HIGHWALL MINING

Presented by
P.Prudhviraj
N.Vijender
S.Rajesh
J.venkateshwarlu

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Presentation outline

Highwall mining systems

Geotechnical issues & rating

Guidance Control

Failures and causes

Conclusions

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Highwall Mining

Driving parallel roadways into highwall/ coal seam using

remote controlled mining machinery 200 - 500 m depth

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Highwall Mining System (1)

Addington Highwall Mining system

Addcar system

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Highwall Mining Systems (1) cont.

Addcar System

Launch vehicle
Conveyor cars

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Highwall Mining Systems (2)

Archveyor system

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Highwall Mining Systems (3)

Auger system

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Geotechnical Issues & Rating

Unsupported span stability

Pillar stability
Panel Stability
Case studies
Design guidelines

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Unsupported Span Stability

Typical failure mechanism delamination & snap-through

Simple analytical thickness of roof plate, Y,
Probabilistic approach
Realistic prediction Geology, rock properties

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Pillar Stability
Lab testing of coal strength
Empirical approach
Pillar stability modelling
Applications and verification in field

P ill ar P eak S tress (S tren gth )

Pillar Strength v. Width/Height

25

Strength 6.00 * (0.64 0.36W/h)

20
Proposed HW M

15

W [0.69 0.44w/h]w

Wagner
Bienawski

10

Average Trendline

Strength 6.00 * (0.64 0.36w/h)

0
0

Pillar W idth/He ight

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Panel Stability

Panel stability depends on local mine stiffness

Panel factor of safety
One pillar failure may lead to total panel failure
Roadways to be driven in perfect parallel

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Design Guidelines

Highwall Mining Index (HMI) has been developed

15 key factors are considered,
e.g. roof condition; mine reserve
etc.;
Key factors are weighted
differently in HMI;
Uncertainty on judgement is
incorporated.
A given site has two index
values: HMI rating, confidence
level.
Recommendation is given for
any HMI/Confidence ratings.

100
1

90
4

80
Confidence Level (%)

Good site for CHM

mining

Site unsuitable for

CHM mining.

70

Example pit 1

60

Transition
zone

50
40

30

Site apparently unsuitable

for CHM mining. Further
evaluation may be needed if
new information is available

20

2
Possibly a good site
for CHM mining. More
information is need.

10
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Highwall Mining Index (HMI)

90 100

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Guidance Control (1)

Driving parallel roadways

remote miner
200 to 500 m depth

Problems
Cut-throughs connection
Pillar failure - frequent roof falls
Limited penetration depth

7424750
North

7424700
7424650

panel 4
#41-67

7424600

Cracks on the
face of the
highwall Observation

7424550
7424500
7424450

panel 3
#21-40

Cracks on top
of the highwall
-Survey data

panel 2
#11-20

7424400

panel 1
#1-10

7424350
7424300
7424250
707000

707100

707200

707300

707400

707500

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Guidance Control (2)

Problems to solve

Guidance system

Uncertainty in pillar size

Frequent cut-throughs
Reduced penetration depth
pillar/panel failure

Military grade Inertial Navigation System

Independent odometer
Controlling computers
Operator displace and interface

Achievements

Used in every HWM system in Australia

No mining equipment lost due to collapse

Penetration depths increased - 350m to 510m

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Failures (1)

Panel failure

Before

After

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Failures (2)

Panel failure

Panel failure at Ulan Mine

Local panel failure at Yarrabee Mine

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Factors contributing to pillar/panel failures

Lack of site investigation

Poor knowledge on span stability
Inadequate pillar design
Poor guidance control
Critical panel width
Lack of knowledge on insitu stresses
No monitoring and feedback

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Production

Production ~ 1 million tonnes per year

Employees 50 (High productivity main advantage)
Continuous inert gas injection @ 150 l/s
Penetration depth varies 100 to 500 m (Av 300m)
Gas issues

Stability issues

Each roadway driven almost in one day (or less)

Production share in Australia 1%

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Conclusions

Main attraction high productivity and low cost

Suitable for certain conditions 500 m boundary
May lead to more fires and collapses
Around 50% of extraction
Creates problems for deeper reserves
Production share in Australia 1%
Punch longwall preferred for large reserves
High production and longer term view

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