In September 2002, Emerald produced 676,281 clean metric tones, while the Cumberland Mine delivered 666,331 clean tonnes. These are new records for each mine, which extract the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam at a height of 2 m.

Equipment manufacturer, DBT said the Cumberland face features DBT’s first system with 2-m shield centers. Cumberland started operation only a few months ago with the new shields.

“The increased width results in fewer components requiring maintenance,” DBT said in a statement. “It also requires fewer units to be handled during face moves. Both of these advantages translate into reduced operating costs and improved system availability and productivity.”

Both mines use new DBT shields, face and entry conveyors. The high-capacity shields are operated by the PM 4 shield control system, while face conveyors in both mines are controlled and powered by the intelligent CST drive system.

“Such records are not, of course, achieved by DBT equipment alone,” DBT said. “They are also the result of the dedicated mine management and personnel who use this state-of-the-art equipment.”