Beginning the conference, Gujarat NRE Minerals head of mining operations Dr Chris Harvey outlined strong ambitions, including establishing a coal washing plant underground and keeping reject coal underground as well.
While acknowledging it would take some creative planning, Harvey said Gujarat’s chairman had received approval and established a coal washery in India within six months, but said there was “no way you can do that in this state”.
Gujarat’s Wongawilli colliery is about one-third of the way through longwall 12 after starting in July.
Harvey said longwall 11 was due to start in January and that the mine already had approvals for longwalls 19, 15 and 16.
On the Nebo longwalls, Harvey said there was potential for a small longwall while buying time for more major development to the south and the west, with the aim of reaching the thin but high-quality Bulli seam.
Along with NRE No. 1, both mines have more than 500 million tonnes of in situ JORC resources. While the two mines are producing at a combined rate of about 1Mt per annum at the moment, Harvey said by 2014 the company was targeting production of 7Mt.
The producer has applied to the Department of Planning to have NRE No. 1 approved for up to 3Mtpa and Wongawilli to 2Mtpa, with Harvey saying in four years time Gujarat wanted approval to take Wongawilli up to 4-4.5Mtpa.
In the second presentation yesterday, Appin and West Cliff longwall coordinator Brad Elvy discussed the development complexities in longwall 703 at Appin.
The mine is known for being gassy and thrust zones have posed more problems.
However, Appin has used predriven recovery roadways, employing the use of three remotely operated continuous miners along with round concrete cylinders as part of a system to gain quicker chock recovery, better roof support and improved safety.
Joy engineering manager Colin Parrish revealed the OEM’s progress with the establishment of a hazard register, covering all foreseeable hazards for all of its machines, with the data to be used for the implementation of risk management plans and risk assessment processes.
Xstrata Coal group safety manager Dave Mellows spoke of the company’s JobFit database, outlining the manual components of tasks within job roles and the impact of these tasks on the individual.
Aside from covering some initiatives to remove the risk of manual handling injuries in longwall mines, he said the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table meetings with manufacturers in November would aim to engage OEMs on some of the equipment design concerns.
Broadmeadow longwall superintendent Brett Moule dived into the technical details of how the mine worked with its LASC automated gear and discussed a range of future developments, including a trial of lasers to monitor creep control.
Broadmeadow’s new shearer scrubber was a presentation in its own right, with the placement of the scrubber on a bidirectional hinge keeping it safe from an unretracted flipper bar which destroyed its first two incarnations.
The latest version has been in uninterrupted operation for six weeks.
While Mandalong’s new rib protection system has received acclaim, the mine is also exploring the use of hydraulic hose manifolds in what development mechanical engineer Byron Mcilveen labelled a “fitter’s dream come true” in terms of reducing the amount of hose changeouts for its machines.
