat Loads Creating New Ventilation Planning Considerations
Heat is another important part of the equation. Electric mining equipment does not produce the same engine and exhaust heat associated with diesel machines during normal operation, which can affect the thermal load underground. This becomes particularly relevant in deeper mines, where ventilation and refrigeration systems already have to manage heat from rock, depth and other equipment.
A 2025 study examining electrification in heat-constrained underground mines found that introducing battery-electric fleets could delay additional refrigeration requirements in modelled mine scenarios. The study also examined how fleet electrification could alter ventilation and cooling demands across different operating conditions.
Electric mining equipment therefore changes more than the source of propulsion. It can alter the environmental loads that ventilation systems are designed to manage, creating scope for mine operators to reassess airflow, cooling and future infrastructure requirements.
Battery-electric fleets can reduce ventilation loads associated with diesel exhaust and heat, while ventilation remains necessary for other underground operating and safety requirements.
Ventilation on Demand Adapting to Mixed Electric Fleets
As mines introduce electric machines alongside diesel units, ventilation requirements can become more location-specific. electric mining equipment reduces the exhaust and heat loads associated with diesel operation, but remaining diesel machines can continue to create higher airflow requirements in particular production areas. This makes the transition toward electrification relevant to how ventilation is distributed across different parts of an underground mine.
Ventilation on Demand (VOD) systems can respond to these changing conditions by adjusting airflow according to equipment activity, personnel presence and environmental measurements. Rather than maintaining the same airflow level across all areas, a VOD system can use information from sensors and equipment-location systems to direct ventilation toward areas where it is needed.
The approach can consider several operating inputs:
- Location and status of mobile equipment
- Presence of workers in production areas
- Air quality and gas concentrations
- Temperature and airflow measurements
- Production schedules and changes in mine activity
This becomes particularly relevant in mixed fleets, where diesel and electric equipment can operate on different routes or at different production levels. ABB has described systems that use equipment type, location and operating status to help differentiate ventilation requirements between areas containing diesel and electric machinery. Such systems can potentially reduce unnecessary airflow in lower-demand areas while maintaining required conditions where diesel equipment or other ventilation sources remain active.
Ventilation on Demand can adjust airflow according to actual mine activity, while electrification changes the ventilation loads created by mobile equipment.
Lower Heat Loads Creating New Cooling Options
The effect of electric mining equipment also extends into mine cooling. In deeper operations, ventilation systems work alongside refrigeration and other thermal-control measures to manage heat from rock, machinery and compressed air. Reducing diesel engine heat can therefore alter the thermal balance of working areas and potentially affect the timing or scale of future cooling requirements.
Research published in the Journal of Cleaner Production examined fleet electrification in heat-constrained underground mines and found that electrification could delay additional refrigeration requirements in its modelled scenarios. The study considered different levels of fleet electrification and linked the resulting heat reduction to changes in mine ventilation and cooling demand.
Recent field research at LKABโs Malmberget mine in Sweden is also examining how replacing diesel machines with battery-powered equipment affects actual ventilation requirements. Preliminary findings indicate lower ventilation requirements and reduced ventilation energy consumption in the studied area, although the researchers note that the results require further investigation before being generalised across different mine conditions.
As the share of electric mining equipment increases, ventilation planning can therefore shift from managing predominantly diesel-related loads toward dynamically balancing airflow, cooling and other environmental requirements across changing underground production zones.
Ventilation Planning Moving Beyond Diesel Exhaust
The growing use of electric mining equipment is changing the balance of ventilation requirements underground. Lower exhaust and heat loads can reduce some of the demands traditionally associated with diesel fleets, while other requirements related to workers, blasting, dust, temperature and emergency conditions remain.
For mine operators, the change creates a need to reconsider ventilation as fleet composition evolves:
- Diesel and electric equipment may create different local ventilation requirements.
- Ventilation on Demand can respond to changing equipment activity.
- Lower thermal loads can influence future cooling requirements.
- Battery-related incidents require separate emergency planning.
The result is not the removal of ventilation, but a different set of inputs into how airflow and cooling systems are designed and operated. As mines evaluate these changes, battery performance data becomes important for understanding how actual equipment duty cycles and energy use can influence wider electrification decisions.
References
- Recommended Practices for Battery Electric Vehicles in Underground Mining โ Version 3
- Safety Implications of Integrating Battery-Electric Vehicles With Ventilation-on-Demand in Underground Mining: A Simulation-Driven Study at Turquoise Ridge Mine
- The Impact of Fleet Electrification on Productivity in Heat-Constrained Underground Mines
- Battery Electric Vehicles in Underground Mines: Insights From Industry
- Battery Electric Vehicles in Underground Mines: Benefits, Challenges, and Safety Considerations
- R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 854: Mines and Mining Plants
- Ventilation on Demand at Boliden Kankberg Gold Mine in Sweden
- Torex Gold Resources โ Morelos
- Supporting Torex Goldโs Electric Vision at Media Luna
- Battery-Powered Mining Machines Could Transform Underground Operations
- Understanding the Evolution of Temperature, Smoke, and Carbon Monoxide During Thermal Runaway of a Large-Format Battery in an Underground Mine Through CFD Modeling and Deep Learning Frameworks