Abstract
By implementing various mining practices, mine operators can reduce the respirable dust exposure levels of the roof bolter and the continuous miner operators. This paper describes a computer program, developed by the Bureau of Mines and entitled amp (alternative mining practices), that gives a quantitative comparison of these reductions. The alternative mining practices and their corresponding reductions in dust exposure levels, evaluated by the program, include a remote control continuous miner, a half-curtain ventilation system, two auxiliary fan-tubing bypass ventilation systems, a modified cutting sequence, a comparison between single- split and double-split ventilation networks, and a comparison between exhausting brattice and exhausting tubing. Descriptions of each of the above mentioned mining practices are included in the report. Amp is a compiled basic program that has been designed to run on computers with a dos version 2.0 Or later operating system. It includes high-resolution graphics (640 x 200 dot positions) designed to run with video boards that are functionally compatible with the IBM monochrome/printer adapter. Graphic screens are selected from menus and can be bypassed if the computer is not equipped to handle high-resolution mode. Their primary function is to show proper implementation of the mining practices evaluated by the program. This package requires a minimum of 256k bytes of ram.
