My recollections of the UK Mines and Quarries Act, is
that the only internal combustion engine allowed
underground in ANY mine is a diesel engine.
All locos we used during my time in NCB pits of the
60's had flametraps and scrubbers on the exausts.
Brit Gypsum's Marblaegis Mine at East Leake, we had
diesel Landrovers with air diluters on the exausts,
and I know for fact if anyone had tried to bring a
petrol vehicle U/G there would have been hell to pay!
Even the surveyors, who covered the east midlands
mines for BG had a diesel Landrover which had mods on
it to bring U/G.
At Boulby Mine we used modified forklift trucks and
tractors U/G and of course there were the LHD's all
with Cat diesel engines with flametraps and scrubbers.
I believe they are running modified Ford pickups there
now with diesel engines flametraps and scrubbers.
Boulby was classified as a "safety lamp" mine back in
the late 70's when there was a minor ignition of
methane at a cutter jib in one of the faces.
When I was at Renison Bell tin mine in Tasmania, we
used diesel Toyota Landcruisers with scrubbers on the
exausts. And of course in the coal mines I worked at
in NSW, most vehicles were track mounted diesel locos,
and personnel carriers either diesel's with flametraps
and scrubbers and electric battery cars.
I would presume that in mines all over the world that
petrol engines are banned from U/G use for obvious
reasons, deadly CO emissions, it only takes a few
parts per million in the air to kill.
Hope that helps.
John Waudby
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online
http://webhosting.yahoo.com
|