Published in the December 2007 American Longwall Magazine

American Longwall Magazine recently spoke with company officials about the high points, as well as president Richard Abraham’s take on the current industry.

Going live

In September, the Chapmanville-based supplier was the first to complete a human test of an emergency breathable air refuge, a feat which was caught on video and streamed in “webcam” style on its company website. Bringing the technology of the chamber to the industry public in a cutting-edge manner was important to the company, according to operations manager James Nagle.

“Providing live streaming video to the general public allowed viewers, who might not understand this test, to see it firsthand. It was well worth the effort,” he said.

Company chief member Jeremy Abraham added that the unprecedented testing effort was important to its performance measurements as well as setting a benchmark for the industry. “Our results were actually better than expected,” he said.

“The live test provided us with hands-on experience in maintaining a breathable environment. We also confirmed that the average miner is capable of using our system for survival.”

Mine Lifeline said it did note some surprises in the test, including air changes resulting from an activity as commonplace as eating. “It is clear that the ExtendAir lithium hydroxide curtains used for CO2 removal [in the unit] are more than capable of controlling the environment. The data we collected is invaluable,” said Abraham.

He noted that state and federal regulatory bodies were not able to participate in the live test, but that it is looking forward to the feedback from such agencies as well as the industry community. “As one of the smallest companies in this business, we think it speaks volumes about our commitment to provide simple, workable and tested 96-hour breathable air systems to the mining industry,” he said.

“We have always known our system could easily adapt to West Virginia’s shelter definitions. We believe our test will provide a wealth of information to both MSHA and NIOSH in finalizing their refuge standards.”

MineTheft.com

When not providing some of the nation’s most needed mine safety equipment, including the BT-1 SCSR breathing trainer, Mine Lifeline has committed itself to bettering the mining community by fighting the theft of mining equipment and supplies on its independently operated MineTheft.com.

The site, which encourages worker whistleblowers and individuals with information on a theft from an active or abandoned operation to report the details, was established following a “black market” that grew for suddenly scarce items regulated under the MINER Act. With new rules requiring more units of items which often carry a hefty price tag, theft quickly jumped to near-epidemic proportions and now affects most operations.

“Even though the SCSRs are stamped with a serial number and under new laws have to be reported to MSHA as well as the state of West Virginia, no federal or state database exists to cross-reference these serial numbers and find out where a stolen rescuer will end up,” said Nagle, adding that the site is a way for individuals and companies to fight back against the issue.

“The concept is clear and it works,” he said of the free service. “If given the opportunity to anonymously report thieves or the whereabouts of stolen merchandise without fear of retribution, most people are more than willing to offer up this information.”

To date, the site has logged hits from interested individuals nationwide and the company has given away well over 10,000 hard hat stickers to its supporters.

“If there is no demand for stolen equipment, then there will be no market to sell,” said Nagle.

The state of the industry

Mine safety and rescue technology may be progressing, but not enough for Mine Lifeline president Richard Abraham. “We have far to go with many obstacles holding us up,” he said in an interview.

Overregulation is perhaps the most significant issue stifling movement, he said. As an example, he pointed to plans the company has for a breathing trainer that was developed before requirements for them existed, then shelved with new regulation amendments, then brought out again with yet more changes to the laws. The unit is now produced but largely unpromoted, he said.

With many items across the industry, the viewpoint one takes when reading an outlined regulation is often all that can be relied upon due to ambiguity. “The requirement is to meet the standard … [but] when that is applied, it becomes subject to how it is perceived,” Abraham said.

“In the broad picture, they [lawmaking bodies] overregulated – technology doesn’t need to be suppressed by definition.” The first to be affected by that, he said, are communications and refuge chambers.

“There has to be compromise,” he said of the industry’s regulators, which currently require plans for both systems to be submitted on a mine-by-mine basis before a complete comprehension of available technology is known or even exists. Once technology progresses to meet the rulebook, he said, “There’ll be no market for it – all the mines will have had to put in their POs [purchase orders].”

While he called the testing of the Mine Lifeline refuge chamber successful, he said the experience of finding a happy medium between all sides of mining – regulations, operations and suppliers – is stressful.