Abstract

Fully mechanized mining (FMM) technology has been applied in Chinese coal mines for more than 40 years. At present, the output of a FMM face has reached 10-million tons with Chinese-made equipment. In this study, the new developments in FMM technology and equipment in Chinese coal mines during past decades are introduced. The automatic FMM technology for thin seams, complete sets of FMM technology with ultra large shear height of 7 m for thick seams, complete sets of fully mechanized top coal caving technology with large shear height for ultra-thick seams of 20 m, complete sets of FMM technology for complex and difficult seams, including steeply inclined seams, soft coal seams with large inclination angle, and the mechanized filling mining technology and equipment are presented. Some typical case studies are also introduced. Finally, the existing problems with the FMM technology are discussed, and prospect of FMM technology and equipment applied in Chinese coal mines is put forward.

Highlights

  • Mechanized mining (FMM) technology has been applied in Chinese coal mines for more than 40 years

  • In a number of new large coal mines in Shanxi, Shannxi, and Inner Mongolia, the main seams are subhorizontal with a thickness of 6–7 m. These seams have a stable occurrence, they are hard and unsuitable for top coal caving. How to extract these thick seams with high efficiency, safety and high recovery rates using the Fully mechanized mining (FMM) technology with large shear height has become an important topic for the coal mines

  • The FMM technology and equipment with 7-m ultra-large shear height for thick seams have been successfully used in a number of mines, including Bulianta, Sandaogou mine of Shenhua and Hongliulin mine, and an annual production capacity of more than 10 million tons per work face was reached, marking technical breakthroughs as well as the safe and efficient production of the FMM faces with large shear height (Wang 2005, 2006; Ning 2011)

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Summary

Current coal productivity in China

According to data from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2013 program, global coal output in 2012 was 7,864 million tons, of which 3,660 million tons were produced by China. Coal accounted for 76.6 % and 67.1 % of China’s primary energy production and consumption structure, respectively, and 47.5 % and 50.2 % of the world coal production and consumption, respectively. China leads in both coal output and consumption. By 2020, China’s coal output is expected to reach 3,800 million tons, of which at least 55 % will be used for primary energy consumption. Since 2000, China has been updating long-effective production safety mechanisms implemented in its coal mines, while improving on its fully mechanized

FMM technology and equipment for thin seams
FMM technology and equipment for medium-thick seams
FMM mining technology and equipment with large shear height for thick seams
FMM mining technology with 7 m ultra-large shear height for thick seams
FMM mining technology with large shear height for steeply inclined seams
Spray pump
Findings
Backfilling mining technology and equipment
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