Shenhua is also DBT's top customer worldwide for thick-seam shield supports, with a total of 1656 shields delivered over the last decade. The 1500th shield was one of a total of 147 shields for a longwall with a height of 5.5 meters.
Shenhua began their business relationship in 1993 with Westfalia Becorit, one of DBT’s predecessors. The first batch of shields was delivered to the Daliuta mine in 1994 and almost exactly 10 years later, in 2004, DBT delivered the tenth batch of shield supports to the Halagou mine – a delivery that included the 1500th shield.
The set of equipment was the first imported longwall system to incorporate all major face automation features including data transfer to the surface. The shields were equipped with the first electrohydraulic shield control system to operate successfully in China, DBT’s PM-4. The original batch of shields is still in operation at the Daliuta mine today.
Follow-up orders from Shendong Coal Company for another nine batches of shields from DBT followed. These systems set new records – like the coal production record established by the Yujialiang mine in June 2003 with more than 1 million tonnes ROM. This achievement was also an engineering milestone – it was the first time that this longwall equipped with DBT shield supports had ever been operated in full face automation mode.
As Jürgen Krekeler, executive vice president, DBT Europe/Asia pointed out in his address, the growth in the number of DBT shields in Shendong is a reflection of the impressive development of Shendong Coal. Established in 1998, Shenhua Shendong Coal is the largest coal producer in China, the biggest coal-producing nation in the world. In 2003 Shenhua Group produced 102 million tonnes, about 100% more than China's second-biggest producer.
Krekeler expressed DBT’s commitment to deepening the strategic partnership with Shendong to support the company with its future plans.
Construction of the 10 million metric tonnes Halagou mine started in November, 2003, with operation scheduled to commence on December 5, 2004. The shields for the first face arrived this October and underground installation was completed on November 13. DBT site engineers worked with local employees, conducting training underground. The shield installation and commissioning were completed smoothly.
Shendong’s strategy at Halagou is for 100 employees to produce 10 million tonnes output. As such, a mine spokesman said the operation intended to follow operation regulations strictly and keep equipment in good condition to ensure safety and high-efficiency production. The mine intended to transfer automation expertise from the Yujialiang project to Halagou as quickly as possible.
DBT equipment currently accounts for 36% of all equipment imported by Shendong.
China is going through a rapid expansion of coal mining with plans to set up 13 massive coal production bases – Shendong as one of them.
In 2005, Shendong will be the first company to achieve coal output of 100Mt. The Shenhua Group’s development strategic plan calls for a ramping up of production by a further 10Mt every year, reaching 150Mt by 2010.
By then Shendong is expected to own 29 sets of longwall equipment.
