Coal Mining Project Research Articles

Performance evaluation of continuous miner based underground mine operation system: An OEE based approach

Abstract CM is a globally renowned machine, designed to work as a mass production technology for underground coal. Different major coal producers across the globe are using this technology for decades to produce underground coal efficiently. India is also one of the major players globally in the arena of coal production and adopted this cutting edge technology since last decade by implementing at. few of the selective underground coal mining projects. Performance of CM technology is influenced by the geo-mining condition, fleets of other ancillary units and reliability of subsystems while implementation of this system depends largely on the extent of reserve. These aspects generate a scope of large scale research and development in this field. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the parameter to benchmark the equipment performance globally. OEE is the product of equipment availability, performance and product quality. This mining machine based paper focuses on the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of the complete CM based operation to identify the vulnerable systems, which helps to design proper preventive maintenance programme. The CM based system is divided into few subsystems, such as; electrical, cutter, gathering arrangement, traction, hydraulic, chassis, feeder breaker, shuttle car, CM conveyor and out-bye conveyor. The downtime data used for this analysis is collected from an underground coal mine situated in the central part of India, belongs to one leading coal producing company of the country. From analysis it was found that, electrical systems and conveyors are among most vulnerable systems and deserves more care during maintenance. On the basis of these results recommendations are made to redesign the Preventive Maintenance Programme, in order to avoid the lower availability as well as lower OEE.

Probe into Measures to Improve the Accuracy of Coal Mine Geological Survey

n the process of China’s development, various resources need to be used effectively. Among them, coal resources are one of the important basic guarantees in people’s life and production. The continuous use of coal resources in development has made mining more and more difficult, and put forward higher challenges to the mining process and the geological survey process. During the construction of coal mining projects, it is necessary to carry out effective measurement data, accurately improve the underground construction situation of the entire coal mine, make detailed data sorting of underground mines, and make correct judgments. Based on the actual situation, the thesis improves the accuracy in the process of coal mine geological survey, analyzes the related reasons, and adopts scientific measures to improve the maximization of coal mining.

Criteria analysis in the selection method of mud pumping in coal mining project

The process of discharging water from the pit is one of the stages prior to the continued excavation of coal deposits. Due to the increase of coal price, several areas that were not economically valuable became visible to re-mined. In some mine ponds that are considered economically viable, are necessary to pump the mud before carried out the water before further digging. This requirement needs decision-making for the determination of sludge pumping methods. A large number of criterion variables for selecting the best mud pumping method drives this study. The distance of three mine ponds under the company is quite far each other. Some steps were executed to have the best method to cater to the problem. The results indicate that there are six criteria that suitable to be considered in selecting a method for mud pumping. Those are the productivity of pump, man power, mobilization, supporting facilities, flexibilities, and operational cost.

Including health impacts in environmental impact assessments for three Australian coal-mining projects: a documentary analysis.

Notwithstanding the historical benefits of coal in aiding human and economic development, the negative health and environmental impacts of coal extraction and processing are of increasing concern. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are a regulated policy mechanism that can be used to predict and consider the health impacts of mining projects to determine if consent is given. The ways in which health is considered within EIA is unclear. This research investigated 'How and to what extent are health, well-being and equity issues considered in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) of major coal mining projects in New South Wales, Australia'. To this end we developed and applied a comprehensive coding framework designed to interrogate the publicly available environmental impact statements (EISs) of three mines in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, for their inclusion of health, well-being and equity issues. Analysis of the three EISs demonstrates that: the possible impacts of each mine on health and well-being were narrowly and inadequately considered; when health and well-being were considered there was a failure to assess the possible impacts specific to the particular mine and the communities potentially affected; the cumulative impacts on human health of multiple mines in the same geographical area were almost completely ignored; the discussions of intragenerational and intergenerational equity did not demonstrate a sound understanding of equity and, it is essential that governments' requirements for the EIA include detailed analysis of the health, well-being, equity and cumulative impacts specific to the proposed mine and relevant communities.

A mathematical optimisation approach to modelling the economics of a coal mine

A mathematical model of a multi-product coal mining project is proposed to characterise the economics governing coal production. The model accounts for mining cost variation due to varying production levels, changes in reserves available for extraction by means of a cut-off parameter, as well as lead-time delays between investment and when operations begin. The resulting constrained optimisation problem is solved computationally by maximising the net present value of future cash flows from the mining operation subject to physical limitations. We find that the capital investment problem has greater bearing on the overall project configuration decision and that changes in production capital are made throughout the life of the project while production volumes are largely unchanged.

Integrated mine planning system for a sustainability of mining business (Case study: X coal mine project)

Integrated mine planning system for a sustainability of mining business (Case study: X coal mine project)

Social impact assessment in the Russian Federation: does it meet the key values of democracy and civil society?

ABSTRACTContemporary social impact assessment (SIA) is rooted in the concepts of civil society and democracy. We analyse whether SIA as practiced in the Russian Federation as part of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is consistent with the key values of civil society and democracy. We consider whether the Russian EIA requirements enable preparation of meaningful assessments that effectively contribute to the decision-making processes that affect people’s lives. We review the Rsussian EIA legislation and its requirements for SIA and social baseline, and consider the EIA/SIA practice undertaken in response to these requirements. We specifically analyse the Karmen coal mining project in South Yakutia. We compare the EIA documents completed according to national requirements against the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) documents prepared to be consistent with international standards, as defined by the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards. We conclude that the national requirements for SIA in Russia and the way they are implemented do not encourage the development of meaningful SIAs that comply with the key concepts and social values of SIA, civil society and democracy.

Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Services in Mining Regions of Developing Economies: Case Study of a Coal Mining Project in Thar Coalfield, Pakistan

Local communities in mining regions are vulnerable to water scarcity risks caused by extensive mining and changing climate. To mitigate such risks, we adopt a non-market valuation of low income communities’ preferences for improved access to water services, as an effort to develop pro-poor policies that bring long-term water security and benefits to the local people. Using data collected from 268 households from the mining site in the Thar coalfield (Pakistan), we examine the household willingness to pay (WTP) for all major uses based on hypothetical policy scenarios. Results show that the mean WTP was estimated to be PKR 3921 (USD 38) for risk averting services (S1) and PKR 4927 (USD 48.13) for domestic pipelines and more decentralized water systems (S2) per month. We found that the mean WTP for S1 is 11.8% and for S2 is 16.6% more than the existing water-related expenditures of households. Age of household head, income level, project employment, livestock, farm income, and water quality are the significant factors influencing their WTP. These findings provide empirical evidence to policymakers and resource managers to implement cost-effective water management plans that provide multiple ecosystem service benefits, thereby potentially aiding pro-poor and sustainable economic growth in mining regions.

The politics of extractive industry corporate practices: An anatomy of a company-community conflict in Bangladesh

This article analyses a case of mining company-host community conflict in Bangladesh. It focuses on the corporate strategies of a British mining company. The company and its allies framed it as a landmark foreign investment project and a vital project for Bangladesh’s energy security. Such a narrative fits a neoliberal policy agenda, i.e. privatizing resource extraction and creating a favorable environment for export-oriented foreign investment projects. A coalition of local, national, and transnational activist groups challenged this dominant policy agenda and the coal mine project was contested for more than a decade (2005–2015). Eventually, the project was shelved. Many existing studies on mining conflicts emphasize various exogenous factors, but this article draws attention to corporate practices. I argue the underlying factors in the death of the Phulbari coal project were rooted within the organizational culture of extractive industries, namely, the use of: 1) corporate science to misrepresent risks; 2) corporate communication strategies to take advantage of a crisis; 3) rhetoric to disregard the reality and glorify myths invented by the extractive industry. These factors resulted in the failure of the mining company to earn either a social or a legal license to operate in Bangladesh.

Roadheader performance prediction using genetic programming (GP) and gene expression programming (GEP) techniques

Roadheading machines play a vital role in excavation operation in tunneling and mining industries notably when selective mining is required. Roadheaders are more effective in soft to medium rock formations due to a higher cutting rate in such strata. A precise prediction of machine’s performance is a crucial issue, as it has considerable effects on excavation planning, project’s cost estimation, machine specification selection as well as safety of the project. In this research, a database of machine performance and some geomechanical parameters of rock formations from Tabas coal mine project, the largest and fully mechanized coal mine in Iran, has been established, including instantaneous cutting rate (ICR), uniaxial compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, rock quality designation, influence of discontinuity orientation (Alpha angle) and specific energy. Afterward, the parameters were analyzed through genetic programming (GP) and gene expression programming (GEP) approaches to yield more accurate models to predict the performance of roadheaders. As statistical indices, coefficient of determination, root mean square error and variance account were used to evaluate the efficiency of the developed models. According to the obtained results, it was observed that developed models can effectively be implemented for prediction of roadheader performance. Moreover, it was concluded that performance of the GEP model is better than the GP model. A high conformity was observed between predicted and measured roadheader ICR for GEP model.

The relationship with the Other as a platform for discussion about conflicts. Comments on the Orzesze coal mine project

Abstract An analysis was made of comments in media reports on the selected case, the „Orzesze” mining project, posted by Internet users on news websites during the period July 2014 - December 2016 This article is an attempt to examine the relationship with the Other/Alien when thinking about conflicts around investment projects which will interfere with the surrounding social and natural environment. The article considers the theories on the sources of conflict and the development of the conflict process and its consequences and suggests possible courses of action to prevent the escalation of such conflicts particularly with respect to the “Orzesze” mining project in the Upper Silesia, Poland. Taking into account that the Data, Relationship, Value, and Interest conflicts can all be sources of conflict, it should be underlined that good social communication is extremely important in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and the mitigation of their destructive influence. In a cooperation/communication oriented environment it would be much easier to focus on finding solutions rather than finding the guilty party as this can lead to an escalation of the conflict as searching for the guilty party is inextricably linked with the desire to win or to take revenge.

Enhancing the detection of small coal structures by seismic diffraction imaging

Faults are the most important geological structures that need to be detected in any modern underground coal mining project. Even a fault with a throw of a few metres can create safety issues and lead to costly delays in mine production. While seismic surveys are usually successful at locating faults with throws greater than 5-10m, reliable techniques for resolving more subtle faults, dykes and other minor features are yet to be developed.In seismic data, there are two types of seismic energy signatures that can be used for subsurface imaging: specular reflections and diffractions. Specular reflections are created by relatively smooth surfaces between layers of differing impedance contrasts such as at coal-rock interfaces. Specular reflections are used in conventional seismic reflection surveys. Diffractions are generated by local discontinuities caused by surface roughness, faults, dykes and fractures. In this paper, we describe the use of a moving average error filter which, along with a process of reflection event flattening for accommodation of dips and undulations of coal seam reflections, can be used to effectively extract diffraction signals from post-stack reflection seismic data. By identifying diffractions, small faults and other minor features that are elusive using conventional seismic reflection processing can be detected, suggesting that diffraction imaging may be a superior method to seismic reflection imaging. Both synthetic and real (2D and 3D) coal seismic data are used to illustrate the feasibility of diffraction imaging for small fault detection. It is demonstrated from synthetic examples that the extracted diffractions can be used to detect faults with a throw of 1m while a real data example shows that it is possible to detect igneous dykes with widths of just 4m.

Coal mining on pastureland in Southern Chile; challenging recognition and participation as guarantees for environmental justice

Coal mining in Chile has grown significantly from virtually nonexistent in the late 1990s to become a profitable business in 2014. This paper explores the consequences of such revival from a post-political environmental justice perspective, through the case of a coal-mining project on Isla Riesco, located in the Chilean Patagonia. The project Mina Invierno has met the necessary legal requirements and obtained the required environmental permits to become operational. Nonetheless, island residents are opposed to the project, and especially families engaged in sheep ranching, which is one of the oldest and most significant production activities in the area. By analyzing the conflict between coal mining and ranching on Isla Riesco, this article challenges the so far conceptualization of recognition and participation as dimensions of environmental justice, since our results reveal that what is excluded in this case are not only people but ideas, even if these come from non-marginalized actors. This finding contributes to environmental justice literature by proposing that the study of environmental conflicts, analyzed from a post-political viewpoint, should also focus on the challenges that communities face in order to rebut the prevailing consensuses that sustain their situation.

Mechanical behaviors analysis on a square-steel-confined-concrete arch centering and its engineering application in a mining project

Aiming at the support difficulties of mine galleries under the complex geological conditions of high buried depth, high in situ stress and tectonic fractured zones, a novel square-steel-confined-concrete (SSCC) arch centering supporting system is proposed in this paper. To validate the feasibility of this supporting system, a uniaxial compression test on an SSCC short column is performed and the results illustrate that it has better ductility and higher bearing capacity than the U-shaped column. Numerical analysis on the mechanical behaviors of SSCC arch centering is conducted considering three factors of core concrete strength, steel tube thickness and confinable effect coefficient. Two influence indexes of steel tube thickness (μt) and core concrete strength (μc) influencing the ultimate bearing capacity are put forward and μt has more significant influence. Therefore, an SSCC arch centering (side length 150 mm, tube thickness 8 mm and filled C40 concrete) is determined to perform laboratory and in situ experiments. Combined with numerical simulations, the deformation failure behaviours of the SSCC arch centering are eventually obtained. The laboratory experimental results show that the maximum deformation appears near the spandrel of the arch centering and the ultimate bearing capacity is 1286.9kN. An SSCC and a U-shaped arch centerings have been simultaneously used in the supporting system of the gallery in Zhaolou coal mine project, and the monitoring results (after 157 days) show that their average displacement of the SSCC arch centering is 10.33 mm, which is only 18.3% of that obtained in the U36 arch centering. The above research results indicate that this kind of SSCC arch centering supporting system could efficiently control the deformation of the surrounding rock mass in mining galleries.

Methodology for assessment of the accessibility of a brown coal deposit with Analytical Hierarchy Process and Weighted Linear Combination

The research aimed to assess the accessibility of a brown coal deposit for development with respect to environmental and land use functions of the terrain. A combination of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Weighted Linear Combination methodology was proposed to determine weights of environmental and spatial (land use) factors conditioning development of an open-cast mine project and to produce a composite accessibility map in a geographic information system (GIS). The environmental and spatial factors (criteria) were identified in a survey of a group of experts, and the weights were determined by pairwise comparison of criteria by the same group of experts. The following ones were identified as the most significant factors constraining development of a brown coal open-cast mining project: nature protection areas, cultural and historical monuments, populated areas, underground water reservoirs and surface waters. The research was done on a case study of the Legnica brown coal deposit located in the Dolnoslaskie Province in SW Poland. The identified criteria were mapped and standardized in GIS. The final composite map was obtained in the result of a weighted map overlay analysis with the weights determined in the result of AHP analysis. The results, presented graphically and statistically, show that the western area of the three analysed Legnica deposit coal fields is the least inaccessible with respect to the analysed criteria and that the northern one is the most inaccessible. The results can be used to support sustainable spatial policy and development on all levels of public administration.

“The beast doesn't stop”: the resource boom and changes in the social space of the Darling Downs

A resources boom and the incursion of large scale coal mining and coal seam gas projects has precipitated environmental conflicts and other social struggles in traditionally agricultural communities of the Darling Downs. These relate to control of economic resources, cultural practices and, more generally, regional identity. This paper examines the social space where these struggles are taking place using sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's analytical concepts. Data was collected through interviews and photographs in two local government areas of the region – Toowoomba and Western Downs – using changes to physical landscape as an indicator of changing relationships in social space.With the advent of the new industry, agricultural communities are experiencing the pervasive presence of the resources industry and a systematic loss of control of resources. This prompts a struggle as they try to maintain their traditionally dominant power position.

Challenges in Including BCA in Planning Approval Processes: Coal Mine Projects in New South Wales, Australia

A requirement for project proponents to include a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) as a component of their environmental impact assessments is implied in planning approval legislation in New South Wales, Australia. Fulfilling that requirement in the context of three large-scale expansions of coal mines has led to the application of choice modeling to estimate values for the main environmental, social, and heritage impacts. A number of particular issues have emerged in those applications: the framing of choice sets so that incentive-compatible willingness-to-pay questions are asked; the inclusion of “existence values” associated with employment opportunities provided by mines; and the incorporation of environmental offsets as part of the choice task given to respondents. The benefit-cost analyses of the coal mining projects have proven controversial. While the government agency responsible for administering the project approval process has used them as an input to decision-making, in some cases its recommendations have been “over-ridden” by the imposition of subjectively determined administrative rules. In one case, an appeal through legal channels against an approval was successful in part because the judge who heard the appeal dismissed the BCA findings because it was contrary to his own viewpoint of the merits of the case. In response, the state government has introduced legislation that requires greater “weight” to be given to the development benefits of coal mining. These responses have left the role of BCA and nonmarket valuation in the decision-making process in “limbo,” with practitioners and policy makers unsure as to the future of the methods in politically charged contexts.

Great Barrier Reef threatened by coal mining project

Great Barrier Reef threatened by coal mining project

Design of Haul Road Illumination System for an Opencast Coal Mining Project—A Case Study

This article presents a design of an effective haul road illumination system for a mechanized opencast coal mining project. It included an illumination survey of the existing lighting system of the haul road followed by analysis and improvement measures, which include a suitable design plan for an illumination system using DIALux software. The illumination survey was conducted to assess the existing illumination level of the haul road. The methodology involved calculation of horizontal illuminance in a grid fashion, which involved a maximum number of measuring points for achieving better accuracy. A model of haul road illumination system was designed in the DIALux and simulated that gave improved results compared to the existing system of haul road illumination. The model was designed according to CIE 140/EN 13201 illumination standard and the existing design was as per Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) standards. The luminaires used for the design were 400 W high pressure sodium vapor (HPSV) lamps. The simulation was performed by varying the luminaires’ parameters; that is, pole distance, height, inclination, light overhang, etc. The result of the simulation showed that uniformity of light could be achieved by maintaining the effective pole height at 15 m and inclination of luminaires at 15°, by keeping the pole spacing at 40-m intervals. The average to minimum value of the illuminance (uniformity ratio) was obtained from the design. It was also noted that a wet surface resulted in a lower uniformity ratio (0.03) compared to a dry surface (0.10).

Coal seismic diffraction fault imaging: Results from numerical modelling

Faults are the most important structures which need to be detected for any modern underground coal mining projects. Even a fault with a throw of a few metres can create safety issues and lead to costly delays in mine production. While locating faults with throws greater than 5-10 m has been generally accepted for seismic surveys, techniques to resolve the more subtle faults, shears and features which exploration programs should also locate are needed. Faults cause breaks in continuity of seismic horizons. These discontinuities generate diffraction patterns. Before the days of seismic migration and generation of very high fold data, diffraction patterns were what the seismic interpreter sought as an indication of faulting, especially for small faults where the discontinuities of the seismic reflections are less evident but most processing is now aimed at suppressing these diffractions. However, in recent years, techniques for diffraction imaging developed for petroleum seismic data processing, makes small fault detection possible by separating the diffraction events from the reflection seismic events. In this paper, we will develop new algorithms for extracting fault related diffractions from reflection seismic data and providing a new way to detect faults especially the small ones from coal seismic data and demonstrate the feasibility of the newly developed fault imaging algorithms with numerical examples in the coal mining environments.