Modelling the Dispersion of Dust Generated From Open Pit Mining

Abstract

Dust particles are a source of air pollution generated by mining activities. It has a property to remain suspended in air for a long tenure on account of their small size. Moreover, particulates with size less than 10 microns have the potential of creating respiratory and chronic health problems. Mining industries generate large amount of dust particles on day to day basis. The high concentration of dust can be very harmful to people involve in mining operation as well as the population living around. Here dust modeling becomes an important as the concentration of dust in and around the mine area can be identified. This will ensure the safety of people by marking the areas of high dust concentrations. A dust generated from a hypothetical mine has been modeled in this project with seven emission sources. AERMOD air dispersion modeling package was used for this purpose and 24-hr average concentration plots were generated. These plots were further analyzed to identify the potential areas with high dust concentration.