Quick construction model of mine in Shendong

Maosen Yi
Shendong Coal Co. LTD, Shenmu, Shanxi Provence, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: This paper introduces the form of the quick mine construction model and its main content by
analyzing the development process in Shendong mine area. It mainly expatiates the key technique such as incline
tunnel, non-panel arrangement, trackless ancillary conveyance, quick heading with continuous miner and bolt
support.

1 OVERVIEW scale of 600,000 t/a in 1987. According to the policy

Shendong mine area, as one part of Shenfu and
Dongshen coal field, is located at the north of Shenmu
County, Yulin City, Shanxi Provence, the east of
Fugu County, the south-east Zhungeer and Yijinhuolu,
Eerduosi, Inner Mongolia. It covers 3481 km2 with
length of 3890 km from north to south, 3555 km
from west to east and with geological reserves totaling
35.4 billion tons. There are 13 minable coal seams
with 12 , 22 , 31 , 42 and 52 as main minable belt conveyor, its conveyance ability was universally
seams with total average height of 1721 m and sin-
gle maximum height of 89 m. With high quality, coal
in main seam is non-caking coal and long-flame coal
with low ash, low sulfur, low phosphorus, medium and
high caloric value. It can be high quality steam coal,
chemical coal and domestic coal. The exploration is of
superior condition with stable seam, simple geological
construction, smooth dip angle, shallow burying and
low content of gas.
From the initial establish in 1985 to today, through
more than ten years construction, Shendong Com-
pany has become the largest coal production base and
important exporting base for high quality steam coal
in China at present.
1.1 Construction prior period
Though insisted on the principle of high start, high
technology, high quality, high efficiency and high ben-
efit at the time to begin the construction in 1985,
Shendong Company was limited with a certain extent
by traditional mine construction and design thought.
There was the problem of more facilities, complex pro-
duction system, long building period, and large initial
investment, small production scale of mine, long life-
time, more manpower and low efficiency. For example,
Bulianta mine started to construct with production
adjustment for Shendong mine area from government
in 1991, the production scale of mine extended as
3,000,000 t/a. In 1997, built up such ground living
welfare facilities as schools, kindergartens, workers
and staff club and eatery, habitation area and agricul-
tural and trade market, the mine put into production
with total investment of 1.118 billion RMB and with
construction period of 11 years. Although the main
conveyance system was designed to use continuous
low because of the small mine design capability. The
ancillary conveyance system adopted traditional track
conveyance of haulage motor with stringing. It is
severely limited the mine development and increasing
benefit and decreasing manpower with low level of
technical equipments, large amount of panel division,
complex developing layout. The other mines such as
Shangwan and Daliuta exist the analogue more or less.
1.2 Construction late time
In 1998, the Group made the decision to unite the
two Company of Shenfu and Dongshen as Shen-
dong Coal Company, starting the depletion of mem-
ber from the Company office. In succession, for
changing nature advantage into production advan-
tage, resources advantage into the benefit advantage
as soon as possible, based on the analyzing of coal
market at home and abroad, new investment construc-
tion principle, aimed on world leading level, absorbed
abroad advanced experience, relied on technology
innovation, following the guideline of less investment,
quick effect self-accumulation and rolling develop-
ment, Shendong Company has built up early or late
Dahaize Mine (1,000,000 t/a, reconstruction period of
38 days), Yujialiang Mine (8,000,000 t/a, construction
period of 10 months), Sunjiagou Mine (8,000,000 t/a,

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Copyright 2004 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK

chap-102 10/8/2004 15: 2 page 524
reconstruction period of 8.5 months) to form a new
mode for quick mine construction with Shendong
specialty.
2 THE QUICK MINE CONSTRUCTION
MODEL IN SHENDONG
2.1 The traditional mine construction model
faces the rigorous challenge
The traditional mine construction model in China,
under the guidance of traditional design thought,
is to carry out overall construction to ground pro-
duction system, preparation system and underground
production with relative mature mining technology
and relative advanced equipments. This kind of con-
struction mode causes large industry esplanade, com-
plete ground living facilities, complex production and
preparation system underground and ground, large
initial investment, more personnel, low efficiency
and long construction period. At the beginning of
80s in 20 century, the special large scale mines with
4,000,000 t/a, such as Dongtan mine in Yanzhou,
Qianjiayin mine in Kailuan, Changcun mine in Luan
and Xieqiao mine in Huainan, started mine construc-
tion. All of their construction period is beyond 11
years. The main special large-scale mines started to
construct with the influence of that at 80s late in Shen-
dong Company. The construction period also is long,
even the largest mine at that time Daliuta mine with
8.5 years. To the traditional mine construction model,
this period got the leading level at that time in whole
country. Near 10 years construction speed could not
satisfy the need of quick development in Shendong.
With the fastigium of returning loan coming, Shen-
dong is eager to quicken mine construction speed.
The traditional mine construction model faces rigorous
challenge here.
2.2 Formation of quick construction of mine
2.2.1 Concept innovation is the precondition
On the searching of quick mine construction, there
were several focus controversies at the starting stage:
the ancillary conveyance is to use track or track-
less; mining method is open or underground mining;
shearing manner is to adopt continuous mining or
mechanized shearing; mining equipments is to select
home-made or fetch in. Relying on concept creation
to bring technology innovation along and referring the
world advanced experience from producing coal coun-
tries, the Shendong people with innovation spirit took
first overall reformation in Daliuta mine which already
put into production. Proven in practice, the ancillary
conveyance with trackless rubber tire vehicle not only
increases the production ability and improves the safe
condition, but also simples greatly production system
and decreases the links in ancillary conveyance, then
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Copyright 2004 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
realizes decreasing manpower and increasing benefit
in deed. Underground mining decreases environment
pollution and its production cost is less than open
mining with big entry arrangement in coal seam.
Continuous miner used in heading entry is not only
of fast speed and high efficiency, but also enables
lengthening the face advancing length as possible.
Introduced world advanced mining equipments not
only made a new step in high production and efficient
mine construction achieves great economic benefit,
but also promotes the development of domestic mining
equipments manufacture in certain degree.
2.2.2 Design creation is foundation
Coal Industry Design Code prescribes that the design
lifetime of mine with design ability above 1,200,000
2,400,000 t/a, 3,000,0005,000,000 t/a, 6,000,000 t/a,
should be respectively more than 60, 70 and 80
years, the overall labor efficiency index is respectively
3.04.0 t/work, 4.06.0 t/work, 6.08.0 t/work. More-
over, the mine is of smaller dimension in section, panel
and face, more panel division, more quantity of mining
and heading face, complex entry arrangement system,
large rock engineering, long lifetime, more workers
and staffs, bad safe condition and low efficiency. To
take the original design of Daliuta as a example, the
mine ability is 6,000,000 t/a with lifetime 118 years,
overall labor efficiency 8 t/work, total persons 3547,
production workers 2837 and management staffs 275,
service persons 373 and others 62, administration and
common building area 125976 m2 . It severely affects
mine investment effect. As against, the foreign mine
is of short equipments refresh period, simple ground
facilities and showing shortening lifetime tendency.
For example, Sellby mine in UK, the design ability is
10,000,000 t/a with lifetime 40 years and Ense mine 3
in US, the design ability is 7,500,000 t/a with lifetime
25 years.
It is obvious that to quicken large and special large
modern mine construction speed, first of all the design
thought must be transformed and created to overcome
the deficiency in traditional design, establish stable
foundation for crossover development of Shendong.
Therefore, by borrowing mine design ideas from
advanced mining country, innovation of and break
through our traditional design model, with considering
the comprehensive factor of mine area general
plan, coal seam condition and equipment refresh
period, Shendong Company designed and constructed
Dahaize, Yujialiang and Sunjiagou Mine. Their
scale and lifetime were designed respectively as
1,000,000 t/a, 8,000,000 t/a 8,000,000 t/a and 20, 25,
25 years with rated person of 100, 280, 300. The
mines only built up production system and necessary
simple office on surface with advanced continuous
miner tunneling process world advanced mechanized
corollary equipments. Special large scale mine above
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5,000,000 t/a is constructed as one shaft and one work-
ing face high production and efficiency mode with one
mechanized and two continuous, the other facilities
such as living, logistics and welfare rely on society to
put off the function of enterprise doing the social work-
ing completely. Shendong Company has started new
design for large and special large scale mine in China.
2.2.3 Technique innovation is key
The technique innovation is continuous power for
enterprises development. With new technology break-
ing through traditional mode, building up techno-
logical dense mines instead of labor dense mines,
Shendong has established stable foundation for con-
structing high efficiency and benefit mine.
2.2.3.1 Development of incline tunnel technology
For realizing the continuous conveyance from surface
to working face with trackless rubber tire vehicle,
through abundant theoretical investigation and prac-
tice searching, Shendong Company points out new
shaft concept of incline shaft. The new concept is that
the shaft is of certain angle (less than 6 degree), the
conveyance manner is promoted from track train to
trackless rubber tire vehicle, so as to eliminate sta-
tion and track line underground. Material, equipment
and personnel conveyance is just as in adit. That not
only improves the ancillary conveyance ability of shaft
and solves the bottle neck problem, but also simples
developing system and decreases rock engineering for
station and so on.
2.2.3.2 Trackless technique on ancillary conveyance
If traditional trackless conveyance is used along, there
is no way to talk about quick mine construction. Even
though the road railer which was the domestic
advanced equipment used at the construction prior
period, could not meet the requirement of quick
mine construction. After successful application in
Daliuta, the use of trackless rubber tire vehicle is
thorough extended and supplies whole new design
model for new mine construction and rebuilding small
mine, increases ancillary conveyance ability during
construction and ensures quick mine construction
powerfully.
2.2.3.3 Mine arrangement with no panel
The application of incline adit and trackless con-
veyance simplifies mine ancillary conveyance system
and the introduction of advanced mechanized tech-
nique and equipment brings large scale of working face
parameters into possibility. With resource advantage of
stable seam and small dip angle, Shendong arranges
shaft area no panel to break through traditional shaft
entry arrangement with working face connecting to
main entry directly and cutting eye reaching to the edge
of shaft area. It decreases greatly preparing entry engi-
neering with no panel division and no panel division
entry and shortens mine construction period.
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2.2.3.4 Continuous miner fast driving and bolt
support
At construction initial stage of Shendong, the mas-
ter entry was cut with roadheader as main and blast
heading as assistance, entry was supported mainly
with arching and anchoring and shotcreting, and the
mine construction speed was extremely slow-moving.
After the application of monomer bolt support tech-
nique with large section full coal entry, advanced
continuous miner driving technique and equipment,
the entry driving speed was increased in large range
with the maximum single advance promoted from
426 m/month with roadheader to 3273 m/month with
continuous miner, average single driving as above
2000 m/month. It ensures mine quick construction.
2.2.4 Intension of quick construction mode
The intension is to layout in reason production sys-
tem underground and surface facilities system with
least link in whole mine system, reasonable facility
self-contained, ability matching and short construction
period, based on ascendant nature resource condition,
under the guidance of new whole design thought,
depend on advanced construction technique.
2.3 Main contents of quick construction mode
2.3.1 Centralized planning of living quarter
Using construction experience of world modern coal
enterprise for reference, the non-production facili-
ties on surface is made with whatever is available,
living quarter is centralized planned. The mine only
establishes industry facilities and working areas with-
out residential district to decrease the amount of
engineering on surface and shorten the construction
period. There is no individual living district in Daliuta,
Huojitu, Dahaize, Shangwan, Yujialiang and Halagou
mine, all of employee reside in Daliuta and Shangwan
town.
2.3.2 Cut short office facility in working quarter
Office facility is cut short in new constructing mine
and the original facilities which can be used generally
only do simple repairs and maintenance in rebuilding
small mine.There are only several single story building
on surface as office without any living service facil-
ity which is not necessary to production in Yujialiang
and Dahaize mine. They put most power into mine
construction engineering to fasten construction speed.
2.3.3 Integrated arrangement of master shaft
conveyance system with surface preparation
system
First, the belt conveyor in master shaft conveyance
system is lapped directly over raw coal storage to
eliminate drive unit room for master shaft belt con-
veyor, unloading room and belt conveyor to storage.
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Second, the surface crusher is associated with under-
ground belt conveyor to simplify surface preparation
system.Yujialiang mine shortened construction period
with such arrangement.
2.3.4 Inclined tunnel development mode
When designing mine, taking the advantage condition
of coal seam into account and adopting new inclined
tunnel development method, the main entry is arranged
in seam to not or less drive rock tunnel as possible.
Shaft directly gets through master entry in seam to
eliminate station underground. The development mas-
ter entry consists of one main conveying, 12 ancillary
conveying and one air return entry to simplify main
and ancillary conveyance and ventilation system.
2.3.5 Ancillary conveyance with trackless rubber
tire vehicle
Personnel, material and equipment, even hydraulic
support with complete weight of 30 t is transported
directly from surface to working face. It carries out
continuity of ancillary conveyance and increases the
efficiency of ancillary conveyance with less interme-
diate transferring link, convenient loading and unload-
ing, fast speed, high ability, low cost and reliable
safety.
2.3.6 Continuous miner quick driving and bolt
support
With advanced continuous miner and its corollary
equipment as base, large section full coal entry bolt
support technique and double entry layout form of
conveyance and air return ensure driving and support-
ing parallel operation, satisfy the ventilation require-
ment to long distance large section driving and attain
continuous miner quick driving.
2.3.7 Non-panel layout
The incline tunnel development method, trackless
ancillary conveyance and the solution of long large
section driving, boost layout reformation of prepar-
ing and gateway from traditional panel entry to main
entry with banding arrangement. Extracting face gets
to edge of coal field directly without panel and prepar-
ing entry. The traditional three stages division design
of mine panel (mining area) working face is
reformed to two stages of mine face to simplify
mine system and save shaft sinking and drifting. For
example, Huojitu mine entirely cancels original 5 pan-
els, face is layout along both side of main entry, the
boundary of coal field is working face cutting eye with
less driving preparing entry of 20000 m; From the time
of design, Yujialiand mine adopts non-panel layout.
After the entry formed of shaft and main entry, work-
ing face is directly arranged so as to decrease entry
engineering and shorten construction period.
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2.3.8 Large scale operations of working face
In China, the traditional advance length on high pro-
duction and efficient mechanized face is mostly about
2000 m; the longest is not beyond 3000 m with gen-
eral face length of 150 m200 m. For instance, 2211
first mining face is of advance length 1500 m with
face length 180 m in Bulianta mine and the advance
length on mechanized face is 1300 m with face length
150 m in Wulanmulun mine. Under the situation of
ascendant seam condition, to exert sufficiently the
advantage of efficiency of introduced mechanized
equipment, continuous miner faster driving and quick
conveyance of trackless vehicle, to reduce the move-
ment of face, the working face parameter is carried
out breaking through. Working face advance length is
increased to 40006000 m with face length 220240 m
and minable coal 5,000,000 t8,000,000 t. The first
face advance length is 3730 m with late on length
4211 m in Yujialiang mine and the late on mechanized
face advance length is 5000 m with face length 240 m
in Bulianta mine.
2.3.9 Remote power supply of surface box
transformer assorted with mobile transformer
underground
Traditional mine power supply not only need build cen-
tral transformer station underground, but also need
build transformer station in panel. No matter mine
construction engineering or installation engineering is
larger. Remote power supply method of surface box
transformer assorted with mobile transformer under-
ground reduces power supply links, depresses fault,
ensures the normal power supply request to mining and
driving machine, supplies the reliable power supply
for quick construction. There is no any underground
central transformer station and transformer station in
panel, surface box transformer supply 10 KV to under-
ground mobile transformer directly. During the period
of construction, there is only a simple transformer
station in seam entry. This reduces the amount of engi-
neering of building underground chamber, shortens
construction period of supply system and saves capital.
3 CONCLUSION
Proven in practice recent years, based on key tech-
niques such as incline tunnel development, trackless
ancillary conveyance, non-panel layout, continuous
miner fast driving and bolt support, the quick mine
construction model in Shendong has been mature.
With the application in Shendong , it has not only cre-
ated miracle one by one in world mine construction
history, but also will greatly affect mine construction
in China, so as to promote our coal industry develop
at a certain extent.