From delivery of the massive chocks in October last year, Moranbah North powered roof support project manager Johan Laubscher told International Longwall News everything was “pretty much going to plan”

 

Of the 151 1750-tonne, 2m-wide Joy Mining Machinery roof supports, 148 will be used in the first panel, allowing several spares. The supports have a height range of 2.4-5m, operating at around 4.3m, and are controlled by Joy’s RS20s control system. Inner and outer sprag plates were also specified.

 

Last month, Anglo completed the compatibility trials on the surface. Laubscher said installation of the LASC components on the mini build would start this week and continue throughout the month.

 

He added installation of the new longwall equipment would start in either May or June, with commissioning to start-up during the September quarter.

 

On exactly when the longwall will kick-start in the three-month period, Laubscher said it depended on the coal requirement from the mine towards the end of the year.

 

This will also affect the production level of the operation, with Laubscher noting the mine was looking at operating the new longwall at about 1700 tonnes per operating hour.

 

“I think it will be very much determined by the demand at that stage,” he said.

 

“As Moranbah gets deeper the geology is less favourable, which is one of the reasons why we bought the higher-rated roof supports. We would aim to get at least the same production as the best we achieved with the current longwall in the shallower panels.”

 

To get the world’s largest roof supports underground, Anglo has purchased custom carriers from Industrea Mining Equipment, with one already in use and another three to arrive this month.

 

“We have actually taken nine chocks underground to date, about halfway underground to a storage area because the installation face is not 100 per cent available yet,” Laubscher said.

 

“We did have initial concerns about the size of it but we have proven we could take it underground through the difficult areas and the carrier has been performing quite well.”

 

Because of the time-lag between completing the mini build at the surface and putting the longwall into action, Anglo has pushed back the training of the crews closer to when the new equipment starts cutting coal.

 

Laubscher said the training would probably be from June to August.

 

The training packages have been developed as part of a two-pronged approach.

 

One stream of training will target novices to longwall mining, while the other is intended to fill in the gaps between the old and the new longwall equipment for the experienced hands.

 

Looking at what the new equipment and roof supports offer, apart from maintaining the mine’s production levels from a deeper and geologically more problematic area of the Goonyella Middle seam, Laubscher said the mine was aiming for less than 10% yielding of the support system.

 

This would be a big difference from 980t-rated supports that had the face yielding 40-50% of the time with support leaning issues, equipment damage and recovery operations.

 

As the installation of the LASC components continues on the mini build, Anglo will undertake more preparations underground.

 

Laubscher said work would focus on the intersections where turns needed to be made with the equipment, including the massive 61t roof supports and 64t gate end shields, and various parts on the roadways would be prepared with concrete.

 

He added that one of the 70-tonne dozers purchased and designed through Industrea was successfully tested on surface with one of the new supports last month at the company’s Dartbrook mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.

 

Moranbah’s new longwall will also be backed up by a monorail, which is currently being manufactured.

 

Estimated to cost around $A4-5 million, Anglo signed a contract with Macquarie Manufacturing for the monorail last year. Assembly onsite is expected to take place throughout May.

 

Laubscher said he believed Moranbah North would have all the equipment necessary to install the new longwall system on the face in the September quarter.

 

He said the project would likely cost the originally forecasted $200 million.

 

The operation will keep the old longwall system for the next two longwall panels before the new system becomes the sole coal winner.

 

Aside from the roof supports, Moranbah’s new system also consists of two Joy 7LS6 shearers and two matching Joy 2.05m-wide AFCs rated at 4500 tonnes per hour with 50mm Broadband chain. The AFC will be powered by three 1000-kilowatt maingate and tailgate drives.

 

The new equipment will be mated with Joy Mining BSL/Crushers and a pair of Longwall Hydraulics pump stations.

 

Once installed, the new longwall will operate in the deeper 108 panel and then alternate north-south with the deep 600 panels. The old longwall equipment will continue operating in the shallow 200 series panels.

 

With the two faces, the mine plans to operate a walk-on, walk-off schedule, where the new and old faces alternate operation with the crew simply switching panels once completed.

 

The mine recently hosted an open day for workers and their families, with a total of around 140 in attendance.