Most Productive Equipment - s3.amazonaws.coms3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/ 258, Number 4....

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Volume 258, Number 4 July/August 2010

Most Productive EquipmentZero Harm Mentality • Lowest Cost Per Tonne

Front cover

Front cover

Volume 258, Number 4. July/August 2010

In this issue . . .

JOY

MIN

ING

MA

CH

INE

RY

Headlines4 Becker Mining appoints new VP

6 Boom stacker conveyor

7 Introducing LontohCoal Ltd

8 First Bucyrus highwall miner for india

10 Becker Mining systems in Australia

12 Mongolian joint venture

14 Gemcom in Indonesia

16 Update on the Rietkuil coal project

18 New chairman for Western Coal Corp

20 ICP becomes IndoMet

Features24 2010 heralds a new era at Trolex

28 A bit of a crush - a look at crushing methods and achievements

33 Joy Optidrive technology on feeder-breakers

34 Coal mining in South Africa - a changing market for continuous miners

40 The application of a 148 kW drive unit to transport systems

Health & Safety44 Satellite communications

Plant & Equipment46 Siplus extreme protection

48 Over 100 years of movement

Contacts:Publisher: Trevor BarrattAdvertisement Sales: Kevin BarrattGraphic Design: Karen WardaleDatabase Management: Carol ChamblerPublisher: Tradelink Publications Ltd.British Fields, Ollerton Road, Tuxford, Newark, Nottinghamshire. NG22 0PQ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1777 871007Fax: +44 (0)1777 872271E-mail: [email protected]: www.mqworld.com

All subscriptions payable in advance.Published 6 times per year, post free:UK: £140.00 Worldwide: £160.00

ISSN No. 1357-6941Copyright© Tradelink Publications Ltd.All rights reserved.The contents of this publication are the copyright of the publisher and may not be reproduced (even extracts) unless permission is granted. Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, but no liability can be accepted for any loss or damage whether direct, indirect or consequential arising out of the use of the information contained herein.

ha hectare m metret tonnekg kilogramg gramM million Mt million tonnesMst million tonsst tonscm centimetre

mm millimetreNm Newton metreJV Joint Venturetph tonnes per hourl litregpm gallons per minuteGW GigawattkW KilowattmW MegawattkV Kilovolt

In this publication, unless otherwise stated, the measurements are metric.Other abreviations are:

Joy entry development solutions

Joy offers a complete range of entry development equipment to suit the needs of mining operations worldwide.

Recognised world wide as a leading manufacturer of roadway development equipment used in developing longwall panels Joy is able to provide all customers with a single accountable source to meet all entry development requirements.Joy designs and manufactures continuous miners and miner bolter machines specific to customers bolting requirements together with a complete range of coal clearance systems including batch haulage as well as self advancing conveyors and continuous haulage systems.

Pictured on the front cover is theJoy 12CM30 Miner Bolter

The Joy miner bolter system fully integrates the early installation of high strength roof bolts with the latest Joy continuous miner drivage system, incorporating the latest improvements in machine design and roof bolting technology

Tel: +44 (0)870 252 5000Fax: +44 (0)870 252 5301Email: [email protected]: www.joy.com

Words supplied by Joy.

www.joy.com

Volume 258, Number 4 July/August 2010

Most Productive EquipmentZero Harm Mentality • Lowest Cost Per Tonne

4 Coal International • July/August 2010

News

Becker Mining Systems, global supplier of

complete mine-wide solutions for underground mining, has appointed Mr Achim Benoit VP of Finance.

Achim Benoit joined the company in 2007, and together with CEO Prof

Dr Wolfgang Wegener will be responsible for the coordination and the management of the Becker-Group finances.

Becker Mining is a system supplier for mining infrastructure with headquarters in Germany and employes 1,400 people.

Becker Mining appoints new VP

Anglo American plc has entered into a

conditional agreement with a consortium composed of Korea Electric Power Corp, POSCO and Cockatoo Coal Ltd, to sell its interests in five undeveloped coal assets in Australia for A$580M (approximately US$500M).

The assets comprise two wholly-owned underground coal deposits in New South Wales (Bylong and

Sutton Forest) and Anglo American’s share in three open cut coal deposits in Queensland (Collingwood, Ownaview and Taroom), all of which are held 51% by Anglo American and 49% by Mitsui. The assets have total estimated JORC compliant attributable resources of 847Mt. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals, but is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Sale of coal assets

As the result of insufficient supplies of

fat coking coal concentrate in Russia, Russian mining company, Mechel OAO, has introduced supplies of coal from USA. The first 73.5 Mt of coal have already arrived to the Port Mechel Temryuk. Mechel intends to arrange

regular coal supplies from USA to Russia both for the internal usage and sales to the market. Mechel Bluestone has adjusted its production plan to increase output of coal grades substituting high volatile grades for the Russian market.

From USA to Russia

Wear resistant solutions provider, Kennametal Inc

has signed a $500M five-year credit agreement, to amend and restate Kennametal’s prior loan agreement.

“We are pleased with our banking partners’ confidence in and support of Kennametal and its business outlook. This five year transaction meaningfully

extends our debt maturity profile and provides long-term funding stability,” commented Kennametal VP and CFO Frank Simpkins. Kennametal intends to use these funds for general corporate purposes and to refinance the company’s revolving credit facility that was scheduled to mature in March 2011.

Kennametal new agreement

ITT Corp has agreed to purchase privately

held Godwin Pumps, the supplier of automatic self-priming portable pumps, for $585M.

Godwin Pumps, founded in 1976, is based in Bridgeport, NJ and has approximately 800 employees located throughout the US and at its manufacturing facility in Gloucestershire, England. The company operates a US rental fleet of more than 6,000 pumps at 26 equipment rental facilities. Godwin’s 2009 revenues were approximately $200M, with this year’s revenue projected to be about $235M. When combined with ITT’s existing dewatering sales, the Godwin acquisition is expected to double ITT’s revenues from dewatering equipment and services. Upon closing of the acquisition, Godwin will become part of ITT’s $1.6 billion Water & Wastewater business.

ITT today sells Flygt and Grindex brand dewatering pumps, and rents from its fleet of more than 11,000 pumps, through its global sales and distribution network serving customers in more than 140 countries. ITT’s Flygt pumps are the original

submersible dewatering pumps, invented in 1948.

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of its automatic self-priming Dri-Prime pump line, Godwin Pumps officially opened its 26th branch location in Carson, California this year.

The new facility has 2,400 ft² of office space; 12,000 ft² of building space and another 75,000 ft² of yard space to support the current demand and long-term growth expected in the Long Beach area.

Currently, Godwin Pumps maintains a fleet of over 6,000 portable rental pumps and 3,200 pieces of related equipment.

ITT Corp has also acquired Canberra Pumps in Brazil, which will bolster ITT’s $3.4 billion global fluid technology portfolio. Canberra has an installed base of 20,000 pumps, and operates a manufacturing facility in Salto, Sao Paulo State, employing 90 people. The company generated approximately BRL19M (US $10M) in revenues in 2009. ITT has more than 1M process pumps installed worldwide. Goulds, Flygt, Vogel, Lowara, Flowtronex and Sanitaire, are registered trademarks of ITT or its subsidiaries.

ITT to purchase Canberra and Godwin Pumps

Russian coal producer, Raspadskayadskaya

reported that its production of raw coal in the second quarter of 2010 had decreased by 42% on last year’s figures and coal concentrate sale volumes decreased by 31%.

This was caused by the accident at Raspadskaya mine in May, and as a result the mine is not currently operating. At ZAO Koksavaya mine which was acquired in April 2010 production commenced.

Production report

News

Coal International • July/August 2010 5

In room & pillar mining continuity is the key to productivity and this requires strongand efficient meshing of cutting and haulage. Bucyrus offers a complete range of advanced mining equipment for fast, safe and profitable room & pillar operations. Designed and evolved for maximum performance and optimal integration, Bucyrusequipment delivers unbeatable efficiency. The seamless range of equipment includescontinuous miners, diesel and battery-powered face haulage and LHD vehicles, roofbolters, feeder-breakers, continuous haulage systems and longwall move equipment.

Backed by outstanding customer service, Bucyrus has everything you need for profitable production in your mine.

All from a world leader in mining equipment.

Mining Technology

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Continuity

PassionEvery Bucyrus product comes with 100% of ourpeople’s passion for one of the most preferredsuppliers brand, state-of-the-art technology, and global premium service.

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www.bucyrus.comReliability at work

Coal-Intern_200510_R&P:Layout 1 20.05.2010 10:44 Uhr Seite 1


News

DTEK has closed a five-year $500M Eurobond

issue, which was the largest non-sovereign debut issue from Ukraine and the first corporate issue since 2007, and will pay a fixed coupon of 9.50% per annum.

The offer was almost three times oversubscribed, with demand from over 170 accounts. Priced at the tight end of guidance, the allocation was split across the US (58%), Europe (37%) and Asia (5%).

Commenting on the closing of the issue, Maxim Timchenko, CEO

of DTEK, said:“this is a significant milestone in the development of DTEK. We have raised $500m, at competitive rates, in our maiden bond issue. The company is now well financed, enabling us to accelerate our growth plans, actively participate in the forthcoming Ukrainian electricity privatisations and continue our modernisation programme. This successful Eurobond issue is the next step in building our track record in the international capital markets.”

DTEK closes $500M Eurobond offering

Gemcom Software International Inc has

signed a collaboration agreement with Sandvik Mining and Construction to develop a system and interface for monitoring underground mobile mining equipment. The two companies are teaming on a

performance and production tracking solution that will improve consolidation and validation of information from mine operational systems.

A prototype of the Sandvik Gemcom collaborative solution is in place at the Sandvik test mine in Tampere, Finland.

Sandvik and Gemcom collaboration

The US Department of Labour’s Mine Safety

and Health Administration launched its annual roof fall prevention awareness programme aimed at reducing the high number of roof falls that occur in the nation’s underground coal mines. Statistics show that more accidents and injuries from roof falls occur during the summer months than at any other time of year. As temperatures rise, humidity and moisture increase underground, making it easier for a mine roof or rib to fall.

Since 2000, there have been 69 coal mining

fatalities attributed to “fall of roof or back and fall of face/rib/pillar/side/highwall.” During the agency’s preventive roof/rib outreach programme (PROP), MSHA personnel will advise operators to examine roof that has weathered due to humid air; communicate immediately with miners when they observe adverse roof conditions; install supplemental support when conditions warrant; scale loose roof in the face area where miners work; and consistently follow the approved roof control plan for their mines.

MSHA launches annual safety initiative

A B&W Stormajor radial boom stacker conveyor

has been commissioned by Holcim (Maroc) SA to manage its 40,000t coal and petroleum coke stockpile at its Port of Jorf Lasfar fuel handling facility in Morocco.

UK based B&W, part of the Aumond Group had to design a system to create irregular stockpile shapes, and the lack of planning permission meant mobile plant was used.

The Stormajor combines the well known Samson feeder design with a radial slew and luffing outloading boom conveyor into a single mobile machine, able to receive material both from tipping trucks and loading shovels.

At Port of Jorf Lasfar the Stormajor is capable of loading rates of up to 600 tph and is in operation 24 hours per day, and with alternative designs could

handle in excess of 2,000 tph. The unit receives loads every two minutes from tipping trucks and can also intake from wheel loaders.

Equipped with a 23m outloading boom, the Stormajor automatically forms a “kidney” shaped stockpile in excess of 12m high. The boom slewing facility of plus/minus 30 together with the mobility of the unit enables the formation of variable stockpiles. The unit is completely self contained having an on-board 150 kVA diesel generator set powering a hydraulic power pack to drive the belt, slewing and luffing operations, and is mounted on rubber tyres.

B&W has also received an order for a near identical Stormajor from Holcim’s neighbours, Ciments De L’Atlas, who is also located at the Port of Jorf Lasfar in Morocco.

Boom stacker conveyor

Gunvor International BV, an independent energy

company has appointed Henry Liew as VP Coal – Asia, responsible for origination and marketing in Asia. Prior to joining Gunvor, Henry was responsible for

growing the market share for thermal coal in Asian markets with Straits Asia Resources, the Indonesian producer with more than 9Mst per year of production. He will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Expanding in Asia

B & W Stormajor

News


Тel: + 49 2304-757-163 Fax: + 49 2304-757-177

Email: [email protected] www.jdt.de

J.D. Theile GmbH & Co. KG Letmather Str. 26 58239 Schwerte

Deutschland

CLASS F CHAINSCHAIN LOCKS FOR MODERN HIGH

PRODUCTIVE MINES

MORE THAN CHAIN

Australian Qmastor has signed a major contract

with the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator (HVCCC) to provide its horizon advanced planning and scheduling software. The HVCCC plans and coordinates the co-operative daily operation of the coal chain to meet the needs of producers and service providers. The HVCCC is responsible for coal chain planning, scheduling and coordination encompassing some 1,000 km of rail track, over 18,000 annual train deliveries, 35 coal mines, the berthing and loading of more than 1,200 export vessels and the handling of 80 different coal blends for annual coal exports worth in excess of $10 billion with a forecast growth of 50%

over the next two to three years.

The Qmastor agreement is expected to provide in excess of $5M of revenue over five years. The horizon system will play a key role in the planning and scheduling of coal through the Hunter Valley Coal Chain. A key component of the systems function is to facilitate management of the Newcastle coal vessel queue.

The system included coal movements from approximately 35 coal producers, rail movements from more than 27 load points, and the movement and loading of more than 1000 coal vessel per year from two coal terminals with another under construction.

Qmastor in the Hunter Valley

LontohCoal is an unlisted public company, new

in the field of coal mining and exploration. It is an independent company with a portfolio of metallurgical and thermal coal in Zimbabwe. The company currently has SAMREC/JORC coal resources and reserves in excess of 1bn tonnes.

LontohCoal is currently mainly involved in South Africa with an interest in geologically viable mining and prospect colliery Hlobane in Vryheid, KwaZulu Limpopo.

Hlobane consists of approximately 60 Mt of thermal coal in mineable reserves and commenced operation in May 2010 with 1.2 Mt per annum production estimated from 2011 to 2014, and 1.8 Mt per annum estimated for

five years thereafter. In Zimbabwe the company successfully acquired 51% in Liberation Mining’s Lubimbi project. The Lubimbi project has an indicated billion tonnes opencast, high quality thermal and coking coal coalfield. Additional to the Lubimbi project the company has thermal coal deposits in the Entuba/Lubimbi coalfields of Zimbabwe.

“Our vision is to become a world class, professionally managed, customer focused, coal mining and exploration company, offering value added quality coal products to both domestic and export markets,” says Tshepo Kgadima, CEO of the company.

Introducing LontohCoal Ltd


News

Rail-bound railway system supplier, SMT Scharf AG

has received its first order for the switch-in rack-and-pinion drive system it developed last year. The order has a total value of around 2M euro and is to be shipped to Russia in 2010.

A Russian coal mine in the Kuzbass region ordered three trains that are equipped with the switch-in rack-and-pinion drive. It also ordered track equipment and accessories. Other companies in the group to which the mine belongs have already been using SMT Scharf’s trains with conventional friction wheel drives since 2005. The trains that have now been ordered will allow weights of up to 45 tons to be transported.

The inclines are up to 25° on sections of the underground roadways on which the trains will be used. This system is designed so that the driver can switch between the friction and rack-and-pinion drive en route without having to stop the train. The toothed racks that fit the pinion thus only have to be laid on sections with particularly steep inclines or in particularly damp environments. Both the rack-and-pinion drive and the toothed racks can be retrofitted to existing systems.

Dr Friedrich Trautwein, SMT Scharf AG’s CEO commented: “we believe that there is major potential for our business in the coming years from Russia, and also from China and South Africa.”

First order for rack-and-pinion drive system

Cordex Instruments has appointed Al Najim

Saudi Industrial Co Ltd (NASICO) to distribute its range of Centurion XP explosion-proof digital cameras in Saudi Arabia.

Based around a five

megapixel digital camera, the Centurion XP family is the world’s first explosion-proof digital camera with flash, LCD display and movie mode that allows users to review their images in the hazardous area.

Cordex Instruments expands in the Middle East

Bucyrus International, Inc has an order for a

highwall miner from India. It will be the first technology of its kind in the country. The machine will be operated by Cuprum Bagrodia Ltd (CBL) of Kolkata, India at SECLs Sharda OC project and is expected to commence operations during the fourth quarter of 2010.

The applied mining method will be trench mining, a mining method that requires a minimum removal of overburden compared to traditional open pit mining. The SECL Sharda OC project contains multiple horizontal coal seams with a seam height of 0.8m - 1.8m under an overburden of up to 75m. The projected production capacity for the highwall miner is 600,000t per year.

The contract consists of a complete highwall mining system with low seam cutter module, diesel-generator set, and training. For this project the miner is tropicalised, and the cutter module is provided with a fibre-optic gyro system

to ensure straight drives and consistent pillar width. The system is modified to comply with the requirements for DGMS approval.

SECL is the largest coal producing company in India, with a yearly production of around 100 Mt. It is one of the eight subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd (CIL) which is headquarters in Kolkata, and is one of the world’s largest coal mining companies, with a yearly production of over 400Mt.

Bucyrus has previously supplied SECL with the first 42m³ electric rope shovels to be purchased in India as well as room and pillar equipment, hydraulic excavators, and smaller electric rope shovels.

In the course of the acquisition of Terex Mining, Bucyrus acquired the Beckley, WV, USA based highwall mining company, formerly known as Terex SHM, in February 2010. Bucyrus has over 65 highwall mining systems sold worldwide, including Russia and Australia.

First Bucyrus highwall minerfor India

Thunder Basin Coal Co’s Black Thunder mine

has surpassed two years and nearly 6M employee-hours without a single lost-time safety injury. Also, Black Thunder was given the 2010 Governors Safety Award for Wyoming’s best safety programme and the Wyoming State Mine Inspectors Safety Award for large mines. Coal Creek mine has worked more than four and a half years, or 1.3M hours, without a

single lost-time injury. Coal Creek mine also earned the Wyoming State Mine Inspectors second place Safety Award among small mines.

Black Thunder and Coal Creek mines are located in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Thunder Basins 1,800 employees produce more than 10% of the annual US coal supply and provided coal to 116 power plants in 25 states in 2009.

Wyoming state safety awards

News



News

As part of the Becker Group’s expansion

strategy in Australia,Becker Mining Systems has acquired the Vale group of companies. This comprises of seven companies providing engineering, mechanical, electrical and labour solutions to mining Industry.

The group of Vale companies will be consolidated in to two entities, Becker Vale Pty

Ltd and Vale Industrial Pty Ltd. Becker’ products will be introduced to the Australian market and supported by Becker Vale. A strong labour hire unit (previously Vale Contracting) will also be integrated that focuses on the underground coal markets. Vale Industrial consolidates the labour hire. The head office of Becker Vale will continue to be at Moss Vale.

Becker Mining Systems inAustralia OPG Power Ventures

plc, the developer and operator of power plants in India, is adding a second 77MW module to its existing 77MW coal fired unit near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

The Chennai facility had been conceived as a twin module unit as the site earmarked for the existing unit is sufficient for the

second module, and has facilities that can be shared by both units.

The cost of the project is expected to be approximately £55M, and construction at the site is expected to commence in September 2010 with commissioning expected during the third quarter of 2012.

77MW unit at Chennai

Casella CEL’s Tuff range of personal

air sampling pumps, the rugged pump for use in harsh monitoring environments, has gained ATEX (and IECEx) intrinsically safe approval for use in flammable atmospheres.

Designed to European IP54 standards (protected from dust and splashing water), the Tuff has also

received certification to ‘M1’ classification required for mining applications, allowing it to be safely used underground without the need for a hot work permit.

The comprehensive range of Tuff rubber over-moulded sealed models’ features include digital flow control, simple user interface and high intensity status and alarm LEDs.

Casella gains ATEX approval

Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co Ltd, a 90% subsidiary

of Puda Coal, closed the mining asset transfers of Pinglu County Da Wa Coal Industry Co Ltd and Pinglu County Guanyao Coal Industry Co Ltd in June 2010 for $41.7M. Puda Coal Inc is a supplier of high grade metallurgical coking coal used to produce coke for steel manufacturing in China and is a consolidator of 12 coal mines in Shanxi Province.

The Yunchen municipal coal mine authority has approved Da Wa Coal and Guanyao Coal to proceed with mine improvements at their current capacity level. “The closings

of the asset transfers of Da Wa and Guanyao coal mines mark an important milestone in our coal consolidation projects,” commented Mr Liping Zhu, President and CEO of Puda Coal Inc. “We are diligently negotiating with the owners of the remaining six coal mines and anticipate reaching agreements with them in the near future. We remain in close contact with the Shanxi government to receive additional approvals to fully proceed with our plans to consolidate the eight coal mines in Pinglu County, as well as the four coal mines in Huozhou County.” said Mr Liping Zhu.

Puda acquisition completesPeabody Energy has

completed Mongolia’s first coal mine restoration project at the former Ereen mine near the city of Bulgan in northern Mongolia. The project restores a 16 ha area to hardy pastureland with native forage species, and develops a new community well and a surface pond for livestock.

It was designed in consultation with the Mongolian government, developed by an international team, and restoration activities were carried out by a local Mongolian workforce.

The project has great importance to the Mongolian people, according to Mongolian Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy

Representative B Altsukh: “Bulgan aimag was always famous as a pioneer. We had the first Mongolian Olympic medalist from Bulgan, and now we have the first Mongolian coal mine reclamation. This project is the benchmark for responsible mining. It means a lot to us as Mongolians.”

Peabody has a representative office in Ulaanbaatar and is working with the government to pursue development opportunities for the Tavan Tolgoi reserve.

Mongolia is strategically located to serve high-demand China and Asia markets, which are expected to represent about 90% of coal’s demand growth in the next two decades.

Mongolia’s first restoration project

At the annual and extraordinary general

meeting in June, Anooraq Resources Corp agreed to change its name to Atlatsa Resources Corp, to reflect

the South African focus of the company following the acquisition of the Bokoni Mine. Atlatsa is a Sotho word meaning “to make prosperous.”

Name change

Visit www.mqworld.com to see your latest industry news

News



News

The China Mining Technology and

Investment Summit 2010, organised by Baotou People’s Municipal Government and Noppen, and supported by the Mongolian National Mining Association, the American General Business Association and China International Mining Group (CIMG) took place in June 2010 in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. At this summit, over 100 government officials, industry leaders, solution providers, project developers and experts from China’s mining industries discussed topics covering mining

industry development trends, domestic and international investment opportunities, mining and sustainable development, technologies and equipments.

China’s mining industry has opened up massive opportunities for international mining equipment and technology solution providers. Inner Mongolia’s land area is the third largest in China. It has huge coal reserves, rich rare-earth resources, and its natural alkali reserves are among the largest in the country. It is also abundant in mineral products such as asbestos and mica.

China Mining Technologyand Investment Summit 2010 National Coal Corp, a

Central and Southern Appalachian coal producer, has begun constructing its new Mine 12, which when fully operational should produce about 480,000 tons per year of high quality coal for the speciality coal market.

First production is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010. The funds to complete the construction and begin

operation come from a recent sale of surplus equipment that generated about $4M.

National Coal’s operations in Tennessee include the coal mineral and mining rights to approximately 79,000 acres of land, along with mining complexes that currently include one active underground mine and one active surface mine.

Mine 12 construction

Peabody Energy and Winsway Coking Coal

Holdings Ltd have agreed a joint venture in Mongolia, creating Peabody-Winsway Resources, after Winsway purchased the 50% interest in the joint venture formerly owned by Polo Resources.

In China Winsway is a supplier of imported high-quality coking coal and

in particular, the largest offtaker of Mongolian coking coal in 2009. It distributes and transports coal from Mongolia and other countries into China. Peabody-Winsway Resources holds coal and uranium licenses in Mongolia, and is conducting an active exploration programme in the South Gobi region and Mongolia.

Mongolian joint venture

Sable Mining Africa Ltd reports that following

the first phase of the drilling programme by Delta Mining Consolidated Ltd (DMC) the 53 holes at the Limpopo coal project in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, an indicated coal resource of 136Mt in situ has been estimated on the licence prepared in accordance with the requirements of the SAMREC Code.

The first phase exploration programme comprised a total of 9,628.59m drilled on the southern block. Coal seams were encountered at depths

varying from 65m up to 287m, with seam thickness varying from 5.2m to 0.5m. Coal seams encountered included the top, middle upper, middle lower and bottom seams. Importantly, the initial tests indicated a free swelling index of above five, serving as an indicator of a soft coking coal product.

The currently unexplored northern block of Limpopo coal project is contiguous to Coal of Africa Ltd’s Vele coal project, which has recently been granted a mining licence by the Department of Minerals & Energy in South Africa.

Limpopo project, South Africa

China Energy Corp, producer and

processor of raw coal for domestic heating, electrical generation, and coking for steel production anticipates reporting between $17M and $18M in net income for its fiscal year ending November. This would represent at least a 233% increase in net income as compared to the 2009 fiscal year.

Management anticipates sales of its coal group, which includes coal mining and sales as well as coal trading, will represent approximately 80% to 90% of revenues during 2010. The company expects to produce an aggregate of approximately 800,000t of coal this year. It produced approximately 156,000t of coal in the first quarter of 2010 with an average sales price of

$37 per ton. In May 2010, the average sales price for coal was $43 per ton.

As previously reported, for the first quarter, 2010, the company generated revenue of $20.8M, increasing more than three times the $5M reported in the corresponding period of last year. The increase was primarily due to a significant rise in production resulting from a $10M expansion and improvement programme at the LaiYeGou coal mine in Inner Mongolia, as well as the increase of volume from its coal trading business.

“We continue to capitalise on the efficiency of our longwall mining equipment which is now fully integrated at our LaiYeGou coal mine,” stated WenXiang Ding, CEO and president.

China Energy Corp income

New supply agreement

America West Resources Inc, domestic compliant

coal producer with mining operations in Central Utah, has signed a new coal supply

agreement, valued over $75M, with a major coal-fired power agency responsible for generating electricity sold to utility companies serving

multiple Western US.The supply agreement

provides for compliant thermal coal mined from America West’s Horizon

mine in Carbon County, Utah to commence shipping immediately, with follow-on coal trains to the end of December 2014.

News


Together


News

SouthGobi Resources Ltd has commenced

construction of a coal-handling facility (CHF) at its flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in southern Mongolia. The CHF will remove ash, or waste rock, and enable the blending of coal from different seams to create higher-value products. Alexander Molyneux, President and CEO said, “SouthGobi will be one of the first coal producers in Mongolia to conduct value-adding processing in the country. Operation of the new facility will create approximately 25 new jobs.”

The new CHF, to cost approximately US$25M, will be constructed between the Sunrise and Sunset open pits

at the Ovoot Tolgoi mine. The facility will include a 300t-capacity dump hopper, which will receive run-of-mine coal from both pits and feed a coal rotary breaker that will size coal to a maximum of 50mm and reject oversize ash. A radial stacker will facilitate loading of the sized coal into customers’ trucks for delivery across the Mongolia-China border. The facility is planned to be operational in early 2011. Once commissioned, it is intended that the CHF will operate on one 12-hour shift per day, six days per week. Annual capacity will be up to 6Mt of coal on a one shift per day basis, and operating hours can be extended as mining capacity increases.

Coal handling facility atOvoot Tolgoi

Riversdale Mining Ltd, Wuhan Iron and

Steel Corp (WISCO) and China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) have signed a non-binding MOU for the development of the Zambeze coal project in Mozambique.

The MOU allows WISCO to acquire 40% of the Zambeze coal project in the Tete Province of Mozambique for a total of US$800M to be paid in three tranches and subject to achievement of certain milestones. When completed, the transaction values Zambeze at US$2.0 billion.

The Zambeze coal project

is Riversdale’s second Tier 1 coal project in the Moatize Basin and is adjacent to the Benga coal project. The Zambeze project is similar in structure to Benga with 22 coal seams outcropping over a strike length of 14km across the northern portion of the tenement. In May this year, the coal resource estimate for Zambeze was upgraded to 9.0 billion tonnes.

WISCO will earn the right to purchase at least 40% of the coking coal produced from Zambeze, and the right to purchase at least 10% of the coking coal produced from the Benga project.

Zambeze project

Gemcom Software International Inc, the

largest global supplier of specialised mining productivity solutions, opened an office in Jakarta, Indonesia in June 2010.

According to Gemcom

research, Indonesia is one of the world’s major producers of coal, being ranked as the third largest thermal coal exporter. It has also been recognised as the third largest exporter of copper. Additionally,

it produces significant quantities of gold and nickel. The country also mines bauxite, phosphates and iron sand. Minerals and related products represent 19% of its total exports.

Exploration and mining companies, contractors, consultants, and government-owned businesses use Gemcom’s software to assist them with the identification and extraction of commodities.

Gemcom in Indonesia

Puda Coal Inc, supplier of high grade metallurgical

coking coal used to produce coke for steel manufacturing in China and a consolidator of 12 coal mines in Shanxi Province, has responded to the recent announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) seeking to curb significant hikes in thermal coal prices.

In June, the NDRC issued an announcement to some of China’s major coal mining players, stressing the importance of adhering to contract coal prices, with the aim to ease inflation pressure and ensure sufficient supplies of electricity during the summer. According to the Qinhuangdao Coal website, the thermal coal price for 5,000 kilocalories increased 12.8% to $97 per ton in June 2010, as compared to $86 per ton in April 2010. The bidding price for 5,500 kilocalories of thermal coal rose to $112 per ton in June 2010, up 33.3% from $84 per ton for the same period last year.

“We do not anticipate that the recent announcement by the NDRC will have a major impact on Puda Coal, since our well-established coal washing business benefits from solid relationships with long-term customers from the steel industry and, thus far, we have not experienced any significant changes to our coal supply or distribution,” commented Mr. Liping

Zhu, President and CEO of Puda Coal. “Our coal mine consolidation projects include the Jianhe project, comprised of coking coal mines, and Pinglu project, comprised of thermal coal mines. As part of the Pinglu project, we are in the reconstruction process for the Dawa and Guanyao coal mines and are in negotiations with the owners of the remaining six coal mines for the purchase of the coal mining assets. Therefore, we do not expect that this announcement by the NDRC will have any immediate effect on our coal mine consolidation projects, since they remain in the reconstruction or purchase negotiation phases. Further, we believe that the NDRC announcement may prove beneficial to us, since it provides a more reasonable benchmark for the asset assessment of the remaining six Pinglu project coal mines. In conclusion, we expect that the NDRC announcement will be effective in the short-term to combat the recent hikes in thermal coal prices but over the long-term there will be opportunities for thermal coal pricing to increase as this energy source is critical for China’s economic development.”

Puda on thermal prices

News



News

South Africa’s Richards Bay coal terminal, had

cut shipments to the Atlantic region by more than 43% in April and increased sales to Asia by 16%.

Atlantic sales fell to 1.02Mt from 1.8Mt a year earlier, Exports to Asia climbed to 2.89Mt from 2.5Mt.

South Africa is boosting Asian exports as economies in India and China recover from last year’s slowdown while demand in Europe falls amid concern Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis will spread. India and China, whose economies are growing at rates faster than

8%, together accounted for about 42% of Richard Bay’s shipments in the first quarter of this year compared with about 25% a year earlier.

Coal exports from Africa’s largest export terminal for the fuel fell about 14% to a 11-month low of 3.92Mt in April, after rising 17% in March to 5.66Mt.

The terminal’s stockpiles were at 4.62Mt as of 30 April as it shipped about 70% of 5.6Mt it received from mines. At the current shipment rate, the terminal will export 56.8Mt of coal for all of 2010, compared with its capacity of 91Mt.

Richard’s Bay increases Asia salesSable Mining Africa Ltd

announces that Delta Mining Consolidated Ltd (DMC) has commissioned a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the Rietkuil coal project in South Africa.

The project, which is adjacent to Exxaro Resources Ltd’s Leeuwpan colliery and Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd’s Delmas colliery situated in the Mpumalanga Province, has an in situ metallurgical and thermal coal resource estimate of 199.9Mt, of which 156.9Mt in the measured category and 42Mt in the indicated category. These figures are based on 237 boreholes drilled over the 2,720

ha property. The BFS is expected to be completed by November 2010.

Sable Mining CEO Andrew Groves said, “our aim is to ensure that DMC rapidly develops the Rietkuil coal project into production, and the commissioning of the BFS is the next step toward achieving this objective . . . we have a strong balance sheet with circa US$160M in cash, which we will utilise to assist DMC’s project development as well as identify further opportunities across Africa, focussing primarily on coal and iron ore.”

Rietkuil Update

Vale SA has acquired an additional 24.5%

stake in the Belvedere coal project for US$ 92M from AMCI Investments Pty Ltd. As an outcome of this transaction, Vale increases its participation in Belvedere to 75.5% from 51.0%.

Belvedere is an underground coal project, in the southern Bowen Basin region, near the city of Moura, in the state of Queensland, Australia. According to preliminary estimates, once it is fully developed Belvedere has the potential to reach a production capacity up to 7Mt per year of coking coal.

The price for this

transaction was settled before the announcement by Australian government of the project to create the Resource Super Profits Tax to be imposed on mining companies.

Investment in the coal business is an important part of Vale’s growth strategy. Vale has coal operating assets and a portfolio of exploration projects in Australia and Colombia, and minority interests in two joint ventures in China. Vale is also developing the Moatize project in Mozambique and has mineral exploration initiatives in several other countries.

Vale increases stake in Belvedere

Arch Coal Inc’s Skyline mine has been awarded

the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute (RMCMI) award for safety in underground mines for the

fourth consecutive year. The Skyline mine is located near Helper, Utah, and employs more than 175 people. It sold 10M tons of coal during the four-year period.

RMCMI safety award

Thelon Capital Ltd has agreed to purchase the

Jellico coal project, which consists of approximately 6,000 acres of fee simple land in the Campbell and Claiborne counties, located approximately 35 miles north of Knoxville Tennessee.

Thelon shall issue 3.5M shares, and spend $750,000 on confirmation drilling. It is expected to confirm a measured and indicated aggregate coal resource of not less than 20M tons of sufficient quality and thickness to be conventionally mined.

Portions of the property have had extensive sampling and drilling by previous operators as recently in 2009 and it is thought to contain multiple coal seams of high quality metallurgical, as well as, compliant steam coals. DRC Coal LLC has a surface mining operation on the southern boundary of the

property producing from the Blue Gem, Jellico, and Rex coal seams.

Historical reserve and coal analysis data provided in a July 2009 report by AR Leamon CPG TN estimate inferred coal reserves of approximately 12M tons in place. Coal quality analysis conducted from core holes and test pits on the property between 1992 and 2007 have shown favourable sulphur, ash and, Btu values consistent with high quality metallurgical coals being produced in the area.

The property and surrounding area has well-established power, logistics, and transportation infrastructure including mine access roads, several secondary county roads, and a railroad parallel to Tennessee state highway 90, which extends through the property.

Thelon acquires Jellico project

Visit www.mqworld.com to see your latest industry news

News



News

Western Coal, producer in Canada and West

Virgina, has appointed David R Beatty, OBE (67) as Chairman. Mr Beatty is presently a director of the three publicly traded companies: Bank of Montreal, First Service Corp, and Inmet Mining.

He was the former MD of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance. He is Honorary Consul to Canada for the Government of Papua New Guinea, and in 1993 was awarded the Order of the British Empire.

New Chairman

UK based Cordex Instruments is still under

a year old, but has already introduced three new digital cameras for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. It has established a global network of distributors and is breaking sales targets in most markets.

Cordex has just been

certified compliant with ISO9001:2008 by SIRA certification, the internationally recognised standard for quality management systems - an important accolade for a company whose products are largely specified by standards-conscious organisations.

Quality assured instruments

Sable Mining Africa Ltd, the AIM listed

resource company, has secured an 80% interest in Monaf Investments Ltd which holds the Lubu Coal concession in the Bulawayo mining district of Zimbabwe for $3M. A further $3M in shares at 28 pence per share will be payable subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent. The transaction is part of the company’s strategy to identify and invest in coal and iron ore assets that the board believes can be rapidly developed to production.

The Lubu coal concession, which covers 19,236 ha of the highly prospective Karro Mid-Zambezi coal basin in Zimbabwe, is located in the established Hwange (Wankie) mining district, which is served with road, rail and electricity networks. It is approximately 120km north-east of the Hwange colliery and the Bulawayo rail line runs 100km to the south west.

The Lubu coal fields

were originally explored by Messina Transvaal Development Services Ltd (MTD) in the 1980s and, on the basis of 13 drill holes totalling 1,398m, spaced from 1km to 1.5km, MTD estimated the area to have an inferred resource of 334Mt of low-sulphur coal, with a calorific value of 24 MJ/kg. This resource is principally located in the 14-18m thick main seam, which is also believed to contain coking coal in its lower section. The portion of Lubu for which the resources have been calculated hold the potential for open cast mining. Considering likely extensions to the coal seams below the overlying Karoo sandstone, it has been estimated by independent consultants Behre Dolbear & Co that, with further exploration and drilling, there is potential to increase the coal resource at Lubu to 515Mt. No SAMREC compliant resources estimates currently exist for Lubu.

Acquisition of Lubu coal field in Zimbabwe

Consol Energy Inc has joined with Verdeo

Group Inc to develop the first project to destroy ventilation air methane (VAM) emissions at an active West Virginia coal mine. The project, located at Consol’s McElroy mine near Glen Easton in Marshall County, will demonstrate significant reductions of emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), in a safe and proven manner, and without any impact on mine operations or production. It will be the first time the technology will be deployed at an active

coal mine in West Virginia, and among the largest such projects of its kind in the US to date.

Methane gas is inherent in coal seams and is liberated during the mining process. Coal mines control underground methane emissions through the use of ventilation systems, which circulate large quantities of fresh air through the mine to dilute the methane, and then exhaust the VAM to the surface of the mine and to the atmosphere. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, VAM represents

the largest source of GHG emissions from US coal mines. The project will utilise regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) technology to destroy the GHG emissions from the McElroy Mine. RTO technology has been successfully deployed in industrial process applications for many decades and this project will test the ability to use the equipment at a commercial scale in the mining sector.

As a result of the emergence of trading markets for GHG emission reductions, voluntary initiatives like the McElroy VAM project can

generate revenue from the sale of carbon offset credits. The value of these credits enables mine operators such as Consol to secure capital from companies like Verdeo to pay for the RTO technology. The carbon offset credits generated from the VAM oxidation project at the McElroy Mine will be registered with the Climate Action Reserve, a leading pre-compliance certification programme in the US that approved a protocol for coal mine methane projects in 2009. The project is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2011.

Ventilation air methane abatement project

US based L & L Energy Inc, with operating coal

businesses in China, has started operations at its third coal washing facility located at L & L’s Ping Yi coal mine.

Ping Yi, a profitable coal mine located in Guizhou Province of China, with annual coal mining capacity of

300,000 tons, has constructed this new 600,000 ton coal washing facility using its own capital. It is expected the new washing facility, at full capacity, will generate approximately $78M in revenue per year, based on a washed coal price of $130 per ton.

New washing facility

News


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Aquila Resources Ltd has upgraded its resource

statement and maiden reserve statement for the Washpool hard coking coal project, wholly owned by Aquila. The project is in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, approximately 260km west of Rockhampton and 24km north west of Blackwater. It lies to the immediate west of the Wesfarmers’ Curragh mining operation and to the east of the Idemitsu owned Ensham Mine.

The feasibility study, proposes an open cut mine, producing 1.6 Mtpa of high rank, hard coking coal over a mine life of up to 25 years. The Scorpio seam is the main target seam within the project area which is part of the Burngrove formation. The project area is confined within

Mineral Development Licence application 403, and Mining Lease application 80164.

Aquila has delineated the perched coal basin and found it to be continuous within the project area, dipping at 3˚ to 5˚ from the eastern margin and more steeply from the western margin. The target Scorpio seam is a prospective open cut coal mining target at comparatively shallow depths between 15m and 65m with life of mine strip ratio of 6.5:1.

The total resource has increased significantly from the previously announced 138.1Mt to 185.5Mt. In addition there has been a material change in JORC classification of the resource from 33.8Mt indicated and 104.3Mt inferred to 108.8Mt measured and 23.9Mt indicated and 52.7Mt inferred.

Upgraded resource statement L&L MOU to acquire Shunda Mining Co

L&L Energy Inc, operating coal businesses

in China, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shunda Mining Co to acquire the company. This acquisition includes Shunda’s two existing coal mines producing 750,000 tons per year, and a coal washing facility with an annual production of 900,000 tons per year.

Under the signed terms of the MOU, L&L intends to acquire at least a 51% equity stake in Shunda and will invest an undisclosed amount in Shunda’s operations. The invested capital is principally for use in the construction of a 1M ton capacity new coking

facility recently initiated by Shunda. Recently the licensing approval from the Chinese government was received, and construction on the coking facility has already begun. Shunda also plans to utilise joint venture funding from L&L to expand the annual production capacity at its coal washing facility from 900,000 tons to 1,200,000 tons.

L&L currently operates three profitable coal mines, two coal washing facilities, a coking coal facility, and a coal consolidation and wholesale business in Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces. L&L also has established marketing offices in Guangzhou, Shenzhen of China.


News

Beacon Hill Resources Plc started excavation

works to extend the existing opencast pit at the recently acquired Minas Moatize coal mine in the Tete Province of Mozambique in May. The excavation work is intended to increase the production by an additional 120,000t over the next 12 months. This is in addition to the refurbishment of the underground mine that will see production increase from approximately 2,500t per month to 8,000t per month.

The Minas Moatize coal mine is the only operating mine in the globally significant coking coal region of Tete. Approximately 115,000t of overburden will be excavated over the next three months to expose the coal seam.

Local contracting and equipment hire company Tayanna Mozambique has been engaged to complete

both the overburden excavations and the subsequent coal extraction. A South African opencast superintendant has been engaged to manage the project on behalf of BHR Mining.

Beacon Hill Executive Chairman Justin Lewis said, “the excavation of the opencast pit will enable BHR Mining to produce an additional 120,000t of thermal coal over the next 12 months that will be sold to local coal users generating additional revenues during the development period of the mine. This is a vital component of our overriding strategy, to establish a large scale open cut operation producing approximately 4Mtpa ROM coal and annual revenues in excess of US$200M within the next 18 months.”

Minas Moatize project

Churchill Mining has raised US$23.2M (£16.1M)

by placing 16,087,700 new ordinary shares of 1p each at 100p per share with institutional investors. The proceeds will be used to advance the East Kutai coal project as it moves to production stage.

Following additional analysis undertaken by independent coal geology and mining specialists SMG Consultants the updated JORC mining reserve is just under 1 billion tonnes of thermal coal, in which Churchill Mining has a 75% interest.

Raising capital

Centennial Coal Co Ltd board

has recommended its shareholders to accept the takeover offer of A$6.20 cash per share for all its shares not already owned or controlled by Banpu,

who currently owns or controls 19.9% of the shares of the company.The offer price of A$6.20 per share values the fully diluted equity in Centennial at approximately A$2.5 billion.

Banpu takeover

Hard coal and coke producer New World

Resources NV, has been awarded ‘Best Managed Company in the Metals and Mining Sector in Central and Eastern Europe’ in the Euromoney magazine’s annual poll. The poll rewards those companies with the most convincing and coherent business strategies by region, country and industry, as well as highlighting those that

demonstrate sound practise of corporate governance.

The ranking is based on a survey of market analysts at major banks, consultancy firms and research institutes.

New World Resources NV is the sole owner of OKD, the Czech Republic’s largest hard coal mining company and one of the largest producers in Central Europe. It produced 11 Mt of coal and 843,000t of coke in 2009.

Award for New WorldResources

BHP Billiton has confirmed the

formation of the new joint venture for its Indonesian coal project (ICP) with a subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy TBK following the completion of Government approvals. Adaro has acquired a 25% interest in the ICP joint venture, with BHP Billiton holding the

remaining 75%.BHP Billiton President

Metallurgical Coal, Hubie van Dalsen, said “we are progressing study work to identify development options across the seven coal contracts of work (CCOWs). In future, the project will be known as the IndoMet coal project.”

ICP becomes IndoMet

PT Leighton Contractors Indonesia, a division

of Leighton Asia, has had its contract extended six years at the MSJ coal mine in Indonesia. This will mean the company’s current overburden removal and coal mining operations will reach over 8 Mt of coal per annum. The mine, which is part of the Harum Energy Group’s coal operations, is located in the north of Samarinda, East Kalimantan.

Managing Director of

Leighton Asia, Hamish Tyrwhitt, said that the Tanito/Harum Energy group is one of Indonesia’s largest and most successful coal mining companies, and this contract takes Leighton Asia’s work in hand to record levels of over A$7 billion. Leighton Asia has been operating at the MSJ mine since May 2004, when it signed an initial three year contract. PT Mahakam Sumber Jaya has a crusher, blending and load out facility on the Mahakam River.

MSJ mine in Indonesia

UK coal producer, ATH Resources plc has had

its application to mine up to 4Mt of coal reserves and resources from its proposed Netherton mine approved. It is anticipated that coal

production will commence in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the mine will produce coal for a period of six years, employing 110 people.

Planning approval

News


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The Energy Technologies Institute is to carry

out a detailed study of the availability and distribution of suitable minerals across the UK and technologies that could be used to economically capture and store carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions. The ETI is a UK based company formed from global industries and the UK Government and brings together projects and partnerships that create affordable, reliable, clean energy for heat, power and transport.

The leading technology for carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing carbon dioxide gas then storing it underground in oil and gas reservoirs and other porous areas.

The ETI previously announced the UK Storage Appraisal Project, to improve

the estimates of how much practical potential geologic storage space is available around the country, since there remains a risk that potential sites may turn out to be insufficient in volume, uneconomic or impractical.

CCS by mineralisation has been identified by researchers as a promising additional method of sequestering CO² emissions. Minerals and CO² can react together to permanently store CO² as a solid carbonate product, which can then be safely stored, used as an aggregate or turned into useful end products such as bricks or filler for concrete. The project team will explore these and other opportunities for value added use of the resulting carbonate products.

A consortium led by Caterpillar and including Shell,

the British Geological Survey, and the Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage at the University of Nottingham, was selected to carry out this £1M project. The study will provide a detailed assessment of the distribution of suitable materials together with an estimate of how much of these could practically be used and ultimately provide an indication of the economics of CO² capture by mineralisation. It will also identify the technologies that could be developed to meet the UK requirements and determine the viability of mineralisation compared to traditional CCS approaches.

ETI Chief Executive Dr David Clarke said: “much of the research in this field has concentrated on the chemistry involved. The ETI is looking at the opportunity to develop

system solutions and identify the necessary technologies. We have already announced a project looking at the potential storage capacity for CO² under the sea but mineralisation provides a possible alternative solution. Mineralisation potentially provides a permanent storage method, the CO² could be converted into a useful end product and it could provide an opportunity to use waste materials to capture the carbon dioxide or be used in areas where local geological storage is not available.

Last year the ETI announced 15 projects worth over £53M in offshore wind, marine, transport, CCS, energy storage and distribution and distributed energy.

www.energytechnologies.co.uk

CCS by mineralisation


News

Vancouver based Goldsource Mines Inc

is a resource company engaged in the exploration and development of Canada’s newest coalfield in east-central Saskatchewan. The company has aggressively drilled only a portion of this new thermal coalfield, and has discovered 17 coal deposits of varying size with coal zone thicknesses greater than 100m within the permit area of the Border coal project. The company now reports results on 27 core holes completed for 3,769m drilled during the 2009 - 2010 winter exploration programme at its wholly-owned Border project located near Hudson Bay, Sask.

Numerous intercepts of greater than 40m of coal were encountered with the coal in the Niska 107 deposit nearer to surface, generally showing lower ash content and higher calorific values than other deposits. Minor coal seams were encountered in some of the remaining 14 holes, while others were drilled outside the periphery of the deposits. For this phase of exploration, numbering of drill holes continues sequentially from previous programmes beginning at BD09-116. Deposit names are based on an identifier in the general location, and areas are designated according to

discovery hole numbers. To date, drilling has identified 17 coal deposits at Border, with the recent Fugro airborne gravity surveys indicating good potential for additional coal discoveries and the expansion of several existing deposits.

Goldsource will incorporate data from the winter 2009 – 2010 drill programme into an updated NI 43-101 technical report, which will include an updated resource model and revised estimates. It is anticipated that much of the 89.6Mt of inferred resources will be upgraded to the indicated resource category. The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) continues under the direction of Marston Consultants and EBA Engineering Consultants. The PEA should be completed in the third quarter of 2010, but initial results suggest:

An on-site 500 MW clean coal-fired generator is the first choice for an end use of the coal. Design of the coal-fired electric generating plant can accommodate the coal quality of the deposits. Abundant biomass resources available in Saskatchewan to offset CO2 emissions for a reduced carbon footprint can supplement this fuel. Recent power studies suggest that a 500 MW generator would

help fulfil Saskatchewan’s future power requirements.

An on-site coal to liquids plant appears to be a second alternative for an end use of the coal. Goldsource has signed confidentiality agreements with providers of this technology which will be assessed as part of the PEA. Indications are that these technologies can be economically competitive with the current price of oil. Based on conversion ratios of 1.5 to 3.0 barrels of oil equivalents per tonne of coal, there are an estimated 200 to 400M barrels of oil equivalent contained in the Border coal deposits.

A review of potential power generation partners is underway. In addition, the study will examine mining and capital costs, transportation and potential export markets.

Results from a recent Fugro airborne Falcon gravity survey completed in the spring of 2010 have been received. Initial assessment of the data shows expanded boundaries of existing deposits as well as newly defined targets. The Company believes that the test programs have enhanced its ability to identify new deposits and better define the boundaries of these unique deposits.

Depending on the availability of financing, Goldsource plans to drill these targets in late summer 2010 to expand near-surface resources and identify potential tonnages of improved coal quality.

Current coal resources at Border include:

• Indicated resources:63.5Mt

• Inferred resources:89.6Mt

• Speculative resources:18.7Mt

Goldsource’s President, J Scott Drever states that, “we believe that we have successfully achieved our main goal of converting the inferred resources in the Niska deposits to the higher category of indicated resources. In doing so, we will have exceeded the threshold target of 100Mt of indicated resources necessary to support a potentially economic operation of significant size. The completion of the Marston preliminary economic assessment later this year will provide guidance as to what options are available for development of the resources and how the significant value of these coal assets can be realised.”

Goldsource results

At the international symposium “Mineral

Resources and Mine Development” from the Aachen International Mining Symposia (AIMS) series, more than 380 participants from 32 countries came together at the RWTH Aachen University. The AIMS series is regarded to be one of Germany’s

most prominent annual symposia focusing on the international minerals industry. It is organised by the Institute of Mining Engineering I under the direction of Professor Per Nicolai Martens.

Mineral resources were analysed against the background of increasing prices and newly predicted

shortages in raw material supply. The theme, “Mine Development” included legal, infrastructural and environmental issues. Suppliers of underground mining equipment presented their strategy to meet these challenges in their company and product development. Two trends emerged: a wider use of

mechanical extraction as an alternative to drilling and blasting as well as an extensive growth in the implementation of information technology, aiming in the long term not only at automation but also the application of autonomous equipment and processes.

Managing todays resources – securing tomorrows supply

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Feature Article

2010 heralds a new era at Trolex

The first trial of the safety lamp invented by Sir Humphrey was at Hebburn colliery in north east

england 1816 It was created for use in coal mines, allowing deep seams to be mined despite the presence of methane and other flammable gases. Rumours that a young reporter by the name of Trevor Barratt was present at the trial cannot be substantiated but Coal International was delighted to be present at the Trolex launch of its Sentro 8, a newly certified, integrated, multi-purpose sensing station, at its modern factory in England’s north west

Established in 1960, Trolex started with just four men in a shed with a vision, and even in that first year of operation the company was designing pumping schemes and installing panels for UK mines. As one of the founders, John Pierce-Jones has taken Trolex forward to become a global business with sales of over £10M per annum. Today, the company serves the multiple markets of mining, tunnelling, industry, gas recovery and rail, with a full range of gas detection and environmental monitoring systems and equipment. This includes gas

detection, temperature, flow, pressure, vibration and level sensors from basic monitoring through to complex systems with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) interface.

As Trolex celebrates its 50th anniversary, the company begins a new era under new leadership. The family company owned and operated by John Pierce-Jones now sees the introduction of his two sons to the board.

Glyn Pierce-Jones becomes MD with special responsibilities for product certification and sales and marketing and Lee Pierce-Jones becomes operations director with responsibility for production, quality and research and development. John Pierce-Jones takes up a new role as Chairman of Trolex.

Commenting on the new developments at Trolex, Glyn Pierce-Jones said, “this is an exciting time for Trolex as we build on the company’s firm reputation over the last 50 years as a world leader in the design and manufacture of sensors and systems for tunnelling, mining and hazardous industry. We are planning a rapid expansion and growth programme and we believe we have the potential

to triple sales over the next three to four years.” He continued, “Trolex is already a global brand and this is reflected in the new brand image which we have already introduced this year across all areas of the company. We have a newly formed industrial division to expand into this

area in parallel with mining, and we are focusing on creative product development whilst always maintaining the quality of our products and service and ensuring absolute integrity and complete safety.”

Now employing 50 people, Trolex operates from wholly owned 3,000m² premises in Stockport, Manchester where there are full manufacturing facilities, R&D and electronics laboratories, engineering and mechanical design offices, testing and inspection facilities, bonded stores as well as sales and administration offices.

Gus Bol, global sales director, with over 20 years’ experience in gas detection, explained the ethos behind Trolex’s mission statement of “providing unrivalled technical solutions of uncompromising quality.”

The new Industrial Division has been set up under the stewardship of Mr Bol with a goal to replicate the success and reputation Trolex has earned in the mining market in heavy industry. Glyn Pierce-Jones clarified the expectation “the company has recently invested some £3M in product development putting Trolex at the forefront of systems and sensor design for safety with products like the new Sentro 8. By 2013, we plan to see £10M sales from this new industrial division.”

While the target looks aggressive the opportunity is vast. With its applications in any safety critical arena, and its involvement from conception to commissioning and ongoing support Trolex offers plant wide monitoring systems for a host of industries. Gus Bol listed the typical mining applications Trolex products are used for; pressure


Feature Article

control hydraulic system, CO detection for early warning of fire hazards, coal face shearer monitoring system, gear box condition monitoring system, conveyor belt-slip detection, coal belt alignment, blockage detection at transfer points, fan vibration monitoring, methane detection system. With a lot of these applications relevant outside of the mining industry the scale of opportunity becomes apparent.

Innovation and safety are not often good bedfellows, but in Trolex they are well matched. Trolex’s determination to secure global safety standards led to the appointment of a full time certification and approvals manager. Kevin Stockwell with 20 years of gas detection behind him joined the business a year ago simply to ensure the company’s existing products and innovations are compliant. A tour of the factory affirms the ISO 9001 accreditation is a living philosophy and not just a “badge”. The assembly shop has an orderliness more in keeping with a hospital operating theatre than an engineering works.

Mark Rowland, engineering manager with over 20 years at Trolex explained the evolution of their new product.

Until now, the mining industry has had a range of equipment available for sensing purposes and a typical fixed gas detection system would be integrated by a gas sensing consultant, or in the case of large companies, by a dedicated individual or department within the company who would have associated repairs capability, calibration and servicing equipment or would out-source all of this to a specialist support company. Often a full team of electronics and software experts would be required to deliver and support systems, particularly where datacoms or multiple systems were involved. The creation of a system would often require the integration of sensors, controllers, alarms, standby batteries, cabling and accessories from separate suppliers and would need specialists to install and commission. Invariably, this process would continue with on-going technical support throughout the life of the installation.

First trialled in the tunnelling industry with great success, the system has now received ATEX certification for the mining industry, which will allow its widespread application. The new

system which has emerged – the Sentro 8 - is an integrated multi-purpose sensing station ready to be configured to meet gas detection and condition monitoring requirements without the need for complex investment in system design or the need for specialist back-up.

The system features intelligent, inter-changeable sensing modules served by a universal data communications architecture, making it straight forward to network sensor stations to a master computer and expand the system if required at a later date.

It represents a simple and cost effective way to integrate sensors, controllers, alarms and other systems using compact intrinsically safe Sentro 8 sensing stations. Each Sentro 8 can simultaneously monitor the concentration of up to six different gases together with levels of ambient temperature, ventilation, air velocity or any choice of remote connected sensors that is required. In the mining industry, this means that the new system can monitor all types of environmental conditions such as temperature, vibration, pumps and conveyors, as well as the typical gases needing to be monitored, methane, oxygen and carbon monoxide.

Trolex claims the benefits are considerable and wide ranging – reduced cabling, installation and commissioning costs, reduced maintenance costs and downtime, a smaller number of failure risk points, improved integration of plant wide monitoring collateral, reduced size, weight and storage requirements, easy and fast calibration without the need to power down and a fully scaleable and flexible technology base for responding to and integrating future requirements. Also the ability to communicate directly with standard protocols means that any number of systems can be integrated, on a single data cable and controlled and monitored from a central location, all of this utilising any standard plant and maintenance skills.

The development of Sentro 8 has brought about a rugged 8-channel integrated sensor station. Inside, there is a facility for up to eight pre-calibrated sensing modules. These sensing modules are literally intelligent ‘plug-and-play’ elements each with its own processor for

intelligent data storage and signal conditioning circuits. They have a massive capacity to store up to 4,000 points of data. They are designed to continuously display the data they retrieve, store the full service history such as data logging, calibration, failure modes and alarm settings, and they run self-diagnostic checks. They are also designed to be simply replaced with pre-calibrated modules whenever required, making maintenance, service and calibration straight forward.

The compact, high strength IP65, EMC protected housing features a large LCD screen giving high brightness, dot matrix display for clear information about all eight sensor channels with direct on-screen instructions and diagnostic data. Also fitted are an integral sounder and warning beacon and a waterproof keypad.

Increased processing capabilities of the new technology allows the sensors to communicate directly with the Modbus protocol, whereas previously conventional analogue signals would have had to go through data conversion modules in order to communicate with datacom systems. Once again the potential benefits within large plants or on multiple sites are huge.

This means that the new system Sentro 8 can use a standard RS485 connection to link up to 32 sensing stations into one cable to a PC running SCADA software package. The capability of communicating this way over distances in excess of 1km on a standard cable, allows for ultimate efficiency and one-man supervision. It is also possible to link the local RS485 / Modbus network onto larger Ethernet networks opening up the possibility of monitoring the Sentro 8 from anywhere in the world via the internet.

The Sentro 8 concept has resulted in a system of pure simplicity with no complex functionality, simple two-button programming, and clip-in clip-out sensor heads. It is also an example of conformity to the WEEE directives on sustainable product development where a product should be designed to be adaptable for another purpose in the future. Any future systems required can be incorporated into the existing architecture whether it’s gas or plant condition monitoring.

Trolex also argues the safety aspect too cannot be under estimated. Whereas


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once a sensing system would have been needed to be housed in a large and heavy explosion proof housing, the small overall size of the new development means that it is easier to design housings suitable for applications in hazardous areas and with improved levels of ingress protection, an extremely important criteria in harsh industrial and mining environments. Also, there is more intrinsic security as the sensing system is engineered as an integrated whole. This

eliminates the risk of invalid equipment combinations that can occur in a piece-meal system. The system is designed to meet the new approval method, safety integrity level BS61508.

As with all its products Trolex offers training packages tailored for clients individual needs including in-depth product analysis, calibration training, safety awareness and familiarisation with continued periodic on-site services.

World wide distribution will be made

via Trolex’s overseas joint venture companies, distributors and agents operating in South Africa, China, India, Australia, Croatia, Iran, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Turkey, USA and Serbia.

The fresh management regime at Trolex has also overseen the introduction of a new look website, an updated corporate identity, and a brand new 80 page brochure for the mining industry. All the indications are that the company remains in safe hands.

Mark Rowland, engineering manager at Trolex

Trolex, has supplied Balfour Beatty with Sentro 8 integrated gas sensors during excavation of the A3 Hindhead tunnel


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Electronic detonation in South Africa

In a bid to drive global adoption of electronic detonation, AEL Mining Services, with its joint venture

subsidiary, DetNet are focusing on specific innovations set to revolutionise the future of mining.

In line with AEL’s strategic values to increase safety in blasting operations and reduce environmental impact, as well as staying on par with constant technology upgrades, it has created a blast optimisation tool offering key features, such as precision timing; pre-blast fault identification and rectification ability, as well as improved safety and security.

According to product manager Carlos Goncalves, AEL’s electronic detonators are robust and suitable for use in the toughest tunneling, shaft sinking, underground stoping, quarrying and open cast mining environments. He also announced three products currently focusing on innovations in electronic detonating technology: Quick Shot, DigiShot and DigiShot Plus.

Electronic detonators provide benefits including accuracy of firing times, cost effectiveness, improved overall cycle times, reduction in environmental impact, fine tuned blasting to suit any operational requirement, increased productivity and reduced secondary breakage costs.

“Operations that have adopted electronic initiating systems are reporting downstream and upstream benefits including improved and consistent

fragmentation; controlled muckpile profile and placement; excavation profile and stability improvements; reduced mining costs and safety risks,” says Goncalves.

AEL has deployed electronic initiating systems in quarrying, tunneling, underground mining, and surface mining applications. From 2007 to 2009, the Gautrain rapid rail project’s 15km underground tunnels were excavated under sensitive, built-up areas in Johannesburg. AEL’s QuickShot electronic detonator system was used to achieve maximum advance rates as well as adhering to environmental restrictions. Blasting was performed without incurring damage to sensitive structures on surface with positive prescriptive value

(PPV) levels well under the target maximum of 10mm/s.

Other examples of operations that have adopted electronic delay detonators are Ngezi open pit mine in Zimbabwe and Coedmore quarry in KwaZulu Natal. Ngezi, the first mine to use electronic detonators in Zimbabwe wanted to optimise the mining processing value chain while Coedmore Quarry had to ensure that the environmental impact was reduced resulting in its operations continuing production.

AEL is targetting regions including South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia and DRC, South America and Europe, the latter under its joint partnership agreements.

Increase in mining activities in Australia

Investment activity in the minerals and energy sector remains strong in Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), located in Canberra, is an Australian government economic research agency noted for its professionally independent research and analysis. The report recently released; Minerals and energy: major development projects is positive for the economy of Australia.

ABARE’s deputy executive director, Paul Morris said “the 20 completed projects across most major mineral and energy commodities will enhance the ability of Australia’s mining sector to meet growing demand from Asia.”

As at 30 April 2010, the value of advanced minerals and energy projects

was AS$109.6 billion, the second highest on record. “The high level of committed capital expenditure and the significant number of projects committed to in the past six months is a reflection of expectations of growing demand for minerals and energy commodities in the medium and longer term,” Mr Morris said.

The AS$109.6 billion is spread across 75 advanced projects, defined as being ‘under construction’ or ‘committed’, of which 41 are energy projects, 28 are mineral projects and six are mineral or energy processing projects.

Energy projects account for around 73%, or AS$80 billion, of the estimated capital cost of all listed advanced major projects. Iron ore projects account for a further 16%, or AS$17 billion.

Western Australia accounts for around

79% of the capital expenditure on advanced projects, including six oil and gas projects, valued at AS$64.1 billion and 10 iron ore projects, at AS$17 billion.

Queensland accounts for a further 10%, or AS$11.3 billion of capital expenditure on advanced projects, with half of this in coal mining and related infrastructure projects. The listing of 361 major development projects includes a record 286 projects at a less advanced stage, ie projects undergoing feasibility studies or approval processes.

In the six months to April 2010, 49 new projects were added to ABARE’s list of development projects. This compares with 44 projects being added previous six months to and 11 projects being added in the six months prior to that.


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A bit of a crush

One of the many essential processes of the coal mining industry is the crushing

process. Coal mines use primary and secondary crushers to handle the coarse material, followed by tertiary crushers to reduce the ore further. The coal is fed into the crusher’s hopper via the feeder which controls the flow of material. There are several different types of crushers including jaw, gyratory, cone, horizontal shaft impactors and vertical shaft impactors (VSI).

• The jaw or toggle crusher has vertical manganese steel jaws, one fixed the other moves back and forth, set farther apart at the top so the coal is crushed smaller as it descends before escaping once small enough.

• A gyratory crusher is similar to the jaw crusher, with a concave surface and a conical head.

The inner cone has a slight circular movement without rotating.

• A cone crusher breaks rock by squeezing the rock between an eccentrically gyrating spindle. As rock enters the top of the cone crusher, it becomes wedged and squeezed until small enough to fall out.

• Impact crushers involve the use of impact hammers rather than pressure to crush material, and are ideal to reduce the size of soft and non-abrasive material such as coal.

• VSI crushers use velocity rather than surface force to crush coal, with a high speed rotor with wear resistant tips and a crushing chamber to throw the rock against.

• Generally, crusher design hasn’t altered much over the years, but more reliability and higher production levels have been achieved.

There are four basic ways to reduce a material: by impact, attrition, shear or compression, and most crushers employ a combination of all these

crushing methods.Closed-circuit crushing is a means of

controlling product top size by screening the product and then returning oversize material to the feed end of the crusher for another pass through the machine. While it may be possible to obtain a specified top size from crushers without using a closed-circuit system, it is not always desirable. To control top size from a single crusher operating in an open circuit, material must remain in the crushing chamber until it is reduced. This can result in overcrushing some of the product, with a corresponding increase in fines and a loss of efficiency. In a typical multiple-stage crushing plant with the last stage operated in closed-circuit, the primary crusher operates at a setting which produces a satisfactory feed size for the secondary crusher, so that a balance exists for the work done by each crusher.

Pennsylvania CrushersThe largest manufacturer of crushers,

Pennsylvania Crushers was established in 1905, and in the US, and most of the coal needed to generate electric power is crushed using PCC crushers. PCC is also a major supplier of crushers to China, where there are almost 100 machines used for sizing coal for power plants and coke ovens, and crushing limestone for blast furnaces. In total PCC have more than 6,500 crushers installed in 79 countries, and more than 400 crusher sizes in 30 different models.

The PCC produces the Bradford breaker for primary size reductions, used to separate rock and other debris from coal while crushing. It has capacity up to 2,500 tph and can accept input sizes as large as 1m (40”.)

• Impactors are usually used as a secondary crusher; the reversible impactor has a capacity of up to 2,000 tph and can accept input sizes as large as 500mm. Twin rotor impactors are designed for sticky material, as the frame can be heated to minimise build-up.

• The single roll crusher acts as a primary crusher accepting input sizes as large as 900mm. It is suitable for compressive strengths as high as 16,000 psi

(110 Megapascals), with typical output sizes of 100mm to 200mm, and is equipped with a spring

loaded relief mechanism to provide tramp iron protection.

• Double roll crusher models are manufactured for stone or coal, and provide a typical output size of

50mm or less.

• Frozen coal crackers are chain driven single roll crushers designed for under hopper or pile use, to reduce frozen lumps to conveyable size.

• Hammermill one way models are available for both primary and

secondary applications, with large reduction ratios possible with most materials.

McLanahanUSA based, McLanahan specialises

in crushing low silica materials such as coal, with its triple rolls designed to accept large lumps and produce a cubical product with a minimum amount of fines. The triple roll crusher is a single roll crusher followed by a double roll crusher all in one unit. They are both made of alloy carbon steel segments, and are protected from tramp iron by automatic toggle relief devices, which allow the crushing plate and movable roll to move rearwards to pass non-crushable material, and then return to their original setting.

The primary stage (single roll) handles the large lumps and provides a suitable feed for the secondary stage (double roll) which produces the desired final product. Roll diameters range from 460mm to 760mm, roll width up to 3040mm, and capacities up to 6,000 tph can be achieved.

The McLanahan stage loader crusher is designed to accept ROM coal and rock produced at the longwall face and then provide a product suitable for handling on a conveyor belt. It incorporates a high speed, hammer tooth roll, to crush material against a heavy duty crushing deck as material is conveyed through the unit by a pan line conveyor. The stage loader crusher can be adapted to fit into any stage


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loader or longwall manufacturer’s system, and is available in widths ranging from 1060mm to 1220mm with optional design features.

MMDFounded in 1978 to design and

manufacture mineral processing equipment for the UK underground coal mining industry, MMD developed the twin shaft mineral sizer. This has progressed from a 500 series machine, through to the 1500 series, capable of handling material up to 3m³ with capacities in excess of 12,000 tph. The MMD sizer can process wet sticky or hard dry rock or a combination of the two. The company manufactures mobile, semi-mobile and static sizer stations for a variety of products.

The basic concept of the MMD sizer is the use of two rotors with large teeth, on relatively small diameter shafts, driven at a low speed by a direct high torque drive system. This design produces three major principles which all interact when breaking minerals. These principles are:

• three stage breaking

• rotating screen effect

• deep scroll pattern

Initially, the material is gripped by the leading faces of opposed rotor teeth. These subject the material to multiple point loading, inducing stress into the material to exploit any natural weaknesses. At the second stage, material is broken as it passes between the contra rotating shafts by being subject to three point loading applied between the front faces of the teeth on rotor and the rear face of the teeth on the other rotor. The third stage of breaking occurs as the rotors chop through the fixed teeth of the breaker bar, thereby achieving a three dimensional controlled product size.

The rotating screen effect involves the interlaced tooth rotor design allowing free flowing undersize material to pass through the continuously changing gaps generated by the relatively slow moving shafts.

The patented deep scroll design spreads the feed across the full length of the rotors. This feature can also be used to convey oversize material to one end of the machine, where it can be ejected

from the machine without interrupting production.

In 1999 MMD delivered and installed a 625 series sizer to a lignite operation in the Czech Republic, now, more than 10 years later the same operation has increased its production targets and installed another 625 series sizer. Both the old and new machine sit side by side and are fed by a single belt conveyor delivering lumps of up to 400mm into the in-feed chute which is simply divided in the middle to deliver approximately 50% of the material to each sizer. All the sized material is then collected via the outfeed chute onto a single takeaway conveyor and sent to the power plant. The machines are almost identical and produce an average throughput of 1800 tph each.

The MMD 500 series twin shaft sizer was the first designed in the MMD range and works as a primary, secondary or tertiary machine depending on the tooth configuration. It can be constructed with a fixed centre, adjustable centres or as a single rotor unit with a range of tooth configurations to suit individual applications. Different lengths are available to enable processing of higher or lower tonnages, and can be single or double drive, depending on tonnage requirements and the material being handled. A typical 500 series sizer with twin 110kW electric motors, has an approximate mass of 15t. In Australia a 500 series is operating with 400mm in-feed, producing 150mm out-feed at a capacity of 1300 tph.

The MMD 625 series twin shaft sizer can be configured for primary or secondary use in the same system on medium tonnages, allowing common drives for both primary and secondary units. The length of the inlet can be selected at the design stage to suit the tonnage required and can be constructed as a fixed or adjustable centres unit. As with the 500 series sizer a wide range of existing tooth configurations is available for this machine, and it can be a single or double drive, using one or two electric motors of up to 260kW each. A typical 5-tooth secondary 625 series sizer, with a 2m long inlet and double 150kW drives has an approximate mass of 26t. Working in China is a 625 series with a 300mm in-feed, 100mm out-feed achieving a capacity of 2500 tph.

The MMD 750 series twin shaft sizer was developed shortly after the 500 series to provide a range of higher

tonnage machines capable of breaking larger and harder materials. Again, capable of primary or secondary crushing depending on the tooth configuration. A typical 3-tooth primary machine with a single 400kW electric drive has an approximate mass of 40t. In South Africa one 750 series with 1000mm in-feed and 180mm out-feed is achieving 900 tph capacity, while another is achieving 2000 tph with an in-feed of 1000mm and an out-feed of 250mm.

The MMD 1000 series twin shaft sizer was designed to cope with a larger in-feed size, increasing the capacity considerably for the same inlet length. This machine is often paired with a smaller centres secondary when a multi machine system is necessary to achieve the final product requirements. These units can be fitted with either single of double drives of varying powers, using the range of purpose designed MMD gearboxes. A typical 3-tooth by 6-ring long machine with a single 260kW drive has an approximate mass of 60 tonnes. In Colombia one is operating with a capacity of 1600 tph with 1300mm in-feed and 300mm out-feed.

The MMD 1300 series twin shaft sizer was initially made for high tonnage overburden operations as a key component in the change to short haul truck and shovel operations feeding conveyor systems. As overburden by its very nature constantly changes, these machines can work on a vast range of materials from wet sticky clay to hard abrasive granites, making them ideal for this type of application. These machines have since been utilised all over the world. The 1300 series sizer is a primary machine and is normally

An MMD 3-tooth primary sizer


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fitted with double drives of varying powers, depending on the application. A typical 3-tooth machine with twin 400kW drives has an approximate mass of 100t. In Thailand such a machine is capable of 4500 tph with 1500mm in-feed and 300mm product.

The MMD 1500 series twin shaft sizer was first developed to operate within the oil sands industry in Northern Canada, again to facilitate the switch to short haul truck and shovel extraction, which proved to be a significant economic improvement over the traditional systems previously employed. The 1500 series sizer is presently the highest capacity unit available from MMD. A typical 3-tooth machine with twin 630kW drives has an approximate mass of 200t. It has a recorded capacity of 10000 tph of overburden in Colombia with ROM in-feed and 450mm out.

The MMD heavy duty apron plate feeder has apron plates made from specially rolled sections fixed to Caterpillar tractor chain, and are manufactured in various widths to cater for the maximum volume of material which may need to be processed. These plates have overlapping edges preventing spillage between the plates, and are fixed to the chains with bolts that are positioned between the grouser bars, protecting the bolts heads from damage by the material being conveyed. The elimination of impact energy is of special importance. The impact force is initially absorbed by the conveyor plates, which deform within their elastic limit. The impact rails beneath the Apron Plates then transmit the forces which are dissipated into the main frame construction.

Stamler Stamler feeder-breakers are currently

operating in surface coal applications with throughput rates up to 6,000 tph. For maximum space efficiency, each Stamler feeder-breaker has an integral surge hopper (if required), a flight conveyor, and a rotary pick breaker. The breaker picks and pick pattern are designed to work with conveyor flights to produce a specific material output size and eliminate slabs. Optional crawler, wheel, or skid mounting allows the feeder-breaker to move with the mine face, reducing haulage cycle time. High-strength engineered conveyor chain is manufactured with hardened link pins. The feeder breaker has a low, horizontal profile that operates without eccentric motion to give the lowest height truck dump installation of any crusher arrangement available.

Breaker drives are electro-mechanical and can be direct drive, or through a chain and sprocket arrangement. Direct drive breaker shaft and conveyor headshaft reduce maintenance time and cost by eliminating chains, sprockets and take-up devices. The feeder-breaker incorporates the receiving hopper, drag chain conveyor, and rotary pick breaker in an integral low, horizontal profile.

For surface coal applications, a stationary feeder-breaker receives lignite from rear dump trucks, and produces a minus 200mm product size at 6,000 tph. The carbide tipped picks on the breaker shaft are designed to interlace with solid steel alloy flights resulting in a consistent minus 50mm product size.

P&HThe P&H mobile mining crusher

(MMC), designed for the in-pit crusher conveyor (IPCC) system technology, is offered in model sizes matched to P&H

C-series shovels, and is available for coal and oil sands mining operations.

The MMC is a self-propelled unit that receives mine material directly from a P&H shovel and reduces it to a conveyable product size. The fully mobile crusher has a rugged C-series shovel undercarriage, and is driven by the P&H Centurion system. An MMC uniquely matched to its shovel counterpart gives improvements in cost and efficiency.

Like newer P&H shovels, drills, and draglines, the MMC is driven by the powerful and expandable P&H Centurion control system, technology designed for equipment communication, command, and control-drive. Centurion also provides information to help maintenance workers correct any performance issues.

The IPCC system is sold with aftermarket service and support in the form of P&H MinePro Services, covering the globe with support specialists.

The 4170C MMC for the P&H 4100 electric shovel is a self-propelled MMC, with a rated throughput of 10,000 to 12,000 tons per hour. It has a rugged undercarriage of a P&H 4100 shovel, and is equipped with P&H DC AC motors and P&H planetary propel transmissions. Linked by Centurion and using electronic positioning, the IPCC moves in concert with the 4100 shovel, insuring proper positioning at all times. As a result, performance for both units is optimised on a continuous basis. In addition, the maintenance schedules of both units are synchronised, leading to improvements in overall IPCC system availability.

PowerscreenAt Bauma, Powerscreen launched the

Warrior 800, Warrior 2400 and Pegson XH320SR. Also on display was the established Pegson XR400S. The new Powerscreen Warrior 800 is a multi-purpose, heavy duty incline 2-deck screen, capable of stockpiling, 3-way splitting or scalping before and after the crushing units. The screenbox accepts a wide variety of screen media. The machine is available in either tracked or wheeled mobile versions, with both configurations offering a compact transport footprint with a width of 2.5m, minimising transport permit requirements throughout Europe.

Bauma also showcased the new Powerscreen Warrior 2400, (see MQW March 2010) a true giant among tracked mobile, heavy duty screens. The Warrior 2400 extends the Powerscreen range of P & H Mobile Mining Crusher


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heavy duty screeners, to meet the needs of large-scale end users in the quarrying and mining sectors.

With a robust heavy duty incline screen featuring a high amplitude triple shaft screen drive, the multi-purpose Warrior 2400 has the ability to accept large feed sizes and process up to 700 tph (771 US tph). This enables screening, scalping, 2 or 3 way splitting and stockpiling materials such as aggregates, topsoil, coal, demolition waste and iron ore.

The new Powerscreen Pegson XH320SR is designed for throughputs of up to 320 tons per hour. Key features include an efficient crusher direct-drive system and a double deck grizzly feeder with underscreen and load management system to reduce material entry to the chamber. Also featured is the under pan feeder, new impact chamber with 4-bar rotor, twin-apron design, adjustment assist and hydraulic overload protection.

Also on show was the established Powerscreen Pegson XR400S, the primary jaw crushing plant, designed for medium scale operators. The Pegson XR400S has an aggressive crushing action and high swing jaw which encourages material to enter the crushing chamber. There is a hydraulic release system to protect the machine by sensing an overload and opening to release the obstruction of trapped metal or steel through the jaw without damage.

SandvikSandvik’s QJ340 (previously named

Extec C12+) is a track-mounted mobile jaw crusher, with a maximum feed size of 600mm, for high rates of production with good reduction ratios. It weighs 51.1t, is 4.11m high, 4.17m wide and 15.76m long. In Virginia, USA, companies such as A and G Coal, and Nicewonder, have been using Sandvik’s QJ340 jaw crusher to process the overburden remaining from their surface mining operations. The processed hard rock material is then used to develop the company’s road and site infrastructure. Once the overburden has been removed from the coal seam,

the hard rock is crushed into two types of specification: crushing hard rock to -75mm and -100mm, it is then transported and compacted to make the haul road.

The QJ340 jaw crusher has a feed opening of 1250 x 750mm, with a vibratory feeder, having automatic control to regulate the feed into the crusher; a hydraulic adjustment system, to regulate the product size to be crushed and reverse crushing action to assist in clearing blockages.

McCloskey International Based in Ontario, Canada, McCloskey

has been in the screening and crushing industry since 1985. Its range of crushers start with the C50 portable jaw crusher, with a 350 hp (261kW), Cat C9 engine, and a Telsmith jaw of 1270mm x 660mm. The C50 has a gross hopper capacity of 10.2m³, is 3.4m high, 2.9m wide and 14.3m long, and weighs 48t.

The C40 jaw crusher is a more compact alternative to the C50. It has 225 hp (165kW), a Cat C6.6 engine, jaw opening of 1016mm x 610mm and a level hopper capacity of 5.4m3. It is 3.2m high, 2.5m wide and 12.7m long, weighing 31t. The feeder has a folding hardox hopper mounted over a vibrating feeder, which can be regulated manually or automatically, with integral pre-screen.

The C44 cone crusher from McCloskey has a 430 hp (320kW) Tier 3 Cat C13 engine, a Telsmith cone and a hopper capacity of 5m3. It is 3.4m high, 2.9m wide and 16.33m in length, with a weight of 45t.

Also, from McCloskey is the I-54 impactor, designed as a high production impact crusher less than 50t. It is

built around a 1200mm x 1350mm four bar impactor chamber with a 940mm x 1354mm feed opening. With 6.88m³hopper and a 1360mm wide vibrating pan feeder, the material is fed over an independently vibrating double deck pre-screen. This removes the majority of the fines before going into the crushing chamber, thereby helping to increase capacity and control product size. Crushed material is discharged from the chamber to a 1500mm x 2000mm pan feeder. The I-54 is powered by a 430 hp (328kW) Tier 3 C13 Acert Cat engine. The gross capacity of the hopper is 10.2m³ with a height of 3.6m, width of 3m and length of 16.3m, it weighs an estimated 48.2t.

MB CrusherThe Vicenza-based company, MB

reported Bauma as a great success, with three exhibition areas displaying its crusher buckets.

The historical BF 90.3 model was on display with its new restyling, and two crusher buckets were put to work, the smallest one of the range, the BF 60.1 and the largest one, the BF 120.4. MB also used Bauma to introduce its latest product, the new universal quick coupling.

McCloskey C40 compact jaw crusher

MB Crusher bucketsSandvik’s QJ340


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Joy Optidrive technology on feeder-breakers

In less than two decades, Joy’s Optidrive AC variable frequency drive has grown from inception

to being universally applied to Joy’s underground mining equipment, and most recently as an option on the Stamler products of feeder breakers.

“There have been variable frequency drives (VFDs) on feeder-breakers for a number of years,” offered Mike Chizmar, Global Product Manager feeder-breakers. Optidrive provides a single interchangeable drive control system for shuttle cars, continuous miners, flexible conveyor trains and, now, feeder-breakers, however each piece of equipment still retains the software unique to its application.

Optidrive integrates the electrical and mechanical systems and each unique piece of software. Optidrive equipped feeder-breakers are available for both underground and surface applications. Interest in VFD with underground feeder-breakers is on the increase and, currently, about 60% of the units going into surface applications are so equipped. All Stamler feeder breakers with electro-mechanical conveyors are capable of accepting VFDs.

Worldwide, more than 1,000 Stamler feeder breakers are currently in use. The origin of Optidrive dates back to 1992 when Joy adapted AC VFDs to two existing continuous miners, with redesign and retrofitting following in 1996 and 1997, the same year when Joy installed a similar VFD on a longwall shearing machine.

The major advantage of AC drives is that more power can be provided to drive a machine within the same space previously occupied by DC motors. Additionally, because AC motors are brushless, the time-consuming and maintenance expense of brush replacement associated with DC motors is eliminated, as is the possibility of contaminants entering the motor during replacement.

In 2001, the next generation VFD system was fitted to continuous miners and, two years later, to Joy’s flexible conveyor train (FCT) continuous haulage system and shuttle cars. By 2004, Joy introduced Optidrive, the bringing together of the interchangeable hardware and the software unique to each machine

under a single brand name.“With shuttle cars,” Chizmar

continued, “Optidrive resulted in a significant increase in power, speed and productivity, as well as in improved operator comfort that in itself promotes productivity. With continuous miners, this gave Joy the ability to design physically smaller machines for low seams without sacrificing the power and mass essential to mining the coal in the most productive and efficient way possible. Also, Optidrive made it possible to increase the maximum tramming speed of the continuous miner to more than 85 feet per minute (25m per minute) and, in the instance of the Joy 14CM27 continuous miner, to 90 feet per minute (27m per minute).”

With regard to the Optidrive hardware and machine-specific software on Joy’s flexible conveyor train, the Optidrive matches the speed of the traction and belt systems between the outby and inby ends of the machine, enabling the operator to tailor the belt speed to match the production rate of the continuous miner, helping to reduce belt wear.

“This is similar to what Optidrive brings to Stamler feeder breaker,” Chizmar noted. “While the function of the feeder-breaker is the same regardless of application—to break/size material, to convey it and discharge it—its final design may not be as we take into consideration

the hardness of the material to be processed and the potential detrimental effects, if any, on the conveyor related components. Other design concerns include customer preferences and associated maintenance.”

According to Joy, the Optidrive system programming controls the conveyor by two means. Either the conveyor speed can be varied manually through the VFD or the breaker motor amperage readings can slow the conveyor automatically to facilitate breaking of the material being conveyed to the discharge end of the unit. Prior to Optidrive, with electro-mechanical conveyors the only way this could be accomplished would be to physically install retarding chains or to change sprockets or electric motor rpm, neither of which is really feasible unless the change is to be permanent.

Optidrive allows an operator to control 25% to 100% of the feeder-breakers rated conveyor throughput capacity. By slowing down the flow of material through the breaker, there is less impact and shock load on the breaker components, prolonging life and reducing maintenance. In one instance, in converting from an electro-mechanical conveyor machine to an Optidrive AC-VFD unit, an operator reported reducing the number of shear pin failures by more than 50%.

Joy feeder breaker


Feature Article

Coal mining in South Africa – a changing market for continuous miners T Hürmann & U Lange, Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH, Germany

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) is one of the most important mining countries in the world with

a range of 59 different minerals being mined in 993 mines and exported to 82 countries [11] . RSA’s social and political development from segregation until the early 1990s to a multicultural society, however, leads to far-reaching changes in RSA’s industry. How does this country’s new political settings affect the mining industry? How can foreign OEMs face the challenge arising from these big changes? This paper gives an answer to those questions focusing on the coal mining industry structure. The authors provide an example how these changes offer new potentials for mining machinery suppliers: a continuous miner (CM) which is adapted to the demands of small and medium sized coal companies; a machine specially designed for the harsh conditions of South African coal. In the beginning, for a better understanding of the country’s conditions, this paper presents geographic, demographic and economical facts about RSA. The authors continue with a review of RSA’s coal mining history focusing on recent changes of its structure that apply current South African law. After that, a typical small and medium sized South African coal mine is briefly characterised followed by a description of the new Eickhoff continuous miner series specially designed for, and successfully deployed to this special South African market. In the end, the authors conclude that even though conditions in South African’s coal industry are tremendously changing, this situation offers good opportunities for OEMs to establish themselves in this developing market.

Geographic and demographic facts

The RSA with the capital city of Tshwane (Pretoria) is located between the 22nd and 35th southern line of latitude as well as the 17th and 33rd eastern meridian at the south end of the African Continent (see figure 1). Its climate varies from semitropical to a climate like the Mediterranean area. RSA contains nine provincial states that are spread out over an area of

more than 1.2 M1 sq.km which makes it approximately 3.4 times bigger than Germany. However, the total population of 47.85M citizens is less than half of Germany’s figure in 2007. South African’s population increases by 1.1% each year. The four biggest cities in 2001 were Johannesburg (3.2M), Durban (3.1M), Cape Town (2.8M) and Tshwane (2.0M). In the same year, approximately 79.0% of RSA’s inhabitants were Africans, 9.6% were Caucasians, 8.9% were mixed and 2.5% had an Asian background. [14].

1M = million, B = billion Major social and economic issues among South African’s people are high unemployment rates of about 24%, although 1.5M jobs have been created within the recent three years. A high crime rate [1], housing shortages and the number of HIV-infections are still worrying [13]. Since a democratic constitution has peacefully overcome the system of segregation (Apartheid) in 1994, RSA has been lead by a democratically elected president (since 25 September 2008: Kgalema Motlanthe) and an also democratic elected parliament, based in Cape Town: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces [1]. General economic facts

GDP = Gross Domestic Product USD = US-Dollar PPP = Purchasing Power Parity

RSA’s economy is doing well and constantly growing by 5.0% in both 2006 and 2007 resulting in a GDP² of approximately 260.9 B USD³ which is about 12 times smaller than Germany’s GDP, roughly seven times smaller based on the GDP figures per inhabitant and only 3.5 times smaller additionally taking the PPP4 into account. The mining industry shares approximately 7% of RSA’s GDP in 2005 [4] whereas the GDP is dominated by the services with a major share of 65.5%. The industry sector shares approx. one third (31.3%) and agriculture only provides about 3.2%; changes in GDP structure are still continuing.

In mid 2008 the CPIX5 stood at a high level of approximately 13.0% which was not expected to go down to a governmental target range between 3.0 and 6.0% until first quarter of 2009 [1]. Along with the beginning of the new Millennium, the ZAR6 started to make up for a better exchange rate to the USD (1 USD = 9.3 ZAR, 7 January 2009) having an unfavourable effect on local currency income for export goods in terms of margins. RSA’s major trade partner, regarding imports, is Germany. Commodities from Germany mainly include machines, vehicles, chemicals and electronic equipment in a total range of approx. 7.12 B Eur in 2007. Export goods sold to Germany are gold,

Figure 1: Map of South African coal fields and ports


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coal, metals, food products, machines, vehicles and furniture worth about 4.2B Eur which makes Germany number three among RSA’s export countries. Besides Germany, RSA’s main trade partners are the USA, Great Britain, Japan, China and France. Germany is also an important investor in the South African market. About 600 German companies run subsidiaries in South Africa being responsible for approximately 90,000 jobs within the country, having their focus on mechanical and electrical engineering as well as automotive and chemical industry [1].

Coal market factsConsumer price index excluding#interest rates on mortgage bonds 6 ZAR = South African RandFOB = Free On Board

Trading and manufacturing, each with a share of about one fifth, are the biggest employment sectors. Agriculture has less than 10% and the mining industry employs approx. 3% of RSA employees [1]. Only 0.4 % of South African’s work force is working in coal mining operations [12] which contrasts with the coal mining industry’s significant contribute to the GDP.

Slightly more than half of the total amount of coal coming from 64 mines [11] is extracted in underground mines [8] which are in most cases (>90%) room-and-pillar operations, commonly utilising continuous miners (CM). Currently the total South African CM population is estimated to be close to 200 machines [3]. Nevertheless, there are three operating longwalls and drilling-and-blasting is still carried out. In 2006, approximateley 246.4 Mt of bituminous coal (99%) and anthracite (1%) was mined which makes the country number five of the biggest coal producers in the world with a 4.6% share of global mined hard coal. Forecasts of the annual coal output varies from 290 Mt by 2010 [13] to 276 Mt by 2011 [15]. RSA owns hard coal reserves of 48.75 Bt which is 6.6% of the global reserves. RSA’s coal resources are estimated at 115 Bt. Predictions of reserve life are about 150 years [13]. RSA’s coal is referred to as Gondwana coal from the Permian geological period with medium volatile matter, low sulphur and high ashes content. The coal appears in flat seams of rarely more than 200m depth, including dolerite intrusions and geological faults [13]. There are 11 coal mining regions, distributed among

four provinces [4], being located 600 to more than 1,100 km off the coast [13].

As RSA exports about 28% of its coal output, it is fourth in the world of the big coal exporters. About 96% of RSA’s coal shipment is done via a high capacity rail link to the Richards Bay coal terminal (RBCT), which is suitable for large ships. In general, standardised steam coal is involved. Special types of coal like graded or anthracite is transported via low capacity railways to the Durban (approximately 2%) and Maputo (approximately 2%) harbours, which can only load smaller vessels. Since wage costs have gone up by 7 to 8% between 2005 and 2007 as well as raw materials, fuels and lubricants have become more expensive, costs of coal has increased to a range of 26-40 USD/t FOB7 in 2007 [13] for both opencast and underground coal.

There is a lack of suitable alternatives of energy sources to coal in RSA; about 77% of the country’s primary energy supply is provided by coal, and is expected to increase [6]. Besides the exported coal, the major part is consumed domestically (see figure 2) in power stations (62%), synthetic fuel facilities (25%), in the industry and household (10%) and in metallurgical processes (3%) [13].

History of the marketIn the mid 1960s RSA decided to offer

its coal world-wide. Therefore coal has to be transported in large vessels of more than 100,000t to be competitive in the European market. In the beginning, 26 mines of the Transvaal Coal Owners Association, founded in 1923, gained

governmental approval for the export of hard coal. Preparation plants were built for improving coal quality suitable for Japanese steel mills and European power plants. The RBCT started its operation in 1973 with an annual throughput of 12Mt. After different expansion phases the terminal reached 63 Mtpa in 1992 [5]. At that time, mining rights lay with the owners of the land [13]. Since land was owned either by the state or private sector, this property situation sets up an entry barrier to potential new investors [7]. The aim of the apartheid governmental system was keeping coloured people away from participation in the country’s economy [10]. In 1994, the political situation turned into a democratic system. In 2002, all of the country’s natural resources were transferred to state ownership. From that moment on, companies have had to apply for their mining rights. Small and medium sized companies were encouraged to launch their business [13]. Laws were passed and programmes were initiated like the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act with the Black Economic Empowerment programme (BEE) as a growth strategy exploiting RSA’s full economic potential whilst keeping an eye on inequalities [10]. This means:

• transformation of the mining industry

• equitable access to resources

• investment in exploration and mineral beneficiation

Figure 2: Shares of exported and domestically used coal of RSA in 2006

Power stations 62%

Synthetic fuel facilities 25%

Industry and household 10%

Metallurgical processes 3%

Remainders 1%

Coal market of the RSA in 2006


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• socio-economic and environmental issues

BEE is introduced by the legislative power and governmental bureau. Companies are rated in terms of direct (eg shares) or mediate (eg relations to employees) compliance of the BEE rules. Governmental offices have to implement these rules in eg public procurement, decisions about licensing and concessions [10]. Specially in mining there are two targets: transactions of 26% BEE ownership by 2014 and granting prospecting and mining rights to BEE companies [12]. Therefore new companies were able to acquire mining rights and properties of the big mining houses [13]. Between 2001 and 2004, 45 BEE deals valued at 19B ZAR were realised [4]. 2006 and 2007 seem to be the “watershed” [12] of the BEE programme because of a high number of BEE transactions: 15 transactions worth 24B ZAR to take controlling stakes, 27B for passive investment, 6.5B for other stakes [12]. Several BEE companies like Exxaro Resources (combination of Eyesizwe Coal and Kumba Coal) are now playing an important role in the mining industry [7]. Exxaro ranks number 4 with a 10% share among the big ones like Anglo Coal and BHPB (see table 1).

Also small companies were set up; a lot of them aimed at the more valuable export market since revenues are 4-5 times higher than in the domestic market. The operator of the RBCT consists of a coalition of the big coal companies

providing load capacity only to these terminal shareholders [5]. Small mines were left with only two choices: sell coal to the RBCT shareholders or use the smaller terminals which were more expensive [5]. With the help of the governmental Coal Industry Task Team (CITT), in 2003, BEE companies got access to RBCT, starting with 1 Mtpa. A company named Mhlatuze Coal Administrators was launched for concentrating smaller BEE coal amounts into one big amount to pass RBCT. In 2006, the granted 9 Mtpa capacity was double oversubscribed by 27 BEE companies that applied for access [5]. In mid 2009, RBCT was upgraded to 91 Mtpa including 19 Mtpa estimated capacity for smaller BEE companies. With access to the RBCT and therefore the foreign market, many BEE mines became financially feasible. The new small mines are best suited to provide “niche” products [5] to the market. Besides the huge steam coal market there is a demand for better quality coal. The CITT helps small-scale mining operations to develop the market ensuring that this sector flourishes [5].

RSA’s industry changed tremendously, however, there is still an unacceptable gap between the races in terms of poor and rich. Still this causes social and political instability [10]. As a result thereof the BEE programme will be pursued.

Small-scale and BEE coal minesThe term of small-scale mining has

a different meaning according to the

respective context. In many cases it is referred to as inefficient, dirty and dangerous; others think of small, but productive mines. In most cases, mines are considered to be small-scale by a combination of factors like a small number of workers, small annual output, low level of mechanisation and little capital investment. Sometimes the size of the claim or the state of mining without permission is taken into account [9]. In this particular case of BEE mining operations typical characteristics are:

• BEE rated and approved mining management; often the excavation processes are subcontracted • operations very often located in rural areas • small total mine output like 0.5 to 1.5 Mtpa ROM9 coming from a single or double section • difficulties of getting access to financing • labour issues like workers not having any formal mining skills; they often obtained their skills from on-the-job training or from experienced workers of former jobs in big mines • technical issues caused by unfavourable infrastructure like inconstant electric power supply (eg inconstant current), dirty water for cooling and spraying and disadvantageous road conditions with mud and water.

Development of the Eickhoff continuous miners

Looking at South Africa’s geological

Company Output [Mt] Share of total RSA output [%]

Anglo Coal 59 24

BHPB 52 21

SASOL 47 19

Exxaro 24 10

Xstrata 21 9

Total 203 83

Table 1: Biggest RSA’s hard coal producers in 2006 [13]

Figure 3: VGRII at New Denmark Colliery, March 2004


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conditions, since the 1990s Eickhoff has considered RSA as a coal market with limited potential for shearer sales but a growing continuous miner market. Strategic decisions were made to develop a continuous miner specially designed for the harsh and challenging conditions of South Africa’s room-and-pillar mines. Eickhoff together with RWTH Aachen University as well as two companies having expertise on the one hand in manufacturing electronic components of mining machinery and on the other hand in drilling tools established a joint development team. In the beginning of the new millennium the programme started with a general global market analysis about room-and-pillar mining and longwall development activities and its demands.

The specification sheet for the designers was the result of the above mentioned activities: high performance; motor power of the CM must not be bottle neck of production rate high availability; a CM is the major part of a section and must cut when ever possible simple concept; local manufacturing of parts, poor skill of artisans, costs easy operation; frequently changing operators, operators influence on production rate The challenge for the design engineers was to find solutions for the advanced requirements of mine engineers as well as for poor skilled operators and artisans. Sophisticated technology i.e. for motor protection, data logging or condition monitoring had to stay in the background not confusing people or disturbing the main purpose of cutting coal.

It took about two years of design and manufacturing to create a prototype machine out of nothing for South Africa. This machine named VGR10II (figure 3 and figure 4) has proven itself in a 2m low seam condition at New Denmark Colliery (NDC) and in a 3.7m high seam condition at Halfgewonnen

Colliery and is now, after more than 2 Mt of production for a rebuild in ESA’s workshop. Even that both operations have been under completely different circumstances in terms of mining conditions and customers requirements, operators, artisans and management people have been very positive about the VGRII.

Due to close communication, based on daily reports between experienced field service engineers and designers in Bochum, technical problems were immediately sorted out and the design for the next machine was improved. This second machine, the first serial type CM2H/37 was delivered to G&B Mining at Forzando Colliery, 25km north of Bethal in Mpumalanga, belonging to Total Coal South Africa, which is a subsidiary of the multinational energy company Total SA Since then, eight machines have been delivered to RSA. It seems that the combination of a reliable machine, full maintenance contract (FMC) and rebuild provision is especially for smaller and BEE companies the right package because of predictable operational costs.

The current Eickhoff CM2-seriesThe current Eickhoff CM2-series

consists of two types of CM which differ in size and weight. The CM2/37 (figure 5 and 6) was designed for 1.6 to 3.7m cutting height, whereas the bigger CM2/45 can cut seams from 2.1 to 4.5m.

Technical featuresAs well as Eickhoff’s shearers the

Eickhoff CM stands for high performance and sophisticated technology. Therefore all gearboxes are designed and manufactured in accordance of Eickhoff’s standards for mining application. Cutting and conveying power are state of the art. Microprocessor motor management and machine control provide protection against maloperation and manipulation.

The most prominent feature became one of the best reasons to decide in favour of an Eickhoff continuous miner: the traction system.

Eickhoff traction systemThe Eickhoff CM2-series are the only

CMs available providing customers with options of two powered traction drive concepts. The H-type consists of a hydraulic motor driven traction system; the E-type is a full inverter AC motor driven traction system for customers who prefer electrical equipment. Both traction systems work on low ground pressure of 200 kPa and high tramming speeds up to 30 m/min. Especially those mines with undesirable conditions like wet and muddy floors benefit from the robust and easy to maintain hydraulic traction system. Table 2 overleaf shows the main benefits of the hydraulic traction system which are essentials for the small-scale BEE mines as often budgets are low and there is a lack of highly skilled and trained specialists.

ConclusionIn the 20th century the big mining

companies dominated RSA’s coal market. Since the late 1990s the legal

Figure 4: VGRII at Halfgewonnen Colliery, July 2008

Figure 5: Drawing of CM2/37Figure 6: CM2/37 at Forzando Colliery, January 2007


Feature Article

framework has been changing, as a consequence thereof the whole South African coal sector has been changing too. Small and BEE companies are currently able to launch their own business. The development of RSA’s coal mines and improved exploitation of the country’s resources will be done through emerging BEE companies, however there is a need for infrastructure: in large new capacities of RBCT [2] and in small reliable coal cutting machines contributing to the whole country’s prosperity. The small BEE coal operations are characterised by a number of special properties like moderate infrastructure and a lack of highly trained machine personnel. This offers a lot of opportunities for OEMs if their machines and services are adapted to those particular conditions. Robust quality machines like Eickhoff’s CM2-series combined with its full maintenance service is a key for success in the South African market.

References[1] Auswärtiges Amt (10-2008)

Länderinfo Südafrika, auswaertiges amt.de, Berlin / Germany

[2] BUISSON, N. (05-2007): Industrie mondiale du charbon - Evolution des acteurs producteurs/exportateurs; Presentation at Dauphiné Univercity, Total Coal International, Paris / France, pp. 8, 17, 23

[3] DANGELA, M. (01-2009): Review of Global Continuous Miner Population

Incl. Latest Technological and Market Developments; Research project, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen / Germany

[4] Department of Minerals and Energy (2007): Mining Contribution to the National Economy; dme.gov.za, Pretoria / South Africa; pp. 17-19

[5] Department of Minerals and Energy (2007): Provision of Export Facilities for BEEs at Richards Bay Coal Terminal - Report R56/2007; dme.gov za, Pretoria / South Africa

[6] Department of Minerals and Energy (2008): Coal - Introduction; dme.gov za, Pretoria / South Africa

[7] Department of Minerals and Energy (2008): Overview of the minerals industry; dme.gov.za, Pretoria / South Africa

[8] Department of Minerals and Energy (2008): Coal; dme.gov.za, Pretoria /

South Africa[9] International Labour Office (05

1999): Social and labour issues in small-scale mines - Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines; Report, Geneva / Swizerland

[10] International Marketing Council of South Africa (2008): Black economic empowerment; southafrica.info, Johannesburg / South Africa

[11] MABUZA, M. (2007): The Role of Mining Beyond 2010; Proceedings at Mining Week 2007, Department of Minerals and Energy, Pretoria / South Africa; pp. 10-15

[12] MOLOI, N. (09-2008): Funding Challenges for BEE; Presentation at

Mining Summit 2008, Motjoli Resources, Johannesburg / South Africa; pp. 3, 9

[13] RITSCHEL,W.; SCHIFFER, H.W. (10-2007): World Market for Hard Coal

- 2007 Edition; RWE Power, Essen / Germany; pp. 63-66

[14] S. Fischer Verlag GmbH (2008): Der Fischer Weltalmanach; weltalmanach.de, Frankfurt / Germany

[15] YAGER, T.R. (08-2007): Minerals Yearbook 2005 - The Mineral Industries of Africa; US Geological

Survey, Washington / USA; pp. AFRICA 1.6-1.7

Specifications CM2/37 CM2/45

Machine weight 68 t 75 t

Chassis height 1,200 mm 1,300 mm

Ground pressure 200 kPa

Tram speed >20 m/min

Drum diameter 1,200 mm

Drum and bit tip speed 43 or 48 rpm,2.7 or 3 m/s

CLA speed 53 rpm

Supply voltage 1000 V

Cutting power 2x 180 kW

Spinner power 2x 45 kW

Pump power (hydraulic tram version)

1x 125 kW

Total power 575 kW

Specifications of the Eickhoff CM2-Series

Figure 7: Compatibility of the CM2/37- and CM2/45-type

Table 2: Main benefits of the hydraulic traction system

Coal International would like to thank RWTH Aachen University - Institute of Mining Engineering I for permission to publish this article. www.rwth-aachen.de

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Robust system impervious to water and dust, shocks and vibrations;earth faults cannot occur

Cheap system machine price of E-type approximately 8% higher than H-type;price for spare E-motor five times higher than hydraulic motor

Simple system spares can easily be replaced, there is no need for highly trainedpersonnel


Feature Article

Coal International would like to thank RWTH Aachen University - Institute of Mining Engineering I for permission to publish this article. www.rwth-aachen.de

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Feature Article

The application of a 148 kW drive unit to transport systemsDescribed byTomasz Budniok and Józef Rusinek, Becker-Warkop Sp z o o, Poland, a subsidiary of Becker Mining Systems AG, Germany

In Poland, proceeding with excavations below the deposit availability level results in more and

more headings being inclined.The depth of excavations has

exceeded 1,000m, where the temperature of the ground goes above 40º. In conditions so defined, the Becker-Warkop transporting systems based on the 148kW drive unit meet all users’ expectations.

Introduction of the 148kW drive unit to the systems of suspended railways in their friction or rack-and-pinion versions, as well as to the floor-mounted railways, stands out with its high dynamics. It helps to run transport operations effectively in inclined excavations, as well as for long distances.

The drive unit compatibility consists in its use in either the suspended or floor version.

Improvement of the safety conditions in transport operations has been achieved by the introduction of monitoring and radio communication systems.

Working conditions for floor-mounted and suspended railways

Restructuring of the mining industry forced the mines to struggle for a positive economic result.

Reductions in their investment funds led to limiting works in vertical excavations and in those run in the rocky structures. This results in more and more frequent use of the so called sublevel system in Poland.

The excavation depth increases at a steady rate – on average 5-8 m/year.

Mining from walls below the availability level made for 57% in 2008.

In four mines, 100% of the output came from the sublevel excavation. In 123 longwalls, as many as 53 lied below 800m, and in seven cases excavations were done below 1,000m.

In 2008, in grounds with the original temperatures exceeding 30º, 60 walls were exploited, and in 9 cases the temperature exceeded 40º.

The length of ventilating ducts inside the sublevels reaches 6,500m.

Such conditions require appropriate transport systems for both the crew and materials.

It needs to be noted that more and more excavations are slanting.

The slanting ones are sometimes reaching 2km of length.

As the excavations go deeper and deeper, the mine atmosphere must often be cooled down because of the original ground temperature.

In 2008, 111 individual, group or collective air-conditioning units worked.

On the basis of our experience in use of transport systems, Becker believes that the more difficult mining and geologic conditions are, it forces us to employ stronger machines. This is true for transporting with both the friction or rack-and-pinion suspended railways and the floor-mounted railways. It happens more frequently because of concentration of mining operations it becomes important to shorten the time of interruption due to relocation of the equipment from one longwall to another.

In case of the transport systems one needs to pay attention to transport of the crew in order to make better use of the effective time of work at the longwall or mine face.

All the requirements we make towards the transport systems, for both the

suspended and floor railways, are met by the 148kW drive unit.

Application of the 148kW drive unit to the transport systems used by Becker Warkop

Introduction of the 148kW drive unit to the transport systems helps achieve better parameters in the conditions that exist in the mining areas. At long-distance transporting, eg the time factor may play an important role. We may control the number of working drives and achieve a higher speed or towing power. Use of the 148kW drive unit increases the dynamics and confidence in movements of the transport by making effective use of its power.

The 148kW drive unit is designed to be used for both the suspended and floor-mounted railways.

Suspended drive unit, type KPCS-148

It is to be used on one-rail suspended railways for transporting machine components, pieces of equipment, materials and people in subterranean excavations.

It moves along the I155 (I140E) profile rails (eg BWTU-50/100 by Becker-Warkop or type 85u 96-YS/GS by Neuhäuser).The drive unit is driven by a 148 kW diesel engine.Towage power 80÷120 kN (for 4-6 drives)Maximum velocity – 2.5 m/sHorizontal turning radius – 4mVertical turning radius – 8mKerb weight – 7700 (for 4 drives), 8900 (for 6 drives)Maximum permissible inclination of the track ±30º The drive unit consists of the following elements:

• 1st and 2nd operator’s cabins;• machine section;• section with a hydraulic oil cooler

and a fan;section with a hydraulic oil cooler and a fan;

• drivesThe diesel drive unit is mounted Fig. 1 Suspended drive unit, type KPCS-148.


Feature Article

to the transporting unit with links of min. 120kN each in transporting configurations.

Configurations of the drive unit are shown in Figure 2.

Suspended drive unit, type KPZS-148

The drive unit moves along a I 155 track equipped with a rack or another approved and compatible track.The unit is powered by a 148 kW diesel engine.Towage power – 75 or 100 kN (for 3 or 4 drives) Maximum velocity for: 3 drives – 2.5 m/s 4 drives – 1.9 m/sHorizontal turning radius – 4 mVertical turning radius – 10 mKerb weight – 7800 kgMaximum permissible inclination of the track ±30ºThe main element of the drive is a hydraulic engine, whose torque is transferred to the rail by a gear cooperating with a toothed bar of the rail.The drive unit includes four drives.It is possible to switch the drives in order to increase the velocity at a reduced towage force. The achievable towage force, breaking force and velocity depend on the number of drives engages and application of hydraulic engines.Exemplary configurations of the drives are similar to those for KPCS-148, as shown in Figure 2.

Diesel floor-mounted rack-and-pinion railway KSZS 650/900/148

This machine travels along a track with width 650 or 900 mm, placed on the floor. This railway uses a diesel engine with a hydraulic unit, used in 148 kW drive units.

In the domestic market, the maximum towage power is 160kN, however, it is possible to achieve 240kN.

It is possible to arrange the work with one or two driving cars.

Maximum towage force depends on types and number of hydraulic engines on the driving car. It is possible to instal engines MS08 and MS18.

For MS08, the towage force might be 120, 160 or 240 kN at velocities being 2.1, 1.4 or 1.05 m/s respectively, whereas for MS18, the towage force might be 120, 160 or 240 kN at velocities being 2.5, 1.25, 0.83 or 0,62 m/s respectively.

For engines MS08 on a driving car, there can be 4, 6 or 8 engines installed.

For engines MS18, there can be 2, 4, 6 or 8 engines installed on the driving car. The drive track can be inclined lengthwise up to ±30º and perpendicularly up to ±10º.

Minimum radius of the horizontal track curvatures – 4m.

Minimum radius of the vertical track curvature – 22m.

Driving track width – 650 or 900 mm.The basic components of the railway

system include:• diesel drive unit,• drive track,• transport set,• braking car,• additional equipment.The railway drive unit is composed of

the following four components:• diesel and hydraulic power set installed on the running gear,• driving car,• braking car – used as the running

gear for the main cabin,• running gear with an auxiliary cabin.

The power set and the cabins are compatible and can be used both on floor and suspended railways.

Depending on type, the diesel drive unit is connected to the transport set with links into various configurations.

Generally, it is assumed that platforms with transported materials and/or crew are pulled; however, pushing the set is acceptable too.

Improved safety during the drive unit operation.

In order to improve safety conditions during its operation, the drive unit is equipped with:

• monitoring systems,• automatic methane detector,• the diesel engine is started from the

operator’s cabin or from an auxiliary unit.

Monitoring systemThe duty of the monitoring system is

to ensure the operator a convenient observation of the excavations as the drive unit travels along the track, and, first of all, to prevent all dangers resulting from the lack of visibility.

In order to enhance the operator’s sight, the camera-monitor system was equipped with an additional light source in the form of a projector, thanks to which the operator, on his monitor, can see a clear picture of what is happening on the drive unit way.

The monitoring system consists of three basic units:

• TV camera KTi-2;• local monitor MOL-1;• projector POH-4.

CameraThe camera transmits pictures at the

real time with the „composite vide” 1Vpp2 vision system to the monitor. The operator can move the camera to the second cabin and connect

Fig. 2. Exemplary configurations of the drive unit

Fig.3 Suspended drive unit, type KPZS-148

Fig.4 Diesel floor-mounted rack-and-pinion railway, type KSZS650/900/148.


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it there with the Harting joints to a concentrator.Technical parameters:Type KTi-2Nominal voltage Un=12V DCMaximum power consumption In=0,14AProtection rating JP-54.

Monitor The monitor is used for observation

of objects and spaces in explosion-risk areas. It co-operates with the spark-proof camera KTi-2. The picture is displayed on a 7” LCD screen. The monitor is built in one of the operator’s cabins.The operator can move the monitor to the second cabin and connect it there with the Harting joints to a concentrator.Technical parameters:Type MOL-1/7Nominal voltage Un=12V DCMaximum power Pmax=9WSafety rating IP-54The projector makes for a source of the white light. The operator can move the projector to the second cabin. Technical parameters:Type POH-4Nominal voltage Un=12V DCMaximum power In=0,9ADCProtection rating IP-65

Automatic methane metreAn additional safety measure in the

drive unit system can be the optional system for measuring methane concentration, based on a portable methane meter, which will switch the diesel engine automatically when it detects methane concentration in the air to exceed 1.5%. The monitoring system can be configured as necessary, depending on local conditions. The monitoring components are fed from the drive unit electrical system.

The diesel engine is started from the operator’s cabin or from the auxiliary unit

The drive unit is provided with three control panels making it possible to start the engine electrically from different parts of the drive unit: from each of the operator’s cabins and from an auxiliary unit. Each panel is equipped with a station for authorisation of the cabins and a starting button.After engagement of the control panel and pressing the engine starting button, a sequence of actions to verify condition of individual components of the electric installation on the drive unit takes place. If this is satisfactory, the engine can be started.

The leaky feeder, type beckercom, radio communication system

This system works perfectly in deep-mining conditions, at places with difficult propagation of radio waves.

Thanks to a concentric, radiating (or so called ‘leaking”) antenna cable (Leaky Feeder Cable), it is possible to cover a complex system of mining areas and shafts with the radio range, thus ensuring a high level of safety for people working on the mine bottom.

The concentric cable retains sufficient value of the signal to protect it from penetration by external signals.

The concentric cable prevents penetration of signals from transmitters located 60-100m from the cable. To maintain the necessary frequency level, every 350-500m there are line amplifiers installed, fed from 12V lines. The system is resistant to high/low temperatures, moisture, vibrations and corrosion. It is especially useful for: • dispatchers, rescuemen, mining supervisory personnel, • places where communication with stationary units is insufficient, • places without any stationary

communication system.Thanks to its modular structure, the system may exceed the length of 100 km, and, by connecting several base stations, can get an unlimited possibility of communication.This system is installed in the mines and is not directly connected with the drive unit, as it works independently.

Summary and conclusionsTechnical restructuring led to a

gradual departure from the wheeled and rope-driven transport systems. These are replaced by such transport systems which use self-driven drive units. There is a growing tendency to transport sections of the lining without their disassembly. With the development of a sublevel excavation system, the number of inclined excavations is increased. Going out to meet the coal mines’ requirements for better and better solutions in transport systems, company Becker-Warkop launched a 148 kW diesel drive unit. It can be used for both the suspended railways (type KPCS-148 or KPZS-148) and the floor railways type KSZS-650/900/148, depending on conditions existing in the mine. The higher dynamics due to a power reserve make these railway systems more competitive towards those of other companies.

For rough estimation of the operational parameters of the railway systems, we use the monograms presented in Figure 8.

Having identified a gross weight, eg 36t on the ordinate axis, project this value on a straight line inclined by eg 10º. Now, project the crossing point onto the curves, up to their crossing, depending on velocity and towage power for drive units with 80, 120

Fig.5 Camera KTi-2

Fig.6 Monitor MOL-1/7 Fig.7 Projector POH-4


Feature Article

and 148kW. In order to determine transporting velocities, project the lines of crossing with the abovementioned characteristics on the ordinate axis.

The drive unit components are compatible in both the suspended and floor versions.

Our almost 23 year experience in application of transport systems entitles us to formulate conclusions for both the suspended and floor railways:

• application of a 148kW engine results in an increase in velocity under load,

• application of a 148kW engine results in an increase in towage force, especially in inclined excavations, and an efficient use of drive units.

• by increasing the power to 148kW, a higher dynamics of transport operations is achieved,

• thanks to dry cooling of exhaust gases the necessity to refill the water constantly has been eliminated,

• because of its innovativeness, the unit life has been enhanced and the exhaust gas toxicity has been reduced,

• transport safety has been improved by introduction of a monitoring system a system for continuous

methane metering,• the drive unit elements gained their

compatibility with various transport systems by application of the same diesel and hydraulic set in suspended and floor railways,

• Becker-Warkop will continue its efforts in improving the existing systems of floor and suspended railways.

Bibliography1.„Stan bezpieczeństwa i higieny

pracy w górnictwie w 2008 roku” Wyższy Urząd Górniczy, Katowice, a website.

2.K. Weyand, T. Budniok, J. Rusinek: Innoative solutions for coal mining transportation system, 21 word MINING CONGRESS & EXPO Krakow – Katowice – Sosnowiec, 7 - 12 September 2008, Prace naukowe GIG Górnictwo i Środowisko, special edition no IV/2008r. quarterly, Katowice 2008, pages 215÷223.

3.T. Budniok, J. Rusinek, J. Frączek: Systemy transportu kolejkami

spągowymi firmy Becker-Warkop Sp. z o.o., IV International Conference „Working Safety with Mining Transport Equipment”, 5-7 November 2008. Ustroń, Centrum Badań i Dozoru Górnictwa Podziemnego Sp. z o.o. in Lędziny, pages 143÷151.

4.T. Budniok, J. Rusinek, A. Wardas: Doświadczenia w stosowaniu optymalnych rozwiązań w systemach transportu firmy Becker-Warkop Sp. z o.o. VI International Conference „Mining Techniques 2009”, the Faculty of Mining, Processing and Transporting Machines, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, Krynica 15-18 September 2009, pages 301÷318.

5.T. Budniok, J. Rusinek: Transport kolejkami podwieszonymi stosowany przez firmę Becker-Warkop Sp. z o.o., V International Conference „Working Safety with Mining Transport Equipment”, 4 – 6 November 2009, Ustroń, Centrum Badań i Dozoru Górnictwa Podziemnego Sp. z o.o. in Lędziny, electronic version, pages 1÷10.


Health & Safety

Satellite communications

UK based SatCom Global has launched a new

satellite communication system, Horizon which incorporates compression technology, designed to optimise voice and data management, and cut the cost of satellite communications for remote users.

“Today, public and private sector organisations want greater flexibility and transparency of their communications usage, as they look to seize control of their telecommunication costs,” explains Sandy Johnson, COO, Satcom Global. “In response, Horizon’s unique SmartPacket data compression technology is

engineered from the ground up to support ultra-efficient satellite communications delivery.”

The Horizon Multi-VoIP unit provides eight analogue phone ports. When set up at both remote and office locations, users can direct dial any Horizon registered handset without the need to go through the PSTN. It enables ultra-low bandwidth voice and data usage, from as low as 2kbps, and its flexible codec means users can choose from three call settings for optimum cost/quality voice delivery enabling phone calls at a saving of more than 50% over standard satellite voice calls, the company claims.

Horizon Desktop

software incorporates instant text messaging, email compression, web acceleration, and softphone with voicemail, while Horizon Text delivers fully-encrypted instant messaging, providing cost-effective ‘real-time communications to users worldwide. Horizon’s managed service enables one-to-one and one to group messaging, at the same time providing full visibility to the licence payer. Horizon Mail compression technology is an email system for satellite communications, and gives the user control of incoming and outgoing email file size, and Horizon Surf accelerates Internet surfing while minimising

costs by compressing data and downloading only the information required.

Horizon Softphone with voicemail messaging makes telephone communications easier as callers can use the Softphone for VoIP only calls to other Horizon users and calling to any PSTN numbers using HorizonOut low PSTN rates. HorizonLite is for friends and family outside the Horizon network, enabling users to communicate using low cost text and VoIP.

Horizon Kiosk, like an ‘Internet Café’ provides secure access for pre-paid users and enables internet surfing, two-way email, instant messaging, and voicemail messages.

Wireless pressure transducer system

UK based Hydrotechnik has launched new

wireless pressure and temperature sensing equipment; a low cost HT-Wcom system that can monitor up to 65 sensors located within a 100m radius at once on one PC. The sensors of the HT-Wcom system connect remotely to

one PC with no additional interfaces required.

The pressure sensors are self-contained, compact, battery powered IP67 units with a number of pressure ranges available. Standard sensors are 0 to 500 bar but they can also be manufactured from -1 up to 1000 bar. The software

that monitors the sensors can be configured to show individual plant or system schematics with graphical sensor location to help identify problem areas. High or low limits can be displayed on the schematic and alarm signals sent to a controller. Sensor connection is via an integral 1215 MINIMESS fitting.

Accuracy of the pressure sensor cell is +/- 0.5% of full scale. The sensor’s battery will last approximately 1 year when set with a transmission rate of 30 seconds. The units are suitable for gas or liquid applications and ATEX approved units will be made available. All wetted parts are stainless steel.

Gold medal for innovation

The Pioma LDS 80 locomotive, a joint

project of Institute of Mining Technology Komag and Pioma SA, Famur Group company, was awarded gold medal in the category “Transfer of scientific research results into business” for the innovative solution of the drive carriage of track locomotive at the Poznań International Fair, in June 2010.

The main innovative features of the awarded solution are the following:

Separation of the drive of the left and right wheels, together

with application of hydraulic motor to guarantee adjustment of the rotational speed of wheels at the rail turnings without the need to apply a differential gear,

Ensuring the self-alignment of the gear in relation to the body in order to keep proper adherence of the wheels to the rail in case of its vertical irregularities, without the application of the separate rockers,

Application of the effective multidisc brakes directly at the rotation axis of the wheel compared to the typical brake

system where the brake shoe is pressing at the rail.

Transparency of the structural solutions.

The application of the innovative carriages in Pioma LDS 80 locomotive and the construction itself allows the vehicle to move along the track arc. The three part body of the locomotive is equipped in drive carriage and manages to drive along the arc of the track very smoothly without the tendency to skid and derail off the track, while the locomotive in its classical version shows such tendencies.

The Pioma LDS 80 locomotive was certified according to WE type examination and complies with the UE Directive 94/9/WE-ATEX and with the regulations described in Attachment No 1 98/37/EC UE Directive.

The Poznań International Fair is the biggest industrial fair in Poland. There are over 13,000 exhibitors including about 3,000 foreign companies from 70 countries of the world participate in 80 trade fair events organised on the grounds of the Poznań fair.


Health & Safety

Designers &manufacturers of world

class shearer drums to theworlds shearer machineproducers and coal miningoperators.

Dust suppression and ignition control water sprays can bean integral part of the tooling system or mountedseparately onto the shearer drum.Conical and Radial tool systems are available.

Hydra Mining Tools International Ltd

UK - Hydra MiningTools International+44 170 985 7500

USA - Hydra Tools Inc.+01 304 284 8252

CHINA-Shanxi Hydra

+86 351 785 2086

www.hydramining.com [email protected]

14052 reasons to specify EVO8

UK company, JSP Ltd has launched the first high

performance, side impact industrial safety helmet to meet the new European standard EN14052, a higher level standard for head protection than the existing EN397. Called the Mk8 Evolution TM or EVO8, it claims to be the first helmet to offer serious protection from side impacts as well as severe crown impacts.

Under EN14052 the helmet is required to protect

against forces of over 100 joules in the crown impact area compared to 49 joules required under EN397 as well as protecting against a second impact to 49 joules on the same helmet initially tested. Also, EN14052 requires protection from side impacts of 50 joules, which is to the same level required under the EN397 crown impact test itself.

Emergency services use EN14052 helmets including the ambulance service that

specify an EN14052 helmet for each member of its road ambulance crews under EN1789:2007.

Monitor and control anywhere

Wood & Douglas, Britain’s independent

manufacturer of radio solutions has launched the Ultima GSM, a rugged, flexible module with telemetry and serial I/O for use in monitoring

and control where no local communications infrastructure is available.

The compact 330g Ultima GSM unit houses a quad-band GSM/GPRS module, designed to operate between -20˚ C and +55˚ C.

GPRS enables setup and monitoring of the system via a dedicated web page, and requests on the status of the system and control of outputs can be initiated simply by sending the unit an SMS message.


Plant & Equipment

Siplus extreme protection

Siplus extreme has been designed by Siemens

Industry Automation to protect automation systems from environmental hazards such as moisture, heat, dust, vapours, petrol, lubricants and caustics. These can lead to micro corrosion and cause distributed I/O signal corruption, neutral faults or even total failure of a system.

Siplus products are suitable for industrial atmospheres in accordance with ISA S71.04 severity level GX, including simultaneous condensation. Siplus also meets standard EN 60721, which defines chemical active substances (-3C4), mechanical active substances (-3S4), biological active substances except fauna (-3B2), and determines the maximum

pollution concentrations. Special temperature-

resistant components and circuit boards are coated with a conformal coating to make them corrosion resistant. Mechanical reinforcements are made on the circuit boards so that components of the Siplus solution can withstand more extreme vibration and shock.

Temperature ranges from

-40/-25 °C to +60/+70°C, with medial load, are nowadays frequently seen in industry. Decentralised plant layouts have meant more and more equipment is in unheated or unprotected locales. Siplus extreme modules have been developed for use in this wide range of ambient temperatures.

A new combined oil and vibration monitoring

system from Schaeffler (UK) Ltd enables the early detection of damage to heavy duty, oil-lubricated industrial gears, providing a system to prevent unplanned downtime and

minimise maintenance, repair and overhaul costs.

The new FAG wear debris monitor is an online condition monitoring system capable of pinpointing the precise location of any damage or wear to gears, bearings and cages within a gearbox.

The system’s oil monitor works by using an inductive particle counter (sensor), which distinguishes between ferrous and non-ferrous metal particles present in the lubricating oil. On a typical industrial gearbox application, the particle counter or sensor is installed in the oil flow, directly before the oil filter, or as a separate circuit. The sensor operates on the principle that any wear to a

component such as a bearing or gear tooth will result in small metal particles being rubbed off into the oil, often several months prior to an actual failure. The sensor provides information on the number of particulates present in the oil, and then classifies these according to their physical size.

In addition to oil analysis, the FAG wear debris monitor also monitors the vibration behaviour of the machine and its components, including rolling bearings and gear wheels.

Schaeffler provides a wide variety of analysis methods, including endoscopy which is used to determine the

full extent or severity of any damage. Video endoscopes enable the internal components of a machine to be inspected, allowing the user to make a diagnosis of the damage based on the viewing of digital photos and video.

www.schaeffler.co.uk

Combined oil and vibration monitoring system

The FAG combined oil & vibration monitor

Early detection will improve gears operational reliability

Vertical mill drive to solve surge problems

Siemens Industry Drive Technologies Division

has launched a new Flender vertical mill drive

that prevents load surges arising from short term power interruptions and allows power ranges to be expanded to 15MW.

The EMPP (electrical motor and two planetary gears) vertical mill drive features a newly developed motor in which the gear housing is built in under the planetary gear. The power transmission features a permanent magnet synchronous motor with

a cooling system, and the drive is controlled by a frequency converter. This ensures maximum running smoothness combined with optimum grinding results for varying operating conditions.

Vertical mills are commonly used to crush raw material and cement in the building materials or coal industries and trends are towards larger production facilities. The

new units are available in power ratings from 500kW to 15MW, and above a certain size, units can be delivered in two parts and assembled on site.

The footprint of the new drive means that no retrofitting is necessary. This new mill drive meets the requirements of the ATEX Directive, of particular importance for coal mills with flammable coal dust.

Plant & Equipment


Early detection will improve gears operational reliability

New bits and picks

New developments in ProBore roof bits

and ProPoint picks from Kennametal are delivering measurable benefits in productivity and safety for underground mining operations.

ProBore roof bits have a new twisted-body design. Unlike traditional straight-body designs where dust and other materials clog or otherwise slow down equipment, the new ProBore twisted-body design acts like a flute on a twist drill, efficiently channeling dust away, simultaneously reducing clogging and lowering cutting

forces, making drilling more efficient. An arched tip support increases the seating area for the bit, reducing breakage and increasing tip life. Two point styles are available, one with a split nose for more demanding operations; and a solid nose style for increased penetration rates.

The ProPoint tip features a new thinner cross-section that reduces respirable dust and lowers power consumption while increasing material size. A proprietary body profile with a narrow bottom tip reduces breakage and extends service life, meaning more rock cutting with significantly fewer motor trips for continuous mining machines.

www.kennametal.com

ProBore

ProPoint

Split Sprocketfor 2 x 48 Chain

High Capacity HB-Crusher

World’s Strongest AFC-Gearbox1.200kW - 1.500kW

mining with quality!

[email protected] www.Halbach-Braun.de

HALBACH & BRAUN

16. to 18. September 2010 Taiyuan, Shanxi, P.R. China

“China International Energy Industry Expo 2010”

-KPL-75

Redesigned dosimeter

Casella CEL has redeveloped its

lightweight and cable-free dBadge noise dosimeter to increase its robustness, allowing the dosimeter to be used in the harshest of environments with absolute reliability. The redeveloped dBadge now features rubber over-moulding on the case to provide protection from the water and dust prevalent in mines.

Casella has also added a new model to its noise

dosimetry range, the CEL-350L dBadge ‘Lite’, which measures all the same occupational noise parameters as the original dBadge except for the time history of exposure to noise levels.


Plant & Equipment

More Volvos for Walters

Four new L180F Volvo loading shovels

have been deployed by Walters Group of Abadare on long term rentals to Celtic Energy’s Onllwyn distribution centre in South Wales. They replace five

competitive models and are now responsible for processing up to 1Mt of coal arriving from three active Celtic Energy open cast coal sites in South Wales

Each shovel has been

deployed around key areas at the Celtic Energy distribution centre. The prime mover has been equipped with a 7.8m³ coal handling bucket and feeds 250 tph through the reception hopper. Two of the other machines are fitted with 6.8m³ rehandling buckets; one is responsible for blending coal specifically destined for the local Aberthaw power station with the other allocated to loading road and rail wagons for both the power station and the Corus steel works located at Port Talbot. The distribution centre dispatches up to 10 trains per week and the L180F is required to load 1,500t of

coal in 2.25 hours. The final machine is used for various duties on site including loading local delivery lorries and stocking the finished grades of coal in the bins.

The L180F is powered by a Tier III 12 litre Volvo engine with 318 hp at 1400rpm. The Tier III/Stage 3 low emission engine delivers high torque at just above tick over, giving the machine excellent rimpull and low fuel consumption as well as a significant reduction in noise levels of the E series In all some 600,000t per annum is processed through the washery at Onllwyn.

www.volvo.co.uk

Acoustic wave level measurement technology

The mining environment is normally very tough

and level measurement sensors are exposed to dust, condensation,

weather, steam and foam, and are expected to work without any downtime. Acoustic wave technology creates a self cleaning

action by its own pressure waves and that has made sensors based on this technology very reliable for tough conditions.

Hawk has manufactured level measurement sensors for over 20 years. Based on the company’s knowledge they recommend 5 kHz, 10 kHz or 15 kHz, low frequency self cleaning acoustic wave level measurement sensors for applications involving dust, spray, condensation or slurry.

The low frequency Sultan transducers create a massive acoustic wave that provides a self cleaning action, preventing build-up,

resulting in a maintenance free level sensor. The company claims that customers have had sensors working with little or no cleaning or maintenance for between 10 and 20 years.

This is a photo of a 20 years old sensor that still operates perfectly, because the sensor face and cone is clean due to the acoustic wave providing a self cleaning action. The client whacks the sensor cone every few months with a shovel to break the build-up off the outside, but the cone is clean on the inside due to the self cleaning action of the low frequency acoustic wave.

China VoIP & Digital Telecom

Jinan Yinquan Technology, the wholly

owned subsidiary of China VoIP & Digital Telecom has won the bid for the Zibo Mining Group’s

integrated virtualisation project, to improve their servers’ utilisation rates and enhance datacenter security, and reduce purchasing and

administrative expenses.Zibo Mining Group Co

Ltd is one of China’s Top 500 enterprises and one of Shandong Top 100 enterprise groups, which

possesses both Zibo and Jiningbei mining areas and Shanxi Changwuting South coal mine, including 29 production and service units.

Plant & Equipment


Couplings for underground mining

German based Tschann, with over 80 years

experience in engineering, has developed a new elastomer material for its Tscan-S couplings. The Tschan-S series of couplings are designed for extreme, heavy duty applications underground, particularly in areas where there is a potential risk of explosions

such as coal mining. The elastic intermediate rings in the couplings are made of wear-resistant polyurethane (Vulkollan) which is supplied in a range of hardness ratings. VKB has been developed in conjunction with a leading supplier of mining machinery for the intermediate rings in the Tschan-S series, and complies with all the mechanical,

fire, mining and electrical requirements for underground mining.

The aim of the new material development was to reduce the surface resistance (pursuant to DIN 53482/VDE 0303, Part 3), which is responsible for static electric charging, to a value of 3 108 W. This limit value is also applicable for textile transport belts pursuant to DIN

22100, Part 1 and is therefore the standard limit value for underground applications. In fact, the company managed to reduce the value to 1,8 108 W, which means that the possibility of static electric charges in the elastic intermediate ring during operation, and the hazardous discharge which they can cause, has been ruled out.

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Over 100 years of movement

At Bauma, Martin Schulte-Fischedick

of Maschinenfabrik Hese gave a speech in the on the implementation of TT-drives in underground belt conveyor systems. At the end of 2009, Maschinenfabrik Hese delivered and assembled a TT-intermediate drive in the mine Xin Zhung Zi, owned

by the Chinese Huainan Mining Group Ltd, to increase the efficiency of the current conveying system in the mine.

By applying Hese TT-intermediate drive the efficiency of the main conveyor belt was increased from 800 tph to 1200 tph and at the same time the total stress and strain of the conveying system

was decreased. Adding the Hese TT-intermediate drive technology to an existing conveying system was the first project of its kind in China.

The Hese machine factory was founded in Germany in 1905, supplying patented systems designed to move tubs in underground collieries.


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Page Number Name Contact Details Website

9 Allenwest +44 1294 273111 www.wallacetown.com

Inner Front Cover BASF +49 621 60-0 www.meyco.basf.com

39 Becker Mining +49 6897 8570 www.becker-mining.com

5 Bucyrus International Inc +1 414 768 4000 www.bucyrus.com

15 CBI +86 2157550910 www.coal2010.cbichina.com

13 China Coal Expo +852 2881 5889 www.chinacoalexpo.com

11 Confederation of Indian Industry (IMME) +91 124 401 4060 www.immeindia.com

47 Halbach & Braun +49 2324 90820 www.halbach-braun.de

26 Hallite +44 2087831669 www.hallite.com

21 Hazemag +49 259477400 www.hazemag.de

50 Hydra Mining Tools International Ltd +441709 857500 www.hydramining.com

32 IBC +65 65082401 www.ibc-asia.com

7 JD Theile GmbH & Co +49 23047 57163 www.jdt.de

Front Cover Joy Mining Machinery +44 1773 515200 www.joy.com

Inner Back Cover KMG Warrington +44 1925 830344 www.komatsu.com

43 Lubrication Engineers Inc +1 800 537 7683 www.le-international.com

23 P&H Mining +1 414-671-4400 www.phmining.com

19 Reilloc +44 1562 820717 www.mining-chain.com

49 RMI Armstrong +44 0249540163 www.rmipsl.com

Back Cover Sandvik Mining & Construction +358 205 44121 www.sandvik.com

17 Terrapin +65 6322 2701 www.terrapin.com

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45 ATB Morley +44 113 2571734 www.atb-motors.com

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