The company said the first unit, a Gleithobel plow, was designed for very hard coal with dual 315-kilowatt drives. It operates on a 200-meter face with a 1.25m seam height.
“Since a former Bucyrus company invented the plow in 1937, Bucyrus has stayed on the cutting edge of plow technology by adding numerous new features as well as boosting installed power to allow faster extraction,” the company said.
“In contrast to a shearer – which requires considerable height to operate – the very compact plow can practically operate in seams as low as 31 inches (0.8 meters).”
Two plows are now offered by Bucyrus, the base-plate Reisshaken design for extremely thin seams and the Gleithobel (GH or gliding plow), known as the world’s most powerful longwall system with a minimum ownership cost and maximum productivity in thin and medium seams, even in hard coal.
A benefit to both plow models is that they can be fully automated with no human face operator required to be present.
“This not only enhances productivity, but is also a great safety feature,” Bucyrus said.
The OEM’s systems are actively extracting coal worldwide, from China and Russia to the Czech Republic, Poland, the Ukraine, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mexico and the US.
Bucyrus automated plow systems are equipped with installed power of up to 2 by 800kW, resulting in extraction rates of up to 3500 tonnes per hour.
“As one example, on August 25, 2010, a Bucyrus Gleithobel GH1600 plow with an installed power of 2 by 800kW achieved the European daily output record, respectively world record, for road ways with arch supports of 16,894 tonnes in Bogdanka’s mine Puchaczów in Poland,” Bucyrus said.
“And back in May 2000, US Steel’s Pinnacle mine – the world’s first fully automated longwall face – achieved the still existing world record for rectangular gate roads of 20,593 tonnes per day using a Bucyrus Gleithobel plow with only 2 by 400kW of installed power.”
The latter mine is now owned by Cliffs Natural Resources; a new GH1600 Gleithobel plow system installed there late last year with 2 by 630kW of installed power has now begun operation and is expected to set another record for the company.
