Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... 4 1. 2. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Khutala Coal ................................................................................................................................... 5 Mine background and General Information .......................................................................... 5 Mining Method .................................................................................................................................... 6 Mining Activities ................................................................................................................................. 6 Coal cutting ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Roof Support .................................................................................................................................. 7 Tramming ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Pillar design and Support .............................................................................................................. 8 Equipment Selection ....................................................................................................................... 8 Production rates ............................................................................................................................. 10 Personnel........................................................................................................................................... 11 3. Shanduka Coal ........................................................................................................................... 12 Mine Background and general information ........................................................................ 12 Mining Method and Mining Activities .................................................................................... 14 Equipment Selection .................................................................................................................... 14 Production rates and Unit costs .............................................................................................. 15 Personnel........................................................................................................................................... 15 4. Penumbra Coal Mining ........................................................................................................... 16 Background....................................................................................................................................... 16 Mining Method ................................................................................................................................. 17 Equipment and Personnel ......................................................................................................... 17 Pillar Design and Support .......................................................................................................... 18 Ventilation .......................................................................................................................................... 18 Production Rates and Unit Costs ........................................................................................... 18 Challenges ........................................................................................................................................ 19 5. New Denmark Colliery ............................................................................................................ 20 Mine Background ........................................................................................................................... 20 Mining Method & Activities ........................................................................................................ 20 Pillar Design and Support .......................................................................................................... 22 1
Equipment Selection .................................................................................................................... 23 Ventilation .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Production Rates............................................................................................................................ 24 Unit Costs .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Personnel........................................................................................................................................... 25 6. Msobo Coal .................................................................................................................................. 26 Location and background........................................................................................................... 26 Mining method and activities .................................................................................................... 28 Equipment Selection .................................................................................................................... 29 Ventilation .......................................................................................................................................... 30 Unit Costs and Personnel .......................................................................................................... 30 7. Sasol ............................................................................................................................................... 32 Mine Background ........................................................................................................................... 32 Brandspruit Colliery ...................................................................................................................... 32 Mining Method ................................................................................................................................. 33 Pillar Design and Support .......................................................................................................... 35 Equipment Selection .................................................................................................................... 35 Ventilation .......................................................................................................................................... 35 Middelbult Colliery- Ithemba Lethu Shaft ................................................................................ 37 Background....................................................................................................................................... 37 Mining Method ................................................................................................................................. 37 Pillar Design and Support .......................................................................................................... 38 Equipment Selection and Personnel .................................................................................... 39 Ventilation .......................................................................................................................................... 39 Production Rates and Unit Costs ........................................................................................... 39 Challenges ........................................................................................................................................ 39 8. References ................................................................................................................................... 40
List of Figures
Figure 1 Location of Khutala Colliery (BHP Billiton, 2014) ................................................... 5 Figure 2: Typical cutting sequence (BHP Billiton, 2014) ........................................................ 7 Figure 3: Joy Continuous Miner (12HM31B) (BHP Billiton, 2014) ..................................... 8 Figure 4: Joy Shuttle Car (10SC32-56C) (BHP Billiton, 2014) ........................................ 9 Figure 5: FFE Feeder breaker. (BHP Billiton, 2014) .............................................................. 10 Figure 6 Location of Graspan Complex (Infomine, 2014) ............................................... 12 Figure 7: The location of Continental Coal Operations .................................................... 16 Figure 8: Twin decline shafts at Penumbra Coal. (Conti Coal Presentation, 2014) ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 9: Map of wetland at Penumbra Coal. (Continental Coal Presentation, 2014)......................................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 10 Longwall section layout. ............................................................................................. 21 Figure 11: Basic Chock support illustration .............................................................................. 23 Figure 12: Map Showing Msobo Coal Mine ........................................................................... 26 Figure 13: The stratigraphy of Msobo Coal Reserves ............................................... 27 Figure 14> Location of the shafts at Brandspruit ................................................................ 32 Figure 15: The cutting sequence using the Nevid Method ............................................. 33 Figure 16: The Nevid Method pillar extraction. .................................................................... 34 Figure 17: Basic air flow through a Nevid section. ............................................................. 36 Figure 18 Location of Middelbult Colliery ................................................................................ 37 Figure 19: The 4-seam layers. ..................................................................................................... 38
List of Tables
Table 1: Equipment used at Shanduka Coal ......................................................................... 15 Table 2: The total number of people employed at Shanduka Coal. .................................. 15 Table 3: The pillar design and support specifications at Penumbra Coal. .............. 18 Table 4. Table showing equipment and details .................................................................... 23 Table 5: Underground equipment used at the mine .......................................................... 29 Table 6: Personnel specifications ............................................................................................... 30 Table 7: The type of equipment and the total number ...................................................... 35 Table 8 Pillar design and support specifics............................................................................ 38
1. Introduction
Between the period of the 28th of January and the 7th of February 2014, a total of six coal mines were visited. These mines are located in differing environments and therefore utilise specialised mining methods for that particular area. Moreover, there are varying challenges faced by each mines. Each of the six mines visited is described in terms of the mining methods, pillar design and support, equipment, personnel and other relevant factors.
2. Khutala Coal
Mine background and General Information
Khutala colliery is located in Ogies as shown in figure 1 and is part of the Witbank coalfields. This coalfield is part of the Vryheid formation under the Karoo Super group.
BHP Billiton owns the colliery. The mine has an open cast operation as well as an underground operation. The open cast operation mines the 2, 4 and 5 seams 5
while the underground operation only mines the 2 and 4 seams. Plans are in place to turn the underground operation into an open cast operation to be able to mine the high-grade coal in the 5 seam. The seams have the following features: No.2 Seam ranges from 0.5 to 20 meters in thickness but at the mine it is about 7.1m with a calorific value of 20.05MJ/kg. It is 108.61m from surface. No.4 Seam ranges from 0.5 to 6.5 meters in thickness but at the mine it is 6.2m (average) with a calorific value of 18.29MJ/kg. The distance from surface is 83.42m No. 5 Seam ranges from 0 to 2 meters in thickness but at the mine, the seam is 1.63m thick and has a calorific value of 28MJ/kg. It is 60.56m from surface. The mine supplies coal to the Kendal Power station and the tender was approved in September in 1986. The contract expires on 31 December 2033. The 4320 MW base load power station was made in such a way to accommodate the quality of the coal in the reserve. It is the biggest power station in Africa. It is a dry-cooled operation since water is a constraint in the area and thus there is a need to recirculate the water. The coal has calorific value of MF 19.6Mj/kg (4680 Kcal). The power station supplies 9-12% of South African electrical power
demand. It has a maximum burn rate capacity of 17million tons per annum.
Mining Method
Mechanized bord and pillar is the mining method that is being used to mine the 4 and the 2 seam. Conventional bord and pillar is used in areas where dykes are encountered. Mining is done from the right to the left for ventilation purposes. The mining height is about 4.5m while the mining width (bord) is 6.8m.
Mining Activities
Coal cutting A continuous miner (CM) is used to cut the coal, which it loads onto the shuttle cars that then take it to the feeder breaker. The CM sumps in 0.5m from the roof 6
into the face at a distance of 0.85m. It then shears down to fill one 20t shuttle car. The CM cuts 12m before support is installed. The development per shift is usually 50m. The cutting sequence as shown in figure 2, is in such a way that there is always through ventilation and the tramming on the CM is less as well as the cable handling. The effective cutting time on the CM is normally 160 minutes per shift, which simplifies to 12t per min. The CM also has 93% availability and 40% utilization.
Roof Support The roof support installed in a normal bord and pillar development end are 1.8m long roof bolts that are spaced 1.5m apart. It normally takes 20-25 minutes to install support with a Fletcher roofbolter for a 12m development end. Tramming The mine also has an incline shaft for the conveyor belts that transport the coal from the feeder-breaker to surface. The incline shaft is about 7m wide and it accommodates 2 belts. The configuration is such that there are surge bins that accommodate the ore from both seams and ensure that the conveyor belt is loaded properly. The conveyor belt speeds vary from 2m/s to 3m/s.
Equipment Selection
In the production sections the mine uses a number of different mining machines that are fit for different purposes. At the face, the mine uses continuous miners of which there are twelve 12HM 31 Remote Control JNA 2 Continuous Miners as shown in figure 3 and two 12HM21 Onboard Joy Continuous Miners.
The number of continuous miners matches the number of sections, which makes it a continuous miner per section. The mine is working on phasing out the onboard continuous miners as a means of reducing the number of people exposed to the working face and thus reduce fatality caused by on board continuous miners. The aim is to have sections that are operated by remotely controlled continuous miners. Onboard continuous miners have an overall length of 12 m and a height of 5.5m. The maximum cutting width is normally 3.65m while the cutter head is 1.118m. The cutting speed is around 50 rpm. The continuous miners loading rate can go up to 20t/min. The spacing and lacing is around 0.0762. The machine itself weighs 103t. 8
The mine uses a total of nine roof bolters to install support. These consist of Fletcher twin boom roofbolters and five Rham twin boom Roofbolters. The Fletcher twin roof bolters have the capacity to do 200 roofbolts per shift and they utilise dry drilling as a means of drilling. The Rham twin roof bolters have the capacity of doing 20 bolts per hour with sidewall bolting capacity. These Rham roof bolters can only operate at heights ranging from 2.5m to 5.5m with the hole dimensions being from 23mm to 42mm. They have an overall length and width of 6.2m and 3.2m respectively. They have an average weight of about 28tons. The mine has forty-two 10SC 22 20t C and D type Shuttle Cars and thus three per section. The shuttle cars carry the coal from the continuous miner to feeder breaker. The Joy 10 SC 32 56C shuttle cars, shown in figure 4 have an overall length and width of 9.24m and 2.72m respectively. These machines weigh 27t and have a loading capacity of 20t. The tramming speed ranges from 2.50m/s when empty to 2.2m/s when loaded.
The other machines which form part of the underground fleet include bird machines, stone duster (Bateleur), Sandvik LHD (LS191) and a feeder breaker. The Stone dusters are used to spray stone dust frequently as a means of preventing coal dust explosions. Stone dust is usually a primary inerting agent such as calcium carbonate. The mine has fourteen FFE Feeder breakers, 1 per 9
section. The FFE Feeder breaker as shown in figure 5 has a capacity of 850t/hr and feeds the conveyor.
Production rates
The total production is around 11Mt with the underground operation producing 9Mt while the Open cast operation produces the remaining 2Mt (Portion 16). The production from the underground sections comes mainly from the 2 Seam (4Mt) and the 4 seam (5Mt). Currently the mine has 14 sections in operation that run on a 3 shift system (Monday Morning Saturday Morning) in a 24-hour cycle that is as follows: Day shift: 06:20 16:00 (Bank to Bank) Afternoon shift: 14:20 00:10 Night shift: 22h20 08:10
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Personnel
The mine has a total of 2801 employees of which 1697 are owned by the company while the remaining 1104, are contractors. The personnel required per section per shift are: 2 Artisan 1 Miner 1 Supervisor 2 Continuous Miner Operators 1 LHD driver 6 Multi-skilled operators.
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3. Shanduka Coal
Mine Background and general information
Shanduka Coal produces thermal coal as well as anthracite coal to a lesser extent. It is operated in partnership with Glencore International and owns the Middelburg complex, Umcebo complex and the Springlake colliery. The Middelburg complex consists of the Graspan complex (as shown in figure) and the Middelburg Townlands sections as shown in figure 6. The Umcebo complex on the other hand contains the following sections: Middelkraal, Kleinfontein, Klippan and Wonderfontein. The Springlake colliery is suited in KwaZulu Natal, and it is where anthracite coal is mined.
Both the Middelburg complex operations are open cast. The Run of mine Production of the Middleburg complex is 7.3Mtpa while the overburden is 22.1 Mbcm per annum. The total number of operating pits is 7 of which 3 are on the Graspan section and the remaining four are on the Townlands sections. The 3 pits at Graspan are: Block A, Northwest pit and South pit while for the Townlands sections they are: Block D, Block B, Steelcoal East and Steelcoal west. The pits each have different seams and challenges, which are as follows: Block A - Mining is being done in the 2 seam and the 1 seam, which is all export coal. 12
Northwest pit - Mining is being done in the 1 seam, 2 seam, portions of the 3 seam and recently the 4 seam. The challenge is that the coal obtained is normally Eskom coal and export coal, therefore the mining should be such that it provides the quantity required for both export and commercial supply ( Eskom). The Eskom coal is only just crushed while the export one goes through the whole beneficiation process.
South pit Similar geology as the north pit but the mining is much easier because the Eskom and export coal are in separate layers unlike in the north pit.
Block D consist of the 2 seam, 3 seam and a bit of the 4 seam. A contractor known as JCI is doing the mining. The quality of the coal here is quite good.
Block B consist of the 1 seam, 2 seam, 3 seam and the 4 seam but the quality of the coal is not that good and thus it sold to Eskom coal. Andru mining is the contractor responsible for mining the pit.
Steelcoal East consist of the 1 seam, 2 seam and the 3 seam. Here there is both Eskom and export coal. Andru mining is also responsible for mining this pit.
Steelcoal West consist of the 1 seam and the 2 seam. Sandton was responsible for mining this this pit but now Shanduka itself is going to take over.
The plant capacity at Graspan is sub-divided into the Export main plant (180 000t), secondary wash plant (90 000t) and Eskom crushing plant (150 000t). The discard from the main export plant becomes the feed material for the secondary wash plant, which gives out a different quality product. The plant capacity at Townlands per month is sub-divided into the Export plant (110 000t), inland plant 2 (75 000t), Steelcoal plant (120 000t) and Eskom crushing plant (60 000t). The Eskom plant works on a 20 CV and it involves crushing and screening the coal. The Export plant works on a 26.2 CV and the inland plant as well as the
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Steelcoal plant both work on a 23.5 CV. The mine doesnt discard their tailings and fines but rather blend them with other the Eskom low CV coal.
Equipment Selection
One of the parameters that provide minimum cost for the targeted production in a mine is surely the suitability of the machines/equipment selected. Moreover, equipment selection directly affects the pit design and production planning. At Shanduka Coal equipment selection was made according to many factors related to the ore and mining conditions of this region. It was explained that the main
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purpose of equipment selection is to choose the optimum and cost effective equipment. The following table shows the equipment used at Shanduka coal.
Table 1: Equipment used at Shanduka Coal
Type of Equipment
47 41 198 56
Personnel
Shanduka opencast runs on a three shifts per day system. The day shift runs from 6am to 4 pm, the afternoon shift runs from 4:30pm to 10pm and the night shift runs from 10:30pm to 2am. They is a 30minutes break during each shift. The following table shows the total number of people employed on this mine:
Table 2: The total number of people employed at Shanduka Coal.
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The New Order Mining Right was awarded in May 2010. Development then started in September 2011 and the first coal production was in November 2012. The total capital costs as in January 2012 amounted to R319 million. Penumbra has a forecasted 10 year life of mine with measured gross in-situ coal resources amounting to 13Mt. The mine is located 2km from the wash plant and rail siding. The plant is relatively small with a capacity of 300t/hour. The coal yield is between 48-51%. Total fines amount to 7% and these are blended with the export product. About 6000 Kcal of coal is exported at R700/t.
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Mining Method
Access to the mine is by twin decline shaft of 360m length as shown in figure 8 below.
Figure 8: Twin decline shafts at Penumbra Coal. (Conti Coal Presentation, 2014)
The decline dips at 5 and increases to 8 as the length increases due to the dolerite sill encountered underground. Mining is done at depths of between 50115m. The C-lower seam with an average seam height of 1.8m is mined. The mine uses the Bord and Pillar mining, with 2 fully mechanized Continuous Miner production sections and 1 Drill and Blast section. The mine is located in an area with geological features such as dykes, faults and most frequently sandstone rolls. The Drill and Blast operation is therefore used when these features are encountered due to its flexibility.
A total of 12 people work 2 shifts/day, 5days a week for each CM section. The Drill and Blast section is operated by a contractor and has 28 people per section on a full production shift.
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Bord width Pillar centres Pillar width Width to Height Ratio Number of roads Roof Bolt length Support dimensions Safety Factor
The pillar center dimensions are subject to change due to the constantly changing geological conditions.
Ventilation
The mine uses 11KW force fans and ventilation brattices for the underground workings. Two fans with capacity of between 60-80m3 are used. Velocity is maintained at 1.2m/s.
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Challenges
The location of Penumbra near wetland is a serious challenge faced by the mine. Figure 9 below shows the surface view of the mine.
Water flows into the mine resulting in the weathering of the roof and side walls of the shaft. On the 26th of December 2013, the mine experienced a roof collapse in the decline shaft as a result of subsidence. When water reaches the shaft bottom, it results in poor floor conditions that cause the Continuous Miner to get stuck. To counter the effects of water, the mine practices water interception cementitious material on the roof and side walls. The water that intercepted is directed down the shaft to a reservoir and then pumped out of the mine. The other major challenge faced by the mine is the intersection of unforeseen dykes, dolerite lenses and stone rolls. These reduce production rates and increase operating costs.
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Figure 10 shows the layout of a LW section. The advancing direction of the face can be in reverse or in advance. Okhozini is advancing in reverse, thus they developed onto the end of the coal seam and now they are progressing back to the shaft with the LW. This gives the mine better knowledge about the geological features the might encounter.
The double drum shearer produces 6200t/shift and extracts 93% of the coal. This is a huge improvement on the CMs 800t/shift and 40% extraction. The minimum width that the shearer can cut is 1.85m and its cutting depth is o.93cm with a 1m drum. The Armoured face conveyor (AFC) is a conveyor belt that is used to transport the coal from the LW face onto the transport conveyor belt via the stage loader at the side of the face. It is also used as an anchor for moving the support chocks. It is durable and flexible and has a self-cleaning action. The activities of a LW section start off with the Shearer that shears in a parallel direction to the face. The AFC discharges the coal from the face onto the transport conveyor belt. The hydraulic chocks moves forward whilst the shearer move down the face. Goafing commences once the hydraulic chocks are moved 21
into their new positions. The coal is transported out of the mine and further conveyed to Thutuka Power Station. Transport to and from the LW and CM sections can take 30-60 minutes.
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Figure 11 shows a cross section of the chocks support system. It supports the roof while the shearer advances and stops the goafed material to enter the cutting face.
Equipment Selection
Table 4. Table showing equipment and details
Equipment Joy AAA CM Roofbolter Battery Hauler Feeder Breaker Battery Bay Sandvik LHD 11Kw Transformer Detail 3,6m Drum, 1 cycle=11 tonnes(60-90sec), 200m Cable Double boom 16 tonne capacity 75m from CM 1 battery bay per section,3 batteries per car, 80m from face 7 tonne capacity 1 per section
Equipment LW Shearer Armored Face Conveyor Hydraulic Chocks Transport conveyor Headpiece Tailpiece Stage Loader
Detail 695 tonnes per cut Coal transport 129 chocks Coal transport Support Support disposes coalfrom AFC to transport conveyor
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Ventilation
Air is supplied through the intake via 400kW surface fans that sucks the air through the workings. These fans are located on the return airways ventilation shaft. Brattices are installed to direct the fresh air along the intake onto the face. The volume of air on the face is 53-60 m3/sec. The speed of the air in the intake is 2.5m/sec. Once it enters the face 0.5m/sec of air will filter through the area that has goafed, located behind the support Chalks. The face speed will thus be 2m/sec. Sensors placed 75m into the tailgate measure the ventilation speed and detect gasses. Airview is the brand of sensors used. The quality of the air is also measured before it enters the face. The ventilation in the CM sections require 30m3/sec at a speed of 1m/s. Force fans are used to supply air onto a face when the CM cut exceeds 12m in length.
Production Rates
The LW optimally produces 6200t/shift and a CM section produces 800t/shift. The combined monthly production rate target of the 7CM sections with the LW section is 318 000 tonnes/month, but the actual production is 160 000 tonnes/month. This is significantly lower that the target. It may be because of the 40% availability of the LW and the 2-3 hours of CM productivity per shift.
Unit Costs
The operating costs which include mining activities costs R35/tonne and the Engineering activities costs R65/tonne. Transport cost is R60/tonne. The total cost of producing one tonne of coal is R300 and this includes the operating and engineering costs. The final cost is R360/tonne which includes the total cost of production with the transport cost.
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Personnel
Personnel per shift in a CM section for production/development: 1Miner 1Electrician 1Fitter 2Operators 2Supporters 1Diesel Driver 1Control Stick
Maintenance crews consist of 6-11 people, usually 7 artisans and one foreman. The expertise and the number of personnel for the maintenance shift depends on what maintenance is required to be done for that specific shift.
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6. Msobo Coal
Location and background
Msobo Coal mine is a new mine that started in 2011 with a business plan to acquire established coal mines near Ermelo in South Africa. Msobo successfully negotiated the purchase of the Highveld coal reserves which were previously owned by Xstrata before 2011. This makes the Msobo coal mine project a brown field project with a life of mine of 30years. Msobo coal mine is located in Breyten, Mpumalanga (figure 12).
The Msobo coal reserve is under the Ermelo coal fields and they mine the Below Seam (BL) which is seam A,B,C and D as shown (in figure 13) below. The geology of the Msobo reserve falls under the stratigraphy of the Karoo Super group, Ecca group in the Karoo Basin. The Ecca group is a group of sedimentary geological formations found in the Southern Africa.
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It consists of mainly shale and sandstone as shown (in figure 13) below, laid down in the sandy shorelines of swamplands during the Permian Period. (Davies, P & Brant, J. 2010)
Xstrata also granted prospecting rights to Msobo coal in Chrissiesmeer, Mpumalanga. Chrissiesmeer is a large wetland area. It is home to various frog species, insects, birds, small game and their predators. This includes various endangered species such as cranes and allegedly some newly discovered 27
endemic species of fish and frogs. In 2010, even before Msobo coal came into scene, the landowners of the wetlands area started taking collective steps to declare the Chrissiesmeer wetlands a protected environment under the Mpumalanga Biodiversity Stewardship Programme. Now Msobo coal is faced with a tough decision to choose between coal and wetlands. It remains unclear whether Msobo coal will support the plans for the protected area. If they successfully oppose it, the past four years of hard work to declare the area protected will become redundant and the whole wetlands area will become vulnerable to exploitation in search of finite coal reserves. (Fuls,F. 2.013)
sporadic at this reserve. They load and haul all waste material out of the pit to expose coal and stockpile for final void rehabilitation. The General Manager (Tammy Marshal) explained that they only load and haul topsoil material and mainly weathered waste material determined through geological limit of weathering which is in turn dumped back in the void as part of their continuous rehabilitation program. Semi carbonaceous materials are dozed over in the void. (Marshall, T.2014)
Equipment Selection
The mine is equipped with electrical, mechanical and other equipment that contribute to achieving conditions for safe operations and healthy environment. To make sure the mine complies with the DMR requirements, the maintenance team and the competent Artisans available to maintain the machines and equipment at regular intervals. Foremen, GES and the engineer do the follow up inspections on weekly and monthly basis to ensure compliance. The table below shows the equipment used per section to get the coal to surface. (Marshall, T.2014)
Main equipment: Continuous Miner Roof Bolter Shuttle car (by 3) Feeder breaker Conveyor belt
Additional equipment: Sandvik ED7 LHD JA Engineering Scoops Aim Tractors Toyota and Nissan LDVs 29
Material is transported from surface to work areas by flameproof tractors and telecom trailer systems. Men are transported to and from workplaces using flameproof tractors and man carrying trailers or man carrying non flameproof LDVs. (Marshall, T.2014)
Ventilation
All underground workings make use of a ventilation method. This is done by means of air crossings and ventilation stoppings so as to ensure that all production sections have an independent fresh air intake, and thereby, creating independent ventilation districts. At Msobo coal they is a ventilation fan on the up cast shaft which sucks up 150m3/s of air. Sufficient air quantity is supplied to each production section to maintain an average air velocity in the last through road (LTR) of 1.0m/s and not less than 0.60m/s at any point in the LTR. When cutting takes place with a CM the velocity on the intake side of the CM will not be less than 1.0m/s. (Davies, P & Brant, J. 2010)
No. of workers
Dyke Development crew 1 Miner 1 Jack Hammer operator 2 Roof Bolter Operator/HDV Driver Whombat 4 Labourer General
No. of workers 1 3 3 1 30
Shuttle car operator LHD Operator Scoop Multi Skilled Tractor Driver Labourer Belts FB Att Labourer General Pinch bar att Total
1 9
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7. Sasol
Mine Background
Sasol has five mining operations in Secunda which all mine the nr.4 seam, these are Brandspruit, Middelbult, Twistdraai, Bosjesspruit and Syferfontein. Two different mines were visited while at Sasol, Brandspruit Colliery and Middelbult (iThemba Lethu Shaft).
Brandspruit Colliery
Brandspruit is the oldest of these 5 collieries and commenced in June of 1977. It mines at a depth of 135m with a coal seam that is 3.7m in height on average. The mine uses 9 Continuous Miner (CM) sections to produce 7.2Mt of coal per annum. Brandspruit employs 1100 employees with approximately 450
contractors.
Figure 14 shows the Shafts and basic geography of Brandspruit. Originally the main shaft was the only one but the travelling distances increased and thus shaft 2 and 3E was sunk. Main Shaft includes a man, ventilation and decline shaft.
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The decline is for transporting the coal out of the mine. 2 and 3E shafts only have one shaft which is divided into a man and ventilation shaft. The coal from 2 and 3E shafts are transported via conveyors to the main shaft where it connects with the decline for removing the coal. The decline conveyor transports coal all the way to Sasol Synfuels Secunda plant. 2 Shaft has a 5 year LOM left. Future operations include the Impumulelo Shaft which will be in operation from 2015
Mining Method
Stooping is done with the Nevid Pillar extraction method. This method is done from the limit of the Bord and Pillar excavation in a reverse direction, thus back to the shaft. It causes the stress on the pillars to be redistributed onto smaller pillars which will lead to disturbances in the surrounding walls and pillars and will eventually lead to the goafing of the roof. This method allows for the goafing to be done in a safe and controlled manner. Areas with unfavourable geological features and dams are not stooped. The pillar sizes differ between sections and thus the stooping pillar sizes differs too. Stopper pillars are left to prevent unexpected failures. They are spaced in every 3 rows and act as yield pillars. Figure 15 shows the cutting sequence of the Nevid method. The sizes used in the figure may vary. The CM cuts at a 45 degree angle. This allows the CM operator to be a safe distance away and under supported roof.
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Figure 16 shows a Nevid pillar extraction section. The sequence of the CM cuts is indicated with the numbers. The Lone pillar in the goaf area is the Stopper pillar. Policemen, which are wood poles or sticks, are placed in the haulage areas in and around the stooping section. They are used as a warning that goafing has started. They tend to bend and crack once there is roof movement.
60% of the pillars are extracted. The CM doesnt exceed 15m per cut when doing stooping. This allows for a double lift to be taken and also makes the cable handling easier. The three triangles left ensure that the goaf is kept away from the center rib and that the goaf happens at least two rows away from where the CM is cutting. The goaf is also less violent. It is crucial to plan the stooping beforehand and prepare the section by marking off the 45 degree angles with red paint to show the CM operator where his next cu should be. The cuts must be inspected by supervisors to improve their awareness and knowledge of the section.
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Equipment Selection
Table 7: The type of equipment and the total number
Production Equipment Continuous Miner Shuttle Cars Aro Roof Bolter Fletcher Roof Bolter Other Roof Bolters Feeder & Crushers
Amount 9 30 1 13 6 11
Ventilation
Figure 17 shows the basic ventilation of a Nevid Stooping section. The air from the intake is directed to where the CM is cutting and then straight to the return airway. The return airway is also known as the bleeder road. Methane is common in coal mines and special care is taken to measure and control the leaking methane.
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The CM operator is placed in the intake to avoid dust and gasses. Auxiliary fans is not necessary when doing the Nevid method but they are needed in the normal CM sections where cuts can easily exceed 24m.
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Middelbult Colliery
The iThemba Lethu The project is an extension of Middelbult Colliery and thus it is a brownfields project. Ithemba Lethu Shaft is located on the Zandfontein farm in Secunda. The shaft is a split person-and-materials and ventilation shaft. The shaft uses a 40MW substation built by Eskom. Approximately R140 million capital was required for this project. Coal is transported along the underground conveyor system and does not come to surface at the iThemba Lethu shaft.
Mining Method
Bord and Pillar mining is used to mine the 4 m seam using a Continuous Miner. A Drill and Blast section is used to mine through geological features like dykes.
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The 4-lower seam is mined at iThemba Lethu. The 4-upper seam is 0.5-1m thick and it is not mined due lots of methane releases. Figure 19 below shows both the 4-seams and the sandstone roof.
Bord width Pillar centers Barrier Pillar Width to Height Ratio Number of roads Roof Bolt length Support dimensions
Roofbolts are used to support the sandstone roof and these are normally 1.8m. On rare occasions, 1.5m roofbolts are used per Rock Mechanics discretion. The 38
bolts are placed 2m x 2m apart. Supporting is done after every 15m advance by the continuous miner. Moreover, the support system used is such that the continuous miner stops if more than 2 faces are unsupported faces.
Equipment is installed with a close-proximity system which brings to a halt a machine when it is near people. This ensures a safe working environment in the section. A total of 13 people work in one section.
Ventilation
Two 750 kW fans are used for ventilation. In the section, every road is installed with a Dura-fan. Each Dura-fan produces up to 8m3/s air capacity.
Challenges
The challenges faced at iThemba Lethu include faults, dykes and methane releases. The accumulation of water underground is also a major problem as it slows down machinery and thus reducing production.
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8. References
1. BHP billiton. (2014). Khutala Colliery (2 seam underground visit). 2. Davies, P. & Brant, J.2010. Coal vs. Biodiversity Xstrata.Leerdersboek 3. Fuls, F. 2013. Choosing between coal and wetlands in Chrissiesmeer. Mpumalanga:Lapa. 4. Infomine. (2014, February 23). Retrieved February 23, 2014, from www.infomine.com/index/properties/Graspan.html 5. Mabogoane, M. (2014). University of Pretoria ( Presentation). 6. Marshall, T.2014. University of Pretoria presentation. 7. New Denmark Colliery visit 8. Penumbra Coal Mine Visit 2014 9. PMY 320 Handbook, Chapter 6: Underground Coal Mining
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