Investigations to Apply Continuous Mining Equipment in a Shovel and Truck Coal Operation in Australia

Abstract

Investigations to apply continuous mining equipment in a shovel and truck coal operation in Australia

Beside bucket wheel excavators (BWE) several high performance In-Pit Crushing and Conveying Systems (IPCC), which allow the adoption of continuous mining systems, even for typical Shovel and Truck (S&T) operations, are available today. RWE Power International assists operators technically and investigative considering a change from the S&T- to IPCC-technology, both, in the planning process involving large scale belt conveyor systems and later with operational know-how transfer. In a number of cases the challenges associated with this system change have been addressed and solved successfully. One key challenge is managing the change in mindset and development of skills for operating the belt conveyor systems efficiently.

OPEX drivers as high personnel costs and diesel fuel cost together with a deteriorating coal price make Australian coal mines less competitive in the international market. Australian mining companies are looking for alternatives to optimize the mining process. RWE Power International, RE GmbH, has been requested by a major coal miner to undertake an IPCC scoping study with a view on reducing cost by implementing continuous mining equipment.

As the reviewed company plans to increase its coal production to 7 Mt per annum, RE’s task is to optimize the mine production in regard to reduce production costs per tonne of coal. As the operation has a certain amount of very soft overburden material, the special focus of this paper lies on the application of fully continuous mining systems in these soft overburden horizons. For the underling harder zones with multiple coal seams the application of semi-mobile IPCC systems is further investigated.

This paper compares the effectiveness of S&T to continuous mining systems for an up to 300 m deep mine with an average annual output of 106 Mbcm. The paper starts with an explanation of the conceptional mine design from a classical shovel and truck operation to favor the application of conveyor belts. Later on, the selection of the mining method will be further explained at the hand of the advantages and disadvantage of BWE and IPCC equipment in regard to the classical S&T pit. Annual effective operating hours, the quantity of staffing required and maintenance factors are explained in detail.