Highwall Mining Systems (JCOAL)

Highwall mining systems considering
environmental issues at opencut coal mines

Safety First!
Kikuo MATSUI, Dr. Eng., Professor

Department of Earth Resources Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University,
Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
1
Highwall Mining Concept (1)
 Highwall mining is a technique utilized after the
opencut portion of a reserve has been mined,
sometimes prior to the introduction of
underground mining .
 Efficient highwall mining systems would
significantly extend the productive life of opencut
coal mines.
 A wide variety of attempts have been made to
mine additional coal from such resultant
highwalls.
2
 Where the ordinary opencut mining is difficult or
impossible in a small-scale mine due to an
uneconomical stripping ratio, the highwall mining
systems could be applied.
 After making a small bench, the mining starts
from the outcrop with less environmental
disturbance.
 Surface rehabilitation/reclamation cost after
highwall mining is minimized due to the small
bench required to gain access to the coal seam.
3
 The narrow bench needed to operate the

highwall mining systems is not only economically
beneficial, but it also offers minimal disturbance
to the surrounding land, making mining possible
on relatively small properties.
 The highwall mining systems are extremely
mobile and can be moved from pit to pit in a
matter of hours, or from one mine to another in a
day or two.
4
 For introduction of highwall mining systems,

initial capital cost is a major considering factor.
 Auger mining, Continuous Highwall Mining
(CHM) and Hybrid mining systems
 The auger system requires less costs than other
mining systems.
 When the remnant coal in the highwall is not
vast, the auger system is cost effective.
5
Auger Mining (1)
6
Auger Mining (2)
 This system consists of an auger machine, a

cutting flight, auger flights, a stacker conveyor
and a front-end loader.
 Auger mining works at right angles to the
highwall, driving a cutting head into the coal
seam.
 The motion of the cutting process carries the
coal back to the collar of the excavation.
7
Auger Mining (3)
 The auger cutting head drives directly from the auger
machine into the coal seam and additional flights are
added as the hole deepens.
 Once each flight is in place, a tractive effort is provided
by hydraulic rams.
 Each auger flight is connected via a latch pin assembly
that operates by remote control from the operator’s air-
conditioned cabin.
 As the coal is extracted from the augering hole, a side
conveyor advances the coal onto a stacker belt for
stockpiling.
8
Auger Mining (4)
 A new-generation, higher-power auger is being
designed and built which will be more effective because
of the addition of various controls.
 Augers also suffer from increasing size degradation with
depth, a fixed cutting height and certain other
operational attributes that diminish the percentage of
coal actually recovered.
 Augers do not have the ability to negotiate dips and rolls
in the seam because of the rigid structure of the auger
string.
9
Auger Mining (5)
10
Auger Mining (6)
11
Auger Mining (7)
12
Auger Mining (8)
13
Auger Mining (9)
14
Auger Mining (10)
15
Auger Mining (11)
16
Auger Mining (12)
17
Auger Mining (13)
18
Auger Mining (14)
19
Auger Mining (15)
20
Auger Mining (16)
21
Auger Mining (17)
22
AUGERING –
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
 Auger diameters 0.5 – 3.0 meters
 Auger depths 50 – 250 meters
 Single / double or triple pass
 Productivity 300 – 3,000 tons per shift
 Needs strip width of 25 – 35 meters
23
AUGERING STRENGTHS
 Quick and cheap mobilization

 Lower capital cost
 Easier to move
 Low manning requirements (2 - 3 people)
 Flexible to fit in with conventional open cut
mining
 Most stable geotechnical shape
24
AUGERING WEAKNESSES
 Limited in tons recovered per meter of highwall
 Not generally lowest cost
 Generally lower production rates
25
Continuous Highwall Mining (CHM)
Addcar system (1)
26
Addcar system (2)
27
Addcar system (3)
 The Addcar system consists of a continuous
miner, a launch vehicle, 30/40 conveyor belt
cars (Addcars), a stacker conveyor, and two
loaders.
 The Addcar system provides a cost effective and
safe means of extracting coal from final opencut
highwalls and purposely built trenches, and is
ideally suited to applications that have 500 m of
exposed highwall or more.
28
Addcar system (4)
 The continuous miner is remote controlled and will
reach up to 500 m into the wall.
 The Addcars facilitate a continuous flow of coal from the
cutting head of the continuous miner to the launch
vehicle belly belt and stacker conveyor.
 Hydraulically powered push arms provide thrust in
addition to the tractive force to the continuous miner.
 The removal of the system from a completed hole is
done by simply performing the mining sequence in
reverse.
29
Addcar system (5)
30
Addcar system (6)
31
Addcar system (7)
32
Addcar system (8)
33
Addcar system (9)
34
Addcar system (10)
35
Addcar system (11)
36
ADDCAR –
 Mine + 1.5 meters in height
 Mining depths 500 meters
 Production up to 5,000 tons per shift
 Requires pit width of + 50 meters
37
ADDCAR STRENGTHS
 High productivity
 Higher reserve recovery (more tons per meter of
highwall)
 Lower cost
38
ADDCAR WEAKNESSES
 Needs large reserve to justify mobilization
 Requires large pit area (in width of pit and
strike length)
 8 – 12 people per shift
 High capital cost
 More inflexible to fit in with open cut
operations
 Highwall instability can have a major effect
on production
39
Archveyor system (1)
40
41
 This system consists of a continuous miner, a
chain conveyor (Archveyor conveyor) and a
load-out vehicle.
 The load-out vehicle contains an onboard

substation for power distribution and control of
all three main system components.
42
 Coal mined by the continuous miner is conveyed
from the miner to the Archveyor conveyor.
 The Archveyor carries the coal to the load-out
vehicle, and then the load-out vehicle receives
the coal from the Archveyor and moves it from
the ground level to a height that is suitable for
loading into open-cut, mine-type haul trucks.
 The system requires just two employees per shift
to safely mine the coal from the exposed
highwalls.
43
 The current available length of the chain conveyor is
350 m, being variable in excess of 350 m.
 As the miner advances, the Archveyor advances to the
miner once every 1.85 m. The Archveyor does this by
lowering itself to the ground bringing the return side
conveyor chain in contact with the floor.
 The Archveyor conveyor chain is then reversed which
gives tractive force to the complete length of the chain
conveyor system.
 The Archveyor advances to the miner as if it were a
large crawler truck.
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
ARCHVEYOR –
 Mine + 1.5 meters in height
 Is currently mining to 375 meters and can extend
to 500 meters
 Can multiple pass
 Production of up to 3,500 tons per shift
 Pit width of 25 – 30 meters minimum
53
ARCHVEYOR STRENGTHS
 High productivity
 Low manning
 Can multipass
 Can be used open cut and underground
 Can work in narrow pit widths and on ramps
 Generally safer option
54
ARCHVEYOR WEAKNESSES
 High capital costs
 Needs large reserve base but can include
underground reserves
 Highwall instability can have a major effect on
production
55
Metec Miner System (Superior Highwall
Mining System/American Highwall
Systems)
 Continuous miner, double auger flight, stacker
conveyor, front-end loader
 Non-continuous mining
 50 units marketed since 1990
 High movability
 Up to 500 m

56
Metec Miner System (Superior Highwall Mining
System/American Highwall Systems)
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
Systematic and Geotechnical
Considerations (1)
 Highwall mining improves mining operations due
to its own safe mining system.
 Itis difficult or almost impossible to apply the

system into steeper dip coal seams, over 15 ﾟ .
 There are currently no mining methods available

for mining seams in this dip range beyond their
final economic highwall.
64
Mining Method for Steep Coal Seams
65
Considerations (2)
 Roof conditions have had a great influence on
machine performance in certain seams.
 The rectangular geometry of the current
excavations resulted from the lack of availability
of suitable machines to mine more favorable
shapes.
 Field trials of a machine that will form an
elliptical excavation with a short exposed roof
span are now being conducted.
66
Considerations (3)
 Mine water is another big problem in the CHM system
using a continuous miner.
 It is very important to control the water rush-in into the
face on rainy days or during the rainy season in highwall
mining, especially in Indonesia.
 Some coal measures rocks such as shale, siltstone and
mudstone show an excessive slaking behavior, leading
to a severe deterioration of properties.
 The immediate roof of the excavated openings tends to
fall easily and the continuous miner also tends to sink in
the softened floor or slip on the floor.
67
Considerations (4)
 In the highwall mining systems, a large amount
of coal tends to remain isolated and
undeveloped as pillars due to previous mining
operations.
 A lesser amount of coal recovery is a major
problem.
 Backfilling is an alternative in order to cope with
the pillar failure and the less coal recovery.
68
Trench Mining(1)
69
Trench Mining(2)
70
Archveyor Punch Mining(1)
71
Longwall Punch Mining (1)
 The longwall punch mining system is not a new concept.
 Longwall gateroads are driven into the seam directly from the
opencut highwall. The longwall panel thus formed is retreated
back to within several tens of meters of the highwall.
 The concept is of particular benefit for the recovery of coal not
easily accessible from the conventional highwall or underground
mining. In this system, with no main headings or no shafts to be
developed, the ratio of the longwall to development will improve.
 There will be less high cost development coal and less annual
incremental capital is required for regular panel extraction.
72
Longwall Punch Mining (2)
 The introduction of the longwall punch mining system to
Indonesian opencut mines will increase the coal
recovery and also help Indonesian coal mining industry
understand and master the underground mining
technology before starting a full-scale underground
mining in Indonesia.
 Japanese coal mining technology will be transferred
very well, because Japanese coal mining industry has a
great deal of experiences and expertise in underground
mining, especially in longwall mining.
73
Longwall Punch Mining(3)
74
Longwall Punch Mining(4) Beltana, NSW, Australia
75
Longwall Punch Mining(5) Beltana, NSW, Australia
76
77
Room (Bord) & Pillar Punch Mining
 Low capital cost compared to longwall
mining
 Continuous miner or roadheader
 Pillar recovery
 Flexible mining
 High level of production
78
Room (Bord) & Pillar Punch Mining
79
Final Highwall
80
Location of the Massive Roof Fall
Final
Highwall
Present
Plan
Location of
Roof Fall
81
Prop and cap mining system
82
Conclusions
 The introduction of the highwall mining systems to
Indonesian opencut mines is an alternative to control
environmental issues.
 While practicing the highwall mining systems,
underground technology will be transferred to Indonesia
in a reasonable fashion.
 A closer and stronger cooperation between Indonesia
and Japan will contribute to the preservation of the
global environment and help solve the environmental
issues resulting from mining activities in Indonesia.
83
Safety First!
Thank you very much for your
kind attention!
84

Highwall Mining Systems (JCOAL)

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Highwall Mining Systems (JCOAL)

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Highwall mining systems considering

environmental issues at opencut coal mines

Kikuo MATSUI, Dr. Eng., Professor

 The narrow bench needed to operate the

 For introduction of highwall mining systems,

 This system consists of an auger machine, a

 Quick and cheap mobilization

 The load-out vehicle contains an onboard

 Itis difficult or almost impossible to apply the

 There are currently no mining methods available

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