Dr. Aleksandar Bugarski is the senior research engineer with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (PMRD). Dr. Bugarski has over two decades of experience in testing and evaluating strategies and technologies for curtailment of exposures to aerosols and gases emissions. He received his Ph.D. from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of West Virginia University for his work on characterization of particulate matter emitted from in-use heavy-duty diesel engines. Aleksandar organized and presented at over 40 different diesel workshops including those sponsored by the 12th, 16th, 17th and 19th NAMVSs, and 10th and 11th IMVCs. Dr. Bugarski is the primary author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications on the various diesel-related topics including book “Diesel Aerosols and Gases in Underground Mines: Guide to Exposure Assessment and Control.”
Dr. Bhareth Belle is the Founder and Technical Director of 61DRAWINGS. With deep industry and academic expertise, he provides frontier advisory assessments and technical intelligence to mitigate catastrophic operational risks, specializing in mine ventilation, explosion prevention, and real-time hazard data analytics.
Key Expertise:
Chris Jackson is a Senior Ventilation Engineer with Howden Ventsim. With a deep background in applied mine ventilation engineering, he specializes in complex 3D ventilation modeling, troubleshooting underground airflow challenges, and providing high-level technical support and training to Ventsim users worldwide.
Key Expertise:
Jose Pinedo is the Ventsim Sales Manager at Howden Ventsim. He is responsible for driving global sales strategies, managing key client relationships, and ensuring mining operations worldwide have access to industry-leading ventilation simulation tools. Jose works closely with mining professionals to understand their operational needs and provide tailored software solutions.
Key Expertise:
Chris McGuire is an experienced Senior Process Engineer at Hatch with over 15 years of expertise in the mining and metals industry. He specializes in the design, optimization, and commissioning of complex mineral processing plants and hydrometallurgical facilities across Australia and international markets.
Key Expertise:
Marle Hooman is the Managing Director of BBE Consulting Australasia and current President of the Mine Ventilation Society of Australia (2025–2026). A chemical engineer turned mining specialist, she has over 17 years of experience in the design and execution of complex ventilation, refrigeration, and cooling systems for both surface and underground mines globally.
Key Expertise:
Melissa Brown is a highly skilled Refrigeration Engineer with experience spanning global engineering consultancy at Hatch and operational applications at LKAB. She specializes in the design, implementation, and optimization of industrial refrigeration and cooling systems essential for maintaining safe and sustainable underground mining environments.
Key Expertise:
Michael Shearer is a highly skilled Ventilation and Compliance Engineer representing the Mine Ventilation Society. His work focuses on ensuring safe underground environments, strictly adhering to regulatory compliance, and optimizing ventilation systems for both operational efficiency and worker health.
Key Expertise:
Liu Yu Bing is a Lecturer at the Laboratory of Electro Magnetic Radiation at CUMT (China University of Mining and Technology). Their research and work focus on the application of electromagnetic radiation technologies and monitoring within mining environments.
Key Expertise:
John Bowling is a Principal Consultant at SRK Consulting. With extensive experience in the mining sector, he provides high-level strategic guidance, technical reviews, and independent engineering solutions to mining operations globally. His focus is on optimizing mine design, ensuring regulatory compliance, and mitigating operational risks for complex projects.
Key Expertise:
Glenn Savage is a Global Mining Specialist with extensive international experience across the mining sector. He specializes in driving operational excellence, implementing industry best practices, and integrating innovative technologies to optimize mining operations worldwide.
Key Expertise:
Florian Michelin is an experienced Mechanical Engineer and Managing Director specializing in computational fluid dynamics and the development of industry-leading mining ventilation and piping simulation software.
Key Expertise:
Darryl Witow is a highly experienced Senior Ventilation Specialist at Hatch with over 35 years of expertise in the mining and metals industry. Based in Canada, he is a recognized authority in the design and optimization of complex underground ventilation systems for some of the world's largest mining projects.
Key Expertise:
Daniel Sepúlveda is an experienced Senior Ventilation Engineer at Palaris with over 8 years of experience in the resource industry. He is a qualified Ventsim Software Instructor who has trained over 100 professionals globally and specializes in delivering innovative solutions for complex underground mining projects across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Key Expertise:
Cheng Jianwei is a Professor at the Key Laboratory of Gas and Dust Explosion Prevention at CUMT (China University of Mining and Technology). His research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of, and advanced preventative strategies for, gas and combustible dust explosions in underground mining environments to enhance overall mine safety.
Key Expertise:
Basil Beamish is the Managing Director of B# Mining Services. With extensive leadership experience in the mining sector, he provides expert consulting and specialized services to improve mine safety, operational efficiency, and hazard risk management, particularly in areas like spontaneous combustion and mine gases.
Key Expertise:
Dr. Adrianus Halim is a Senior Lecturer in Mining and Rock Engineering at Luleå University of Technology with over 25 years of experience as a researcher, consultant, and site engineer across Australia, Indonesia, and the EU. He is a leading expert in underground ventilation systems, specifically focusing on the transition to carbon-neutral mining through electrification.
Key Expertise:
Lisa Andrews is an experienced Senior Mine Consultant with specialized expertise in ventilation modeling and software integrations such as Deswik and Ventsim.
Key Expertise:
Jenni Hooli is a Doctoral Student in Mining and Rock Engineering at Luleå University of Technology. Her research is central to the NEXGEN SIMS project, where she focuses on the operational integration of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in underground mining to achieve zero-carbon targets.
Key Expertise:
Dr. Martin Griffith is a specialized Mechanical and Computational Engineer and Software Team Leader with over 20 years of experience in fluid dynamics and numerical simulation. Based in Helsinki, he leads software development initiatives for the Ventsim suite, focusing on advanced simulation features for underground mining environments.
Key Expertise:
Andrew Branch is a Director and Managing Director at BBE Projects, a division of the BBE Group specializing in the turnkey design, engineering, and construction of mine ventilation and refrigeration systems. He has extensive experience managing large-scale, international cooling projects, including the successful remote execution of major refrigeration plants in Canada and South Africa.
Key Expertise:
Dan Pearce is the Director of MineSol Pty Ltd and a highly qualified mine ventilation specialist with over a decade of experience in the Australian underground coal mining sector. He is a certified Statutory Ventilation Officer and a Deputy of Underground Coal Mines, bringing deep technical knowledge to mine safety and operational efficiency.
Key Expertise:
Jeff Norris is a highly experienced Senior Ventilation Engineer at Agnico Eagle Mines, currently based at the Fosterville Gold Mine. He specializes in the design and management of complex primary ventilation systems for deep underground operations, focusing on heat management and regulatory compliance.
Key Expertise:
Basil Beamish is a recognized expert in the field of spontaneous combustion hazard assessment for both coal and metal sulphides. As the Managing Director of B# Mining Services, he provides industry-leading strategies for hazard likelihood analysis and advanced gas monitoring methodologies.
MG Mynhardt is the Principal Engineer for Global Mine Cooling at Howden. With extensive expertise in underground thermal management, he leads the design, engineering, and implementation of large-scale refrigeration and cooling systems critical for maintaining safe and productive environments in deep mining operations worldwide.
Key Expertise:
Lisa Andrews is an experienced Senior Mine Consultant with specialized expertise in ventilation modeling and software integrations such as Deswik and Ventsim.
Key Expertise:
Description:
The short course would address the current and emerging strategies and technologies used by underground mining industry to reduce risks associated with exposure of mobile equipment operators to particulate matter and gases emitted by diesel-powered mobile equipment. The course would discuss various engineering and substitution control strategies and technologies available to control the diesel emissions at the source and after those are release in the environment: (1) powering new vehicles and repowering existing vehicles with advanced engines, (2) retrofitting existing engines with exhaust aftertreatment devices, (3) establishing emissions assisted maintenance programs for advanced exhaust aftertreatment systems, (4) substituting petroleum based fuels with renewable fuels, (4) substituting diesel-powered vehicles with electric-powered vehicles, and (5) enclosing workers in the environmental enclosures with adequate filtration and pressurization systems. The course would focus on the findings of the pertinent research and implementation projects conducted at National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and emerging trends around world.
Description:
Rise of hazard data monitoring, extensive data collection in the last decade has resulted in plethora of
estimation and forecasting solutions provided to the risk environments like mining in the hope of managing
major risks and dialling in the controls. Provenance of estimation and forecasting confidence in mining
industry has been difficult to verify or quantify. One may frequently observe the over confidence placed
in them in the recent years, which have costed in the form of significant events or loss of assets. While
the terms, estimation, prediction and forecasting are used interchangeably, this paper attempts to define
their appropriateness in defining indicators and warning signs to manage gas, sponcom, fires and explosion
risks.
Over the centuries, records of birds, animals, workers and the society that had used various forms of
indicators and warning signs for protection and anticipation of good or bad omens that are noted in oral
and traditional literatures. Historically, the act of forecasting was both a blessing or a curse. For
example, the Jewish prophet Isaiah, in the old testament noted that “ Tell us what the future holds, so we
may know that you are gods,” or emperor Constantius II, who issued a decree in AD357 forbidding anyone “to
consult a soothsayer, a mathematician, or a forecaster … May curiosity to foretell the future be silenced
forever…”.
The proposed workshop aims to share the plethora of avenues to sabotage major safety risks in mines. Dr
Bharath Belle will be sharing over 3 decades of cumulative international operational experiences of
managing the catastrophic risks in multi-commodities, including intelligence and investigation
techniques.
This 2 -hr workshop is not about “how to sell a bird from Birdsville.” This is translating and sharing data driven and fact-based workshop on historical major risks are ideal for:
To forecast or not to forecast major risks? Using Visual Friendly Learning Materials, the workshop will
share current practical knowledge tools on how to measure impact of major risk identification and
estimation in either information rich or deficient environment to the attendees. What is your preference
to indicators against warning signs? The attendees will gain global perspective on compliance-risk
based-and compliance to risk based legislative country environments through mine specific problem centric
examples for implementable ideas at your own operations.
Description:
CFD analysis and advanced design tools are increasingly critical in mine ventilation projects where
maximizing airflow utilization of existing shafts and high‑velocity airways is required. This course
provides engineers and technologists with the skills to identify applications that warrant advanced
analysis, along with a practical overview of available tools and the key input data required for effective
use.
The course will address design and operational considerations including mine shaft conveyance stability,
flow behavior at primary fan stations, and the accuracy and limitations of primary ventilation circuit
pressure‑loss calculations. Real‑world case studies will be presented to highlight key findings, common
pitfalls, and lessons learned.
Additional topics include system effect in primary fan installations, design considerations for seasonal
air‑density variation, and control‑system authority and linearization. Emphasis is placed on practical
application, informed decision‑making, and understanding when advanced tools add value versus when simpler
methods are sufficient.
Description:
Understanding the principles that influence the need for mechanical refrigeration will be discussed. How these systems work, their location at surface vs underground, what they consist of will be discussed in Part 1. Part 2 will look at practical applications installed globally in mines ranging from 1km to 4km below surface.
Description:
Description:
The use of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in underground mines has a significant influence on the mine ventilation system. BEVs do not emit gases and emit significantly less heat than equivalent diesel-powered machines. However, since the use of BEVs in underground mines is relatively new, its influence upon the mine ventilation system is still not well understood. This workshop will outline the known and unknown aspects, and what needs to be done to make BEVs as standard production equipment in underground hard rock mines. The content is based on the outcomes of presenters' past projects funded by the European Union (EU), Swedish government, and OZ Minerals/BHP that includes field measurements in underground hard rock mines in Sweden, Finland, and Poland, as well as simulations of underground hard rock mines in Finland, Poland, and Australia. Outcomes of similar projects carried out in several Canadian mines will also be outlined in this workshop.
Description:
Ventsim CONTROL's developers will discuss with Ventilation on Demand users. This workshop will discuss preparation, implementation, operation and the future of ventilation on demand. Discussing challenges, lessons learnt and benefit along the way.
Description:
Ventsim DESIGN's developers will take the attendees through the steps required to efficiently build, calibrate, and extend a ventilation model. The workshop will be run as a step-by-step guide allowing the attendees to follow along on their computer using training licenses. Key or little-known features will be highlighted in the process.
Description:
Description:
Consideration for sustainable technologies in mine ventilation applications has become increasingly important with operating cost sensitivities and corporate sustainability targets. This workshop will provide an overview of available alternative technologies for mine air heating and cooling applications and discuss key considerations for assessing their feasibility of implementation in comparison to traditional technologies. Insights from real-world installations will be provided. Example technologies include: absorption chillers, mine air heat exchange and cryogenic cooling.
Description:
This workshop aims to provide the Ventilation Engineer with a working knowledge of the equipment that
drives and conditions ventilation systems. At the completion of this workshop Ventilation Engineers
will know what the options are, know what inputs are required and how to assess those options for optimal
selection and implementation.
Fans:
Description:
Mine gas explosion is one of the most feared hazards in the coal industry worldwide. More often one gas explosion related accident can cause the death of multiple coal miners. In this workshop, the following goals are made for improving the safety in mines: (1) to summarize and update technical information on strategic importance of controlling the underground mine atmosphere to avoid any explosion risks; (2) to develop risk assessment models which are good for analysing the explosive atmosphere in mines. (3) to present any mitigation and protection methods, focusing on developing explosion suppression inhibitors and engineering measures to enhance the anti-explosion capacity of underground facilities.
Description:
This workshop will be presented as two modules. The first module will cover spontaneous combustion hazard potential and hazard likelihood assessment of both coal and metal sulphides. Operational examples will be used to show attendees how to formally assess their spontaneous combustion hazard likelihood under site-specific conditions. The second module will cover coal mine gas monitoring including initial gas evolution testing for assessing key indicators of coal self-heating, optimising the use of carbon monoxide gas indicators and practical TARP trigger setting based on sensitivity analysis. Attendees will be provided with operational examples of the latest application of assessing self-heating status in underground coal mines.
Description:
Workshop Summary: Practical Demonstration and Use of Mine Ventilation Equipment – Pros and Cons for
Practitioners This workshop provides a hands-on, practical exploration of the most commonly used and
new mine ventilation equipment in contemporary mining operations. Attendees will engage directly with
instruments and technologies used for airflow measurement, gas monitoring, pressure surveys, ducting
systems, auxiliary ventilation setups, and real-time monitoring platforms. Through guided
demonstrations, participants will assess the operational strengths and limitations of each device or
system, gaining a realistic and practitioner-focused understanding of how ventilation tools perform in
field environments.
The session bridges theory with practice by showcasing how equipment behaves under actual operating
conditions, highlighting factors such as accuracy, durability, calibration needs, environmental
influences, and suitability for different mining and tunnelling contexts. Participants will also
examine
common pitfalls, troubleshooting approaches, and criteria for selecting the right equipment for
specific
ventilation tasks.
Benefits for Attendees
Description:
How to use the deswik to ventsim export function and using process maps to speed up the process/keep it consistent, including time stamping from the schedule to create different stages. - EXPORT LAYERS ETC
Description:
Based on the analysis of complex mining conditions and severe disaster risks—particularly the coupling factors in gas-related hazards—this presentation introduces a cloud-based big data monitoring and early-warning platform. It demonstrates how mining safety data can be effectively utilized for risk identification and proactive supervision, thereby enhancing overall safety management and inspection in underground coal mines.
| Day 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Session Number | Jakarta A Room | Jakarta B Room | Surabaya Room |
| 8:45 | 1 | Big Data-Driven Safety Management and Supervision in Underground Coal Mines | Practical Demonstration and use of Mine Ventilation Equipment - Pro's and Con's for practitioners | - |
| 10:30 | BREAK | - | - | - |
| 10:45 | 2 | Spontaneous combustion hazard assessment of coal and metal sulphides and gas monitoring leading practice in underground coal mines | Practical Demonstration and use of Mine Ventilation Equipment - Pro's and Con's for practitioners | - |
| 12:30 | LUNCH | - | - | - |
| 1:30 | 3 | "Underground Mine Explosion: Risk assessment, Mitigation and Protection Practices" | Ventilation Equipment Workshop - Fans(1) and Cooling (2) | Considerations for Implementation of Sustainable Cooling Technologies in Mine Ventilation Applications |
| 3:15 | BREAK | - | - | - |
| 3:30 | 4 | Strategies for performing ventilation surveys of large mines”: tips for eating the elephant | Ventilation Equipment Workshop - Fans(1) and Cooling (2) | Exporting from Deswik to Ventsim: Comparing Export Options, Workflows and Applications |
| 5:15 | CLOSE | - | - | - |
| Day 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Session Number | Jakarta A Room | Jakarta B Room | Surabaya Room |
| 8:45 | 5 | From calibration to life of mine, key Ventsim DESIGN features for efficiency | What do we understand about the influence of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) | Developing a Living Mine Ventilation Basis of Design |
| 10:30 | BREAK | - | - | - |
| 10:45 | 6 | From calibration to life of mine, key Ventsim DESIGN features for efficiency | What do we understand about the influence of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) | Developing a Living Mine Ventilation Basis of Design |
| 12:30 | LUNCH | - | - | - |
| 1:30 | 7 | Refrigeration Theory and Applications in Underground Mines 1km and deeper | Ventilation on Demand in Action: A dialogue Between Users and Developers | Critical CFD and Advanced Design Tools for Mine Ventilation Systems |
| 3:15 | BREAK | - | - | - |
| 3:30 | 8 | Refrigeration Theory and Applications in Underground Mines 1km and deeper | - | Critical CFD and Advanced Design Tools for Mine Ventilation Systems |
| 5:15 | CLOSE | - | - | - |
IMVC 2026 | IKATAN VENTILASI TAMBANG INDONESIA | PETROMINDO
PT BINA CIPTA MANDIRI CONSULTANT