The Pike River coking coal underground mine, on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, is expected to produce 250,000 tonnes for the first year, rising to 1 million tonnes the following year. Initial coal production is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of the 2007 calendar year.

On September 14 this year Pike River awarded Waratah Engineering a $NZ15 million contract for its major development equipment. Both sets of equipment will be the first supplied under the Waratah and Wirth partnership.

Waratah sales and marketing manager Terry Coggles said that under the partnership Wirth provides the product knowledge and mechanical design expertise, backed up by the local compliance experience, electrical systems and manufacturing capabilities and service support of Waratah.

The two Wirth H4.40 continuous miners each have a cutting head 3.5m wide and are powered by two 180kW cutter motors. The traction system comprises two 45kW AC motors controlled by a variable frequency AC drive system.

Coggles said the machines were fitted with east/west conveyors and an onboard coal sizer designed to maintain a maximum coal size of no more than 200mm.

Each machine is also fitted with two roof bolting rigs and two rib bolting rigs.

Pike River general manager Peter Whittall said the continuous miners had been ordered with hydraulically jackable tracks to level the machine on the steep cross grades.

Coggles said the machines had been designed so that each track frame can be adjusted relative to the body of the machine to ensure the cutting head always cuts a level roof. The orientation of the cutting head, shovel and main frame will be measured and displayed on the machine as a driver aid.

The first miner will be delivered in November 2007 and the second early in 2008.

The Wirth T1.14 roadheader boasts a 180kW cutter head power and has been designed to operate in a minimum roadway of 3m high and 4.4m wide.

There is also a 180kW hydraulic power pack that provides hydraulic energy for the roof bolting, traction, loading and conveying system.

As with the continuous miners, the roadheader has an onboard coal sizer to maintain a maximum coal size of no more than 200mm.

Wirth GmbH will supply the major mechanical parts of the roadheader and Waratah will supply the electrical, hydraulic and integrated roof bolting package.

The integrated roof and rib bolting package consists of a single rollover roof bolting package on each side of the machine. When the roadheader is cutting the roadway the roof bolting rigs are parked on the main body of the machine. In this position they do not impede the cutting and loading capability of the machine.

When roof bolting is to be carried out a temporary roof support, the roof bolting rigs and an operator’s platform are deployed to a position immediately behind the cutting head. This ensures that effective roof support is carried out quickly and safely.

The deployment system has been designed into the body of the roadheader rather than being an “afterthought”, Coggles said.

The electrical and hydraulic system is also an integrated package that controls the standard roadheader functions and the bolting operations.

The roadheader assembly will be completed by Waratah in Newcastle, New South Wales with a September 2007 delivery.

On the electrical side of the Pike River development, a $NZ3.5 million electrical contract was awarded to Australian company Ampcontrol.

Ampcontrol will supply five flameproof DCB's, five outlet IPC's, 2 by 1.5MVA flameproof substations four outlets, 2 by 1MVA flameproof substations four outlets, 4 dry type transformers and three 11kV flameproof section isolators – and all manufactured to the New Zealand coal mines regulation dry type transformers.

Meanwhile, the mine development is being completed on schedule with the tunnel advanced to 138m.

Pike River chairman Ray Meyer said the rate of advance had been increasing as the tunnel drove into the mountain.

He said other major contracts are well underway with coal mining equipment ordered and pipeline and electrical infrastructure construction well advanced.

The design and contract for the coal preparation plant is also currently being finalised.

There are currently 20 staff employed by Pike River focused on project managing the contract works and developing the future operation of the mine.