Demonstration of Longwall Mining in a Steeply Dipping Coal Seam

摘要

The report describes the demonstration of longwall mining in a seam dipping 27 deg to 34 deg. Equipment was selected on the basis of capability, compatibility, and cost. The longwall equipment operated very well on the steep pitch with an average equipment downtime of 21.9%. Coal handling outby the face was a problem that caused an additional downtime of 19.5%. Development for the panels proved to be the major problem in the economics of longwall mining on a steeply dipping seam. During the first 9 months of operation, the longwall averaged 71.9 tons per man-shift (TPMS) and development averaged 0.6 TPMS. for an overall average of 14.1 TPMS.