A method and apparatus for removing methane from ventilation air in a mining situation is provided by a carbonation reactor CAR which reacts a ventilation air methane stream VAR with a carbon dioxide scavenger to form a mineral carbonate which is passed to a calcination reactor CAL in which a regeneration reaction decomposes the mineral carbonate back to a mineral or mineral oxide. Additional heat may be added to the CAL by steam, solar energy or by burning drainage gas, natural gas, or coal. Steam or supercritical fluid given off by the CAR can be utilized for heating, cooling, or energy generation. The carbon dioxide scavenger can be any metal, metal oxide, mineral or mineral waste having a carbonation tendency, used in the process referred to as “Mineral Carbonate Looping Reactor” (MCLR), or can be stone dust from the mining site used in the process referred to as “Stone Dust Looping Reactor” (SDLR).