Underground mines, especially at more substantial

depths, they may constitute less than 60% overall of the workable coal available. In special
cases, such as for mining in difficult conditions or in areas where only partial extraction of the
seam by underground methods is permitted (Section 7.6.7), the recovery factor may be even
lower.
Tambang bawah tanah, terutama pada kedalaman yang lebih besar, mungkin keberadaannya
kurang 60% dari keseluruhan ketersediaan batubara yang dapat ditambang. Dalam kasus-kasus
khusus, misalnya untuk pertambangan dengan kondisi yang sulit atau pada daerah-daerah yang
hanya sebagian ekstraksi dari lapisan menggunakan metode underground (bawah tanah) (Subbab
7.6.7), faktor pemulihan mungkin akan lebih rendah lagi.

Jenis metode tambang yang dapat digunakan biasa

menggunakan sebagian penjabaran factor-faktor pembatas untuk menjelaskan nilai ekonomi dari
batubara. Ketika penambangan terbuka ditingkatkan, hal ini mungkin pada lapisan dengan
ketebalan sekitar 0,3 m untuk diekstrak pada proses pemisahan sebuah lapisan batubara yang
besar. Selain itu, terdapat bebeperapa operasi perhitungan ketebalan yang tidak praktis untuk
dilaksanakan. Penambangan bawah tanah, biasanya ketebalan lapisannya kurang dari 1 m
normalnya dapat dikerjakan hanya jika terdapat perhitungan yang jelas atap atau lantai batuan
terpotong sebagai sumur (Bab 7.4.4). jika lapisan bahan tambang memiliki ketebalan melampaui
3-4 m, teknik penambangan khusus harus digunakan (Bab 7.4.6), sebaliknya batubara yang
berlebih tidak dapat dipulihkan cepat seluruhnya.

(c) cadangan yang bersifat ekonomis

For coal that is to be marketed without any beneficiation process, the net quantity extracted from
the ground (the recoverable reserves) represent the total amount of material actually available for
use. If, however, the coal is beneficiated in some way prior to sale (chapter 8), and the fraction
having inferior quality discarded as refuse, the amount of material expected to constitute the final
product or products is regarded as the ‘marketable reserves’ for the project in hand.
(c) cadangan yang bersifat ekonomis
Untuk batubara yang dipasarkan tanpa proses beneficiation, kuantitas bersih hasil ekstraksi dari
tanah (cadangan yang dapat dipulihkan) mewakili jumlah total tambang yang benar-benar
tersedia untuk digunakan. Namun, jika batu bara bersifat beneficiated dengan beberapa langkah
sebelum penjualan (Bab 8), dan batubara dengan kualitas fraksi rendah yang biasa dibuang
sebagai sampah, jumlah batubara diharapkan menjadi produk akhir atau produk yang dianggap
sebagai 'cadangan layak jual' untuk proyek yang sudah pasti.

in simple cases, the amount of marketable coal can be

obtained by multiplying the recoverable reserves by anticipated product yield from the
processing operation. The yield depends in part on the quality of the coal itself, and partly on the
specifications of the material that is to be produced. It is generally lower, for a given coal, if a
high-quality product is required than in a case where the market specifications are less stringent,
and thus a trade-off between sale price and available tonnage is often involved in this type of
assessment.
Contoh kasus sederhana, jumlah batubara layak jual dapat diperoleh dengan mengalikan
cadangan yang dapat dipulihkan dengan produk antisipasi hasil dari kegiatan pengolahan.
Keuntungan bergantung pada kualitas batu bara itu sendiri, dan sebagian lagi pada spesifikasi
bahan yang akan diproduksi. Hal ini umumnya lebih rendah, untuk suatu produk batu bara, jika
produk dengan kualitas tinggi banyak diminta seperti dalam kasus di mana keadaan pasar kurang
ketat, dengan demikian trade-off antara harga jual dan tonase yang tersedia sering meningkat
tergantung jenis penilaian.
 as indicated in section 8.2.3, float-sink or froth
flotation testing of bore core samples, especially slim (50 mm) cores, does not necessarily give
the same results as a full scale preparation plant working on run-of-mine coal. Closer
approximations to operating conditions can be achieved by special pretreatment of large-
diameter (150-200 mm) cores (Proudfoot 1977), or by pilot-plant testing of samples from trial
mining, but this is, in general, not carried out until relatively late in the exploration programmed.
The type of wash ability data used to assess the marketable reserves should therefore be stated
when giving these estimates. Preliminary figures, based on laboratory testing of slim cores only,
will probably need to be adjusted once the plant design and operating characteristics have been
established.
seperti ditunjukkan pada bagian 8.2.3, mengapung-tenggelam atau pengapungan buih pengujian
sampel inti pemborran, terutama lapisan tipis (50 mm) core, tidak selalu memberikan hasil yang
sama seperti rancangan preparasi skala penuh kerja run-off pada tambang batu bara. Perkiraan-
perkiraan untuk kondisi operasi dapat dicapai dengan pretreatment khusus berdiameter besar
(150-200 mm) core (Proudfoot 1977), atau dengan pengujian sampel pilot-plant dari percobaan
tambang, tetapi secara umum, tidak dilaksanakan sampai relatif terlambat dalam program
eksplorasi. Jenis kemampuan mengolah data yang digunakan untuk menilai nilai ekonomis
cadangan harus dinyatakan ketika memberikan perkiraan. Sebagai gambaran dasar, berdasarkan
pengujian laboratorium core tipis saja, akan mungkin perlu disesuaikan setelah rencana desain
dan operasi yang telah ditetapkan.
 a simple example showing the computation of the
various classes of coal reserves is given in Table 6.11. This embodies three seams 9Fig. 6.28),
with areas only available by underground mining. Seam ‘A’ is a thin seam, taken in conjunction
with open-cut extraction of seam ‘B’, but not recoverable separately by underground methods.
Seam ‘C’ is a thick seam, the full section of which is worked in the open-cut, but which can only
be partly recovered, on an economic basis, by the underground operation.

6.8. COMPUTER IN COAL EXPLORATION

Computer-based systems are used in many coal exploration programmed to record and process
the large volume of geological and analytical data involved. Such technology offers an
alternative to time-consuming clerical work in carrying out the following tasks:
(a) Recording, storage and retrieval of bore logs, geophysical data and analytical results;
(b) Preparation of written logs and graphic column sections;
(c) Contouring and drafting of structure contour, lithofacies and coal quality maps;
(d) Evaluation of coal reserves to satisfy various selection parameters;
(e) Planning of an appropriate mine layout and development schedule.
 In addition, computers may be used in working mines
to monitor coal production history, simulate future extraction programmed, keep equipment
inventories, prepare maintenance schedules and control the operation of mining and processing
equipment. They are also used to analyze the relationships between various features of a coal-
bearing stratigraphic sequence. This may greatly assist in the preparation of a sedimentary model
to explain the nature and distribution of the coal seams present, and indicate any locations that
might be investigated to find further coal occurrences.

6.8.1. Bore
logging for computer storage
In order to make us of computer-based processing, the necessary geological and analytical data
must first be compiled in a suitable manner for input. This may be achieved by extracting the
necessary information from a bore-log or section description previously written in conventional
prose form, or by recording of the log in the field directly either on coding sheet for later input to
a central facility or by means of a field-portable computer unit. Existing data from other sources
pertinent to the exploration programmed should also be transcribed in the same format and added
to the data base.
 One of the most widely used techniques for input to
the computer embodies a specially set out coding sheet on which the data are written in specific
columns, using a numerical or letter-based code of abbreviation (Fig. 6.29). The data on this
sheet are then copied by the operator on to magnetic tape, disc or punched-card storage system.

For bores or outcrop sections, the location, reduced

level and other data are first recorded as special ‘header’ statements. Location is most
conveniently specified using a rectangular grid coordinate system, although degrees of latitude
and longitude may also be appropriate. More complex systems, such as those based on country,
parish, township or other irregular cadastral boundaries require a more sophisticated program to
reproduce each location on an output map (e.g. Swan et al 1970).

Other data
in the ‘header’ statements may include various key-words useful in the retrieval of the stored
information. These could be, for example, appropriate locality or district names, dates of drill
hole commencement and completion, names of persons responsible for drilling and logging, and
cross-references to other available data (such as analyses and geophysical logs). The units of
measurement (imperial or metric) used in the log may also be specified, and the computer
programmed for any conversions that may be necessary.

The minimum geologic information on each bed in

the sequence needed for computer processing are the lithology and estimated thickness. Other
data, such as grain size, color or sedimentary structures, may be included, either by incorporation
within a numerical symbol (e.g. Goscombe et al 1977). Where the computer-stored log is to be
used as the principal repository for all geologic information, any available geomechanical
features or other properties should also be included. The positions of significant stratigraphic
boundaries may be incorporated at the time of coding, or added at a later stage when they are
more fully delineated.

Coal seams may be logged in the same way as other

rock types, with details of their macropetrographic features recorded in place of grain size or
sedimentary structures. The log is generally cross-referenced in some way to a separate record of
quality data, such as by means of sample numbers identifying each ply analyzed. Records of
geophysical logs, if available in digitized form, may also be stored as a separate file with the
borehole depths acting as a cross-reference system.
 Analytical data on each ply or seam composite may be
stored as an adjunct to the lithological bore log, or as a separate computer file. Care should be
taken, of course, to ensure that the basis on which such data are recorded (e.g. air dried) is
always consistent, or at least specified as part of each individual sample recorded. Adjustment of
the results to any other desired basis can then be readily carried out as part of the data processing
operation.

If analytical
data are recorded on a ply-by-ply basis, the computer can be used to calculate the properties of
any part of the seam involving a combination of these plies. This may be of great assistance in
selecting the most appropriate working section for a given mining and marketing situation. It is
also useful in cases where wash ability data on different subsections are available, and the clean-
coal yield and quality from various composites are required without additional laboratory testing.
The computer may be used to plot wash ability curves (Section 8.2.4) for each of these
composites as well (e.g. Armstrong & Whitmore 1981).

6.8.2 Output of written logs and graphic sections

Once the necessary data are held in computer storage, they can be retrieved for study in a variety
of forms. Output of written logs or graphic sections on a visual display unit allows the data to be
checked, and if necessary corrected, at any stage of the exploration programmed. Such units do,
however, restrict usage of that data to the proximity of the computer terminal. For other purpose,
a paper copy of the log or section can also be obtained, the nature of which depends on the type
of printing and plotting facilities available.
 A well-designed computer program can incorporate
punctuation, conjunctions and other phrases to produce, from numerical or alphabetical
abbreviations, a log equivalent to that normally given by the geologist’s complete prose-form
description (Fig. 6.30). Although special provision must be made to deal with relatively thin
intervals containing closely interbedded units of different lithology, the computer can also use
the stored data to draw up a graphic log of the section to any required scale (Fig. 6.31). part of
the log that is of particular interest, such as a coal seam intersection, may be plotted separately
on a larger scale if required.

Graphic logs of adjacent boreholes may be plotted

together, spaced as determined from the coordinates describing their location, to give a geologic
cross section along any desired line. The datum on which this section is drawn may be either the
reduced level of the bores (i.e. a structural cross-section), or a particular marker bed in the
sequence (a stratigraphic cross section). These sections may be used to assess stratigraphic
correlation, structural trends and lithologic variations in the coal-bearing succession. Larger-
scale plots, showing only a particular coal seam or other zone of interest, may also be drawn up,
and used to delineate variability in the working section or in the roof strata of commercial seams.
 6.8.3
Computer-based map production
With the aid of plotting facilities, the computer can use the coordinate values to prepare maps, at
any appropriate scale, showing the location of the boreholes or stratigraphic sections on file.
Such equipment may also be able to reproduce other base map data, such as roads, cadastral
boundaries and topographic contours, if these are available in digitized form.
 More significantly, the computer can plot the value of
a selected quality parameter (e.g. seam thickness) at each data point, and illustrate the variation
in this feature with contour patterns (Fig. 6.32). Most contouring programs are based on equating
the quantitative measurement at each available locality to a point in three-dimensional space,
defined by rectangular co-ordinates (say) x, y, and z. The values of x and y are based on the
position of the data point on the ground, while the third variable, z, represents the value of the
parameter observed at that particular point. The contour pattern is then taken from the shape of a
mathematical surface, fitted by the computer to suit these data points. Several different types of
surfaces, including trend surfaces, spline curves and kringing patterns can be used as required for
these operations (Moore 1978).

Computer-
drawn contouring programmes are not always able to take into account geological factors that
may produce the variation in question. A series of points that would normally be interpreted as
lying on a paleochannel, for example, may be plotted in quite a different way by computer
processing. The computer is also unable, unless specifically requested, to allow for anomalous
values such as those that might be encountered around a fault or an igneous intrusion into a coal
seam. In areas where the data points are unevenly distributed, difficulty may also be found in
obtaining a realistic result from the computer model due to lack of mathematical control in some
parts of the study area.
 Computer-based contouring offers considerable
advantages when large numbers of maps need to be drawn for a particular exploration of the beds
is well established, and all the necessary data are available on file, even complex maps can be
produced very quickly. If adjustments to the data base are necessary, such as in the correction of
a correction error, or if a change is made in the selected working section of a coal seam, a set of
revised maps can be prepared easily. With modern techniques of computer graphics, these maps
are normally able to be included directly in any report that may be required.

Use of the computer is also of great benefit when the

quantities to be mapped depend on calculations derived from more fundamental data. An
example of this is the preparation of ‘cumulative overburden ratio’ maps, essential to estimation
of reserves for multiseam open-cut mining operations. These maps show the total volume of non-
coal strata that has to be removed pr tone of coal available, taking into account all coal seams of
mineable thickeness and quality between the ground surface and the base of the lowest seam
being evaluated. The necessary calculations are readily performed by the computer before
plotting the map, yet would take considerable time by manual methods.