The systematic planning and design process for underground coal mining operations from inception to closure 1. The various methods of mining a coal seam can be classified under two headings, surface. Coal miners use giant machines to remove coal from the ground. Coal mining, particularly in the case of opencut mines, requires that large areas of land are temporarily disturbed, and perhaps withdrawn from other productive uses such as agriculture, while the process of coal extraction is under way. Surface mining can be used when the coal is buried less than 200 feet underground. Benue, kogi, delta, kwara, plateau, abia, anambra, bauchi, edo, ondo, adamawa and imo fossil fuels came up as a result of the remains of dead animals and plants million years ago. The area is then backfilled, regraded, and replanted during the reclamation process. The power to help you profit optimizing performance with online elemental analysis every year 1.
Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s is widely used to generate electricity. The rooms are the empty areas from which coal has been mined, and the pillars are blocks of coal generally 40 to 80 feet on a side left to support the mine roof. Mining of coal is one of the oldest industrial operation. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. Coal mining and production industry description and practices coal is one of the worlds most plentiful energy resources, and its use is likely to quadruple by the year 2020. In the lower anthracite regions, where steeppitch mining occurs and the coal is run out of the breasts into the mine cars by gravity, practical. Strip mining is the process of mining a seam of mineral by removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock. Kumba was previously the mining arm of iscor, which split into a resources and mining company kumba and an iron and steel producer iscor steel, both independently listed. Table 21 shows the amount of coal produced by mining method. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate electricity.
Coal seams can be mined by surface or underground methods figure 4. It has a lot of commercial and industrial applications. Ucg, overview of the south african coal value chain, october 2011 is a technology where coal is ignited underground with a controlled. Before mining begins, coal companies must post bonds. Guideline for the use of cost benefit analysis in mining. It is now more than eight years since the 2009 law on mineral and coal mining no.
Shallow, flat coal deposits are mined by surface processes, which are generally less costly per ton of coal than underground mines of similar. The goal of coal mining is to economically remove coal from the ground. Strip mining is a practical type of mining when the ore body that is to be extracted is near the surface. Box cut, strip cuts and spoil piles humphrey, 1984.
The resulting falls of roof added more dirt to the coal, thus further complicating the process of preparation. Coal cleaning processes are categorized as either physical cleaning or chemical cleaning. It is an energy giving nonrenewable source of energy. In the united kingdom and south africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is a pit, and. Therefore, to remove impurities the coal is cleaned to the required level. The dtek energy coal preparation segment includes 4 processing plants. Coal mining is an energyintensive process, which requires high electricity load to run equipments including mining machines, conveyor belts, desalination plants, coal preparation plants, and ventilation fans. This process, known as the gateway process, applies to state significant mining and coal seam gas proposals that require a new or. Epa also addressed the question of whether coal mining companies are forfeiting bonds because of the cost of manganese treatment by examining bonding requirements, past bond forfeiture rates, and future potential bond forfeiture rates see section 10. Coal companies operating surface mines must comply with strict requirements and regulations of the federal surface mining control and reclamation act. The overall coal mining process consists of several sequential stages. Its predominant use has always been for producing heat energy. The mines are now operating at significantly higher annual tonnages, growing deeper, more complex and. While various implementing regulations, including a number of amendments, have been issued by the government in pursuing the goals of the mining law, there remain many challenges for investors, particularly in the.
In surface mining, giant machines remove the topsoil and layers of rock to expose large beds of coal. The time to plan for subsidence impacts is well before mining begins, not after surface effects are noticed. Longwall mining is an automated form of underground coal mining characterized by high recovery and extraction rates, feasible only in relatively flatlying, thick, and uniform coal beds. Coal mining and processing the national academies press. Gifs the 5 stages of the mining life cycle operations. We produce several products to assist you in achieving your process objectives. Ensuring provisions of the coal rules are followed allows for continued extraction of coal to occur in a way that reduces andor eliminates long term impacts to the. A crucial part of the surface mining process is restoring a. Smaller shovels load the coal into large trucks that remove the coal from the pit. Specially designed machines draglines, or large shovelsclear away the overburden material overlaying coal that must be removed before mining can commence to expose the coal bed. Ward encyclopedia of life support systems eolss coal marketing. A relatively new branch of science, it tackles problems that arise during mineral products recovery, particularly safety issues such as rock failures, coal and gas. The process of contour mining begins with co nstructing roads to access the coal seam elev ation and the top or the mountain. Openpit mining is the process of extracting rock or minerals from the earth through their removal from an open pit or borrow.
Coal mining, extraction of coal deposits from the surface of earth and from underground. Improving the safety of mining work while responding to the need for increased coal production, however, is impossible without further development of the physics of mining processes. Once a mining lease has been awarded to an operator, exploration i. The initial task is to gain access to the seam from the surface by some means shafts, drifts, etc see access to seam from surface section for. Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal deposits some africa countries like nigeria is blessed with coal rich states especially enugu which is known as the the coal city because of its vast coal deposits, other states include. Coal is an organic sediment consisting of a complex mixture of substances.
Once the mining is finished, the dirt and rock are returned to the pit, the topsoil is replaced, and the area is replanted. The land may, however, be returned to productive use after mining or even while mining in other parts of the area is still in progress figure 1. As explained above, during the formation of coal and subsequent geologic activities, a coal seam may acquire mineral matter, veins of clay, bands of rock, and igneous intrusions. Coal mineral deposits in nigeria and its uses coal deposits some africa countries like nigeria is blessed with coal rich states especially enugu which is known as the the coal city because of its vast coal deposits, other states include. In best practice a detailed rehabilitation or reclamation plan is designed and approved for each coal mine, covering the period from the start of operations until well after mining has finished. Benue, kogi, delta, kwara, plateau, abia, anambra, bauchi, edo, ondo, adamawa and imo. Coal mining is only a temporary use of land, so it is vital that rehabilitation of land takes place once mining operations have stopped.
The abundance of minerals also provides a method of creating wealth. The primary methods of surface coal mining used in pennsylvania are. Layers of soil and rock overburden are removed the coal exposed coal seam is excavated. Coal occurs in a wide range of forms and qualities. Roomandpillar mining generally is limited to depths of about 1,000 feet because at greater. Open cut mining methods strip mining largescale open cut coal mining operations commenced in australia in mid 1960s and since then there has been significan t developments in this method of mining. Sasol mining is the coal mining subsidiary of sasol limited, a giant. In 2008, competition in the coal mining industry became more intense than ever, leading to a demand for better technology and new mines. Understanding coal free pdf download the need project. It was the basic energy source that fueled the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th. The coal program is responsible for providing permits to coal companies, completing site inspections to confirm compliance and overseeing the reclamation and bond release process. This process, known as the gateway process, applies to state significant mining and coal seam gas proposals that require a new or extended mining lease and are located on.
Gateway process the srlups outline a new upfront assessment of certain mining and coal seam gas proposals by an independent panel. Ppt coal mining powerpoint presentation free to download. Free pdf download handson, critical thinking activities that introduce intermediate students to the formation of coal, the coal mining process, reclamation of lands, uses of coal, electricity generation, and advantages and disadvantages of utilizing coal. Because subsidence due to underground mining may be inevitable, the relevant questions to be asked are how much, when, and where, and what abatement procedures are possible and might be necessary. The process integrating thermo scientificproductsinto the coalprocess from the mine to loadoutweve got you covered. Among them, caving and slow caving methods could not control the goaf roof. Physical coal cleaning processes, the mechanical separation of coal from its. Minerals and mineral products are the backbone of most industries. Room and pillar systems account for over half of the coal mined in the u. The first way in which proposed mining projects differ is the proposed method of moving or excavating the overburden. Mining shafts were dug out by hand or using stone tools, making the entire process very lengthy. Take a look at how our online analyzers, sampling systems, coal blending software, belt scales, tramp metal detectors. This process takes place at special processing plantscpps central processing plants. This appendix presents additional details on the individual processes that are involved in extraction of coal from surface and underground mines, and the.
In best practice a detailed rehabilitation or reclamation plan is designed and approved for each coal mine, covering the period from. Welcome to the eleventh edition of pwc indonesias mining in indonesia. Physics of coal and mining processes crc press book. The shearer machine cuts coal from the seam and on to the face conveyor to be transported to the surface. A highpowered cutting machine the shearer is passed across the exposed face of coal, shearing away broken coal, which is continuously hauled away by a floor. In addition, during the process of mining, a portion of the roof and floor material may be taken along with the coal seam in order to create adequate working height for.
What follows are brief descriptions of the most common methods. Africas coal resources and reserves to ensure national energy security. The flow of coal mining process on underground mine. Sasol mining, although by far the majority of coal mined by these companies is for local consumption. In the beginning, miners used primitive tools for digging. Coal mining has been a major industry in the bowen basin since the mid1970s, with rapid growth triggered by. Coal mining and production industry description and practices coal is one of the worlds most plentiful energy resources, and its use is likely to quadruple by 2020. In surface mining, the ground covering the coal seam the overburden is first removed to expose the coal seam for extraction. The overall process of coal exploration and mining involves six separate but interdependent and overlapping components. A bench is excav ated in the mountain at the coal seam elevation. Guideline for the use of cost benefit analysis in mining and. The elements of a surface mining operation are 1 topsoil removal and storage for later use, 2 drilling and blasting the strata overlying the coal seam.
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