The object of this paper is to show in some detail the mining challenges that have been presented and overcome during the successful development of the main exhaust ventilation drive that will service the Ballarat East mine during its 20+ year lifespan. Topics to be discussed in this paper include the ground support regimes employed, the ground conditions encountered during construction, how the heading was recovered after falls of ground and the effectiveness of geotechnical probe drilling at Ballarat._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Shannon, R M, 2006. Overcoming adversity - Ballarat Goldfields ventilation incline - a mining challenge, in Proceedings New Leaders' 2006, pp 85-88 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).