Possibilities and Experiences with Wirtgen Surface Miners for Coal and Limestone Mining in India

摘要

Simplify the mining process and increasing the product quality under difficult becomes more and more important. Especially safety- and environmental regulations, problems with present operation of the mine or in the mineral preparation process, limited staff with sufficient skill and experience, required stability, or selectivity require to look for alternatives. Indian limestone and coal mine operators are working intensively on solutions for these problems. These operators well understood that Wirtgen Surface Miners could be an alternative using the mechanical mining method. So in 1994, the first Wirtgen Surface Miner was introduced to the Indian limestone mining industry. In the meantime, 23 Wirtgen Surface Miners are operating in Indian limestone and coal mines. And these machines show day by day their ability to overcome the described restrictions and problems. The experience gained by producing the required quantities and qualities with high availability and operating hours per year have resulted in the development of a new machine family. Two machines of this new family, the 2200 SM model and the 2500 SM model are operating in India since mid of 2001. The improvements reached with these new machines are presented in the lecture.