Longwall automation

A graphical representation of longwall automation technology. Longwall mining accounts for around 90 per cent of Australia's underground coal production. Traditionally a mechanical shearer cuts along the coal seam beneath a roof supported by hydraulic jacks, exposing miners to multiple risks on a daily basis.

Shearer Guidance: A Major Advance in Longwall Mining

This paper describes recent advances in the development of an integrated inertial guidance system for automation of the longwall coal mining process. Significant advances in longwall automation are being achieved through an …

MINE SHIFT: Monitoring subsidence risks of longwall …

The costly impact of longwall mining subsidence 2 While surface effects are anticipated, subsidence isn't without its costs. Longwall coal mining operations typically forecast significant expenditures in the tens of millions for subsidence damage to properties and infrastructure. During longwall mining in the Tahmoor/

CHAIN PILLAR DESIGN – Mining Science and Technology

The diagram opposite shows a typical longwall panel with a single row of rectangular chain pillars. Chain pillars can be either square, rectangular or in some case diamond in shape. ... Videos (3) Coal Mine Outburst (16) Overview (2) Factors (3) Management (11) Prediction (4) Prevention (2) Control (4) Safety (2) Free Downloads …

Longwall Mining

Longwall mining is a fast and mechanized method of coal mining where a large "wall" of coal is mined with a high-powered cutting system and the coal is transported out of the …

Punch Longwall Mining | Introduction | underground COAL

Punch Longwall Mining. ... In this way a large area of coal can be recovered, beyond the open cut limit, without the need for major investment in infrastructure (shafts, main roadways, etc), the coal produced being delivered into the open cut where other necessary facilities (coal prep plant, surface transport loading facilities, stockpiles ...

Coal mining

In the longwall mining method, mine development is carried out in such a manner that large blocks of coal, usually 100 to 300 metres wide and 1,000 to 3,000 metres long, are available for complete extraction (see photograph).A block of coal is extracted in slices, the dimensions of which are fixed by the height of coal extracted, the width of the longwall …

HISTORY AND METHODS – Mining Science and Technology

Longwall mining is increasing in application to coal winning in Australian Underground mining operations. The mechanised method of longwall mining was first introduced to Australia in 1963 and currently (2005)there are 27 longwall faces operating in Australia. Production from Australia's longwall faces represented 18% of Australia's raw ...

Latest Developments in Longwall Mining Technology

2015 MINING.CA T 6 Roof Support Technology Since 2006, has specialized in designing and supplying special shields for the longwall top coal caving method (LTCC), where extremely thick seams are being mined. This method utilizes a second AFC behind the shields to take the coal on top of the longwall outside of the face.

Longwall mining in Mexico: Micare Mine VII | Longwall USA

The mine is budgeted to produce approximately 4 million metric tons of thermal coal annually using two longwall faces over the course of its projected 8-year …

Advances in coal mining technology and sustainable mining …

The coal deposits in Canada are difficult to mine safely using underground mining methods. However, the current coal market price and future trends may become good testing grounds for innovative underground mining. 8.3.8. Longwall top coal caving coal mining in China—a special topic

Remote Longwall Operations and the Future of Sustainable Mining

What Is Longwall Coal Mining? Longwall mining is a form of coal mining underground. In the longwall method, a long wall of coal is found and mined in a single slice between 50 cm and 6 m thick. Longwall panels (the coal seam being mined) tend to be between 3 km and 4 km long but can extend as far as 7.5 km.

Cutting Methods | Longwall | underground COAL

Some Half Web systems can provide similar benefits to Pre-cutting, also described in the Longwall section of the Fundamentals of Coal Mining module, but with additional benefits. Depending on the equipment used and the mine's coal haulage capacity, Bi-di mining is often more productive than Uni-di, especially with longer faces, and can handle ...

Longwall Mining

Longwall mining is a highly productive underground coal mining technique. Longwall mining machines consist of multiple coal shearers mounted on a series of self-advancing hydraulic ceiling supports. The entire process is mechanized. Longwall mining machines are about 800 feet (240 meters) in width and 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) tall.

Longwall Operators Add Capacity for 2024

More U.S. longwall operators embrace automation technology to improve horizon control By Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief America's longwall mines produced 133.1 million tons in 2023, which was down 3.1% from 137.3 million tons in 2022. Much of the decrease can be attributed to the loss of production from two mines that are no longer …

Coal Zoom | Remote Longwall Operations and the Future of Sustainable Mining

What Is Longwall Coal Mining? Longwall mining is a form of coal mining underground. In the longwall method, a long wall of coal is found and mined in a single slice between 50 cm and 6 m thick. Longwall panels (the coal seam being mined) tend to be between 3 km and 4 km long but can extend as far as 7.5 km.

Longwall mining in India

Of India's 204.65 billion tonne coal reserves, around 20% is amenable to open-cast mining. In a technical paper, Dr SK Das, associate professor at the Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, described longwall mining in India.

Longwall method | coal mining | Britannica

Other articles where longwall method is discussed: mining: Longwall mining: In the longwall system the ore body is divided into rectangular panels or blocks. In each panel two or more parallel drifts (for ventilation and ore transport) are driven along the opposite long sides to provide access, and at the end of the…

San Juan Coal Mine Gets New Review, New Mexico

The mine is owned and operated by the San Juan Coal Company, a subsidiary of Westmoreland Coal Co. It uses long-wall mining methods to mine a deepening 12-to-14-foot seam underground. The mine employs about 360 people. The San Juan Generating Station, owned by Public Service of New Mexico, employs 265 people.

Longwall Mining

Longwall mining is a highly productive underground coal mining technique. Longwall mining machines consist of multiple coal shearers mounted on a series of self …

Factors Considered for Increasing Longwall Panel Width

By increasing the width of a longwall face, the following benefits can be realized:• Improved longwall productivity since less time is spent in the wedge cuts at each gate end of the faces; consequently, a higher percentage of the time is spent mining coal from the middle of the face;• Reduction of higher cost gateroad development and the ...

Real-Time Methane Prediction in Underground Longwall Coal Mining …

Despite alternative energy sources, worldwide coal production is still increasing each year [].Longwall mining is the most utilized coal mining method, due to its high productivity and safer operating conditions [].However, in usual mining operations and conditions, coal mining still faces serious challenges [].Despite advancements in …

The process of longwall coal mining.

Download scientific diagram | The process of longwall coal mining. from publication: Image Mining for Intelligent Autonomous Coal Mining. | Autonomics and Intelligence | ResearchGate, the ...

What Can Go Wrong: The Dangers in Longwall Mining

Massey Energys Upper Big Branch mine explosion is the deadliest U.S. coal mine incident in 25 years. Here is why longwall mining is particularly hazardous.

Remote Longwall Operations and the Future of …

The longwall method can extract high percentages of the available coal seam (typically 80%) compared to other techniques, such as room and pillar mining (typically 60%). As a result of this efficiency, …

New Mexico's displaced coal miners have gotten the shaft …

San Juan was a longwall mine, meaning that its coal was extracted by a colossal shearing machine that worked back and forth across an exposed panel of coal, like a deli slicer shaving off wedges ...

Assessing Longwall Mining Impacts on the Forests Above

Longwall mining machinery in a Colorado coal mine. Image credit: Peabody Energy, Inc. Longwall mining is a method of carving "hallways" into underground coal seams and then mining long corridors of coal adjacent to the hallway. As the coal is mined and carried away via conveyer belt to the surface, the ceiling above the mined …

Longwall Mining

Longwall mining of coal originated in the 1800s as a so-called 'hand-got' mining method (pick and shovel) using timber props with headboards as face support. Hand-got mining was progressively replaced with shotfiring, ploughs and shearers. Support progressed to rows of friction props with connecting bars that were leapfrogged forward …

Arch Coal starts new longwall coal mine development in US

Arch Coal has started development of a new longwall mine in Barbour County, West ia, US, which will have the capacity to produce three million tonnes of High-Vol A coking coal a year. Coal produced at the new Leer South mine complex will be sold principally into the 300Mmtpa seaborne coking coal market.

Cutting Processes | Introduction

Cutting Processes. It has been stated that a longwall advances by cutting slices off the block. This is relatively simple for hand worked faces and with a coal plough, but with mechanized longwalls using shearers the means of doing this is not as straightforward as it would at first appear because of the complexity of the equipment.