Published in the August 2011 Coal USA Magazine

Components for the e-mine system, entirely designed and implemented by the research company of the Famur Group, Famur Institute, were initially presented to the industry in 2007 at the International Fair of Mining, Power Generation and Steel Making in Katowice.

Since then, e-mine has undergone further subsystem expansions to allow for the supervision and management of individual components included in the longwall system, and it is consistently enhanced to further increase both safety and efficiency.

“[The] FL 12/18 system is the first system of mining machinery made entirely using an e-mine standard,” Famur officials said.

“It is a very innovative solution … which allows for efficient excavation of low coal seams [and] it has become an alternative method for scraping, [particularly] in deposits occurring in difficult mining and geological conditions.”

FL 12/18 systems are smaller than conventional systems and reach coal deposits ranging in thickness from 1.2 to 1.8 meters, and in an ultra-low version from 1 to 1.5m. The first model was manufactured by the Famur Group for Katowicki Holding Weglowy and, since April, it has been operating in the Murcki-Staszic mine in Poland.

The company’s Workers Service Center has access to information about the current state of the longwall equipment. If necessary, it can make the decision to perform pre-emptive repair work and, in the case of failure, can quickly locate the cause of the issue and help mines with the most appropriate service and repair options.

The mining industry is moving towards complete computerization of the mining process, and Famur is a part of that trend.

The e-mine system can contribute substantially to increasing the safety of miners, as it works to eliminate the need for the direct and ongoing operation of machinery.