Workshop organiser Gary Gibson said he had received a strong response from the industry to attend the workshops, predominantly from development co-ordinators, deputies, supervisors and mine managers.

 

Gibson said he saw no problem achieving the target attendance of 50 people for each workshop. The Central Queensland workshop will be held on September 1 in Mackay; the Hunter Valley workshop on September 5 in Pokolbin; and the Southern/Western region workshop on September 6 in Penrith.

 

The workshops will highlight a number of wins achieved in specific areas of development and invite discussion from all those involved in roadway development including operators, trades, team leaders, explosion risk zone (ERZ) controllers/deputies, development coordinators and engineers, superintendents and mine managers.

 

Presenting at the workshop will be Gibson, Springvale development coordinator John Vincze, Crinum development maintenance coordinator Alan Bruce, United development coordinator Jim Richardson, and a Roadway Development Task Group (RWDTG) member. Beltana’s David Gibson has also recently been named to present on process control and continuous improvement.

 

Participants will be encouraged to discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities they have experienced in roadway development and to recommend ways and means of improving performance.

 

The workshops have been organised through the Australian Coal Association Research Program RWDTG, as part of the ACARP Australian Roadway Development Improvement Program.

 

The RWDTG is made up of chairman Glen Lewis (Xstrata Coal), Steve Burgess (Centennial Coal), Frank Hendriks (BHP Billiton), Tim Hobson (Anglo Coal), Bob Miller (Centennial Coal), Guy Mitchell (BMA), Greg Nieuwenhuis (Kestrel Coal), Jim Sandford (Xstrata Coal), and Roger Wischusen (ACARP).

 

Stage 1 of the project has identified significant variations in roadway development performance across mines operating in similar conditions and with similar equipment.

 

The study aims to unlock factors that contribute to those variations in development performance, and will provide participants with an improved understanding of those factors together with an invaluable data base for improving roadway development performance at mines.

 

In addition to this September’s workshops, the RWDTG plans to conduct a roadway development practitioners’ conference in the second half of 2007, with best practice operators invited to present as part of an industry recognition process. They will also establish a web-based network to monitor and report on developments in roadway development technologies, practices and systems.

 

The project team is also working closely with another major ACARP project, the 15Mtpa Longwall Initiative.

 

A number of complementary initiatives have also been identified as part of the project including:

• Continued support for the development of integrated self drilling roof and rib bolting systems, including self drilling bolts and automated bolting equipment, with such systems being total system solutions capable of retrofitting to existing continuous miner platforms.
• Development of alternative skin reinforcement and containment measures that will minimise manual handling and installation, and associated injury risks.
• Development of an automated long tendon drilling and bolting system that will be able to be readily incorporated into existing continuous miner platforms and the self drilling roof bolting systems currently under development, and for installation of tendons in a secondary support application.
• Undertake a desktop review of the metalliferous mining and civil tunnelling sectors to identify technology that has potential to be applied to the roadway development process.
• Review findings of an earlier National Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Council study on roadway construction and maintenance and report to industry through practitioners’ workshops.

 

For any queries on the workshops, contact Gary Gibson on 0418 422 817 or email gary@yarrowlumba.com.au