The main issues include electric arcing resulting from cable damage, which has the potential to ignite methane gas or start a fire in coal dust or surrounding equipment, and electric shocks and burns to people as a result of direct contact with exposed live conductors in the cable.
Chief inspector of coal mines Brian Lyne said mine operators should develop an effective “trailing cable management plan”, with emphasis on the following matters:
- Shuttle cars running over their own cables or pinching cables against the coal rib;
- Failure or jamming of the cable reeling mechanism;
- Cable repairs;
- Cable handling; and
- Maintenance and testing of electrical protection systems.
