Ergonomic challenges in designing personal cooling equipment for ultra-deep mining

Abstract

In ultra-deep mining, given the difficulties of the environmental conditions of heat and humidity and technical difficulties of ventilation and refrigeration miners must face, the idea of personal cooling equipment is becoming an interesting avenue. To the best of our knowledge, no such equipment is currently available on the market. To design this type of equipment, specific requirements must be met to ensure a miner’s safety and productivity. To define these requirements, the authors undertook a literature review on the topic of constraints and requirements miners are faced with in deep and ultra-deep mining conditions. The results show that scientific and grey literature is scarce. A field study will be necessary to complete our knowledge and understanding of working conditions in Canadian ultra-deep mines. A matrix of requirements can then be established to design appropriate personal cooling equipment for ultra-deep mining workers and eventually, other hot and humid work environments.