An airway is a dedicated passage that forms part of the primary ventilation circuit in an underground mine. It can be an intake airway supplying fresh air to the working areas or a return airway exhausting contaminated air to the surface. Maintaining clear airways is critical, as any obstruction directly reduces the volume of breathable air reaching the miners at the face.
A roof fall in the main return airway has restricted our exhaust volume by twenty percent.
Also heard as
- wind-road
Related terms
Air-head
An older term for a horizontal passage driven specifically to establish ventilation in an underground mine.
Return
An underground passage that carries exhausted or contaminated air away from the working face.
Upcast
A vertical mine shaft designated for exhausting stale air to the surface.
Downcast
A vertical mine shaft that carries fresh air from the surface into the underground workings.