Room and pillar mining with full pillar extraction is one of themost hazardous systems of underground coal mining, a significanthazard being the potential for sudden goaf override.The Autowarning Telltale (AWTT) is a new development forpillar extraction operations, based on the well proven and simpleRockbolting Telltale safety monitoring device. It is now beingapplied in room and pillar coal mines in India, with significantpotential for application worldwide.The Autowarning Telltale is an intrinsically safe low-cost,self-contained unit installed into the roof either during pillardevelopment or prior to pillar extraction. It provides a highlyvisible warning via flashing Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) when apreset level of roof movement has been exceeded.The paper provides a full description of the instrument and twocase histories of its initial application at fully-mechanized Indiansites using the split and fender technique.
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