APPLICATION OF HIGHWALL MINING IN INDIA

R.P Ritolia* and A.K. Debnath**

Abstract

Highwall mining is a remote controlled mining method which extracts coal from the base of an
exposed highwall via a series of parallel entries driven to a significant depth within the coal
horizon. Highwall mining technology will have wide application in extracting reserves confined to
thin seams (0.8m to 1.5m) which otherwise cannot be extracted economically by conventional
mining methods. It also allows recovery of coal blocked in the batter in opencast projects, reserves
confined to coal seams lying below the final floor of the quarry at certain depths, coal blocked
under the villages, below roads & mine boundaries, surface infrastructures etc. which cannot be
exploited economically otherwise. This will not only enhance the underground production of the
nation but also from coal conservation point of view this technology will provide a new dimension
to the coal sector. Efforts are being made to identify suitable prospective sites for application of this
technology in all coal producing subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited. Work has already
been awarded in Singareni Collieries Company Limited.

1.0 Introduction:
Highwall/Trench mining is a remote controlled mining method which extracts coal from the base of
an exposed highwall via a series of parallel entries driven to a significant depth within the coal
horizon. The method allows recovery of coal from surface pits that have reached final highwall
position, or in areas where coal has become sterilized, e.g. in-service corridors. A trench of suitable
dimension is dug centrally where Highwall is not available, and parallel drivages are made in both
directions along dip as well as along rise. The technology may have wide application in extracting
reserves of thin seams (0.8m to 1.5m) which otherwise cannot be extracted economically. The
method is capable of accessing these reserves for substantially less capital cost and lead time than a
full underground mine, while being able to produce over 0.6 MT to over one million tones of coal
per year per system depending on the thickness of seam and depth of Highwall. Highwall/Trench
Mining also has a significant operation cost advantage over underground mining, because it is less
labour intensive.

There are few prospective sites located in different coalfields where recovery of coal from such
reserves may be possible only by Highwall/Trench mining.

____________________________________________________________
* Chairman-cum-Managing Director, CCL (e-mail: cmd_ccl@cmpdi.co.in )
** Director (T/P&D), CMPDI (e-mail: dirpandd@cmpdi.co.in, amaldebnath@gmail.com )
 A high level CIL team consisting of six members led by CMD, Central Coalfields Limited had
visited few sites of highwall operations including workshops where the machine is manufactured by
different manufacturers. Objective of the visit was to see the operations of highwall mining and its
end application in Indian mining conditions.

2.0 Strength of Highwall Mining Technology :

Most Safe Method
It is the safest method since no man is going inside the drivages. The length of the machine is
approx. 17m. The cabin of the Operator is located at rear of the machine and at a height of 8.5m.

As such no persons are required to work in the potentially danger area i.e. near the Highwall.

Highwall Production Potential

Production potential of the machine depends upon the thickness of the coal seam and the mining
condition of the site. Highwall machines can produce approx. 6200 TPD for thick seams, approx.
4000 TPD for medium seams and 2500 TPD from thin seams having thickness 0.9 to 1.4 metre.
Production over 100000 Ton per Month is being achieved in a sustained manner.

Higher Productivity

The machine is being operated with 6-7 crew members per shift with very high productivity.
Depending on the thickness of seam, output per man shift can be very high. This cannot be
achieved by any other underground technology.

Conservation of coal

This technology recovers that coal which in normal case, cannot be taken out by any other
conventional technology. Depending upon the thickness of coal seam, strength of coal and depth of

cover of the seam, recovery of coal to the extent of 50% to 70% is possible to achieve .

Mobility

The machine manufactured by M/s Superior Highwall Miner (SHM) is mounted on four
hydraulically powered crawlers for movement. This allows the machine to move both straight and
in transverse direction. This helps the machine to position itself in the next hole accurately with
least time. Moreover, the machine is modular in construction and can be broken into modules in
one day and can be assembled in 3/4 days. In case of machine manufactured by M/s ADDCAR, the

machine is being shifted from one place to another more or less similar to shifting of dragline .

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3.0 Method of Mining

The technology is quite flexible depending upon the availability of the coal block. Generally four

types of method are being practiced for creating highwall mining under different mining conditions.

i) Contour mining
ii) Trench mining
iii) Bench mining, and
iv) Highwall mining.

i) Contour Mining Method

When any coal seam, particularly thin seam appears at incrop/outcrop, conventional
method of mining i.e. opencast or underground mining may not be the best economic choice;
highwall mining can be done economically & safely. Since highwall mining follows the contour of
the coal seam, method is known as Contour Mining by highwall method.

ii) Trench Mining Method

There is a limitation of length of drivages due to various reasons. For a dipping seam,
with the length of drivages the depth of overburden increases but if the seam is flat, further entries
can be made by excavating a trench to expose the coal seam and highwall mining can be done both
along the exposed coal seam available at dip & rise side. This is commonly known as Trench

Mining.

iii) Bench Mining Method

For working multi seam deposit, a bench is prepared in the top seam and mining operation
is undertaken top downwards. Highwall mining can also be done by preparation of benches from
bottom upwards but there is a possibility of damages to the coal of upper seams if there is any
failure of web pillars at the bottom seams. Mining by preparation of benches in each seam for

multi-seam working is called Bench Mining.

iv) Highwall Mining Method

When the open-pit mining has reached beyond the stripping ratio or the limit of mining

operation, the coal blocked in the highwall, can be taken out economically & safely by this method.

Ventilation
Basically the drivages by highwall mining is a single entry parallel drivage along the dip. Since no
man will be inside the hole, ventilation is not required normally but possibility of accumulation of

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 methane cannot be avoided when the seam is highly gassy. While the environment is continuously
monitored for detection of concentration of methane, it may be necessary to dilute the concentration
if it is above the permitted limit. Under such situation, power supply to the cutter head is
automatically cut off but power to the augur continues since the drive unit is positioned at surface.
Augur is allowed to run and since these are being within a closed box, a ventilation circuit is
established when fresh air goes over the top of the push beam and contaminated air is brought out
by pair of augurs which are placed inside the closed push beam. Where the coal conveying system
is by belt conveyor, the air comes out to the surface along with the movement of belt conveyor
carrying coal.

Auto Guidance and Steering control

Parallel drivages are the essence of the technology. Any deviation may lead to variation of thickness
of web pillar, generally left between two drivages. Narrower width of web pillar than designed may
cause disturbance of web pillar stability. As such the success of technology will greatly depend on
the parallel drivages vis-à-vis web pillar stability. Machinery has the inbuilt capacity by proper

design to make parallel drivages. For accurate positioning in the subsequent hole, machine can
be fitted with GPS (Global Positioning System).

Health and Environment Monitoring

Continuous Miner machine is equipped with health monitoring system to know the real time health
of the machine. It is also fitted with methane monitoring system which continuously monitors the
presence of methane gas within the drivages. It continuously gives signal as well as audio-visual
alarm to the operator when it exceeds the pre-determined limit. It will automatically cut off the

power going to the continuous miner if methane concentration goes above the pre-set values.

4.0 Salient features of the method

 Can extract coal within the highwall, which otherwise will be deemed lost forever.

 Can be deployed to extract thin coal seams, which otherwise are uneconomical to extract by
conventional mining methods.

 Can be used to extract coal blocked under the villages, below roads and mine boundaries,
permanent surface structures and beyond economic stripping ratio of opencast mining.

 As per the manufacturer, artificial roof supporting and ventilation is not required. However,
the operation depends on the ability of the roof strata to remain stable without any or
minimal support over the period required for advancing and retrieving the equipment.

 It is a safe technology, as no manpower is needed to go inside the drivages as well as well as

to stay at the active working faces.

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  Production potential is very high depending on the seam thickness.

 It is the convention that coal will be extracted by high wall mining in descending order
i.e. the topmost seam from the surface will be extracted first. In the existing high wall a
bench is required to be prepared of 40m width to accommodate the machine. The bench
preparation may be done by conventional opencast method using Shovel-Dumper
combination with Drilling and Blasting. Once the bench is prepared highwall machine will
be placed on the bench and it will drive galleries having a width of 3.5m and extraction
height will be same as the seam thickness. The penetration will be limited to 250m or more
considering the prevailing Indian Electricity Rules, 1956. When the drivage of one gallery is
complete, the miner will be retracted back from the gallery and will be placed in the next
gallery leaving web-pillar of sufficient width to support the overburden and the process will
be repeated.

 However, pillar design is to be made in such a manner that it will have maximum stability.
Geo-technical data will be collected during the operation so as to develop a numerical model
taking into consideration the depth of cover, thickness of the seam, width of the gallery,
width of the web-pillar, strength of in-situ coal and width of barrier pillar.

 The machine, in general, can work on a gradient of upto 12 degree for a depth of penetration
upto 250/300 metres. New generation Highwall machine can go further steeper but at the
cost of depth of penetration. Alternatively, steeper seams can also be negotiated by driving
the drivage at apparent dip. In order to make proper planning for the entry of high wall
miner, the gradient of the seam should be ascertained before starting the operation. The
geological investigations would clearly identify the floor and the roof contour of the coal
seam for gainful deployment of the machine as well as maximisation of the recovery of coal.

 The machine is operated with the help of six persons, a machine operator, a grounds man, a
loader operator, a technician and two foremen as needed. This is apart from manpower which
is needed for preparation of benches and coal transportation. The miner can produce upto
6000 tonnes per day and 1 million tonnes per annum, depending on the thickness of the coal
seam and mining conditions. It has a recovery rate of 35-70% depending on seam thickness
and other mining conditions.

5.0 Site Scientific Study

As there is no support throughout the gallery driven by the high wall miner, the stability of the
pillars and sustainability of the roof for the period of drivage and beyond, if necessary, is to be
established by scientific investigations specific to the site.

Since the drivages are made by highwall without any support, the success of the technology will
greatly depend on the adequacy of geo-technical details of the site which will include :

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 Strength of the immediate roof
 Strength of the floor
 Strength of the coal
 Depth of cover
 Variation of seam thickness
 Gradient of coal seam
 Location of faults
 Make of water
 Degree of gassiness

In addition to above information, following geo-physical properties of the rock as well as the coal
will be necessary to accurately plan the Highwall Mining layout. This information can be had by
making few new boreholes in the proposed mining site to assess the correct geo-physical properties
of the coal and overlying/underlying (5m) strata.

 Cohesion of coal and overlying strata.

 Friction angle of overlying strata.
 Young's Modulus for coal and strata.
 Poisson's ratio for coal and overlying and underlying strata.
 Uniaxial compressive strength of coal and strata.
 RMR (Rock Mass Rating)
 RQD (Rock Quality Designation)

It is, therefore, necessary to conduct detailed site scientific study to assess the conditions and it will
guide the basic layout of the Highwall miner like -

 Where bench mining to be made

 Where trench mining to be done
 What will be the depth of penetration
 What will be the direction of drivages by Highwall miner
 What will be the height of extraction
 For thick seams how many lifts to be taken
 What will the arrangement for backfilling

Design of Web Pillar width and Barrier Pillar Width

The Web Pillar width & Barrier Pillar width are designed by adopting Solomon’s formula and
Bieniawski formula.

 As per Solomon’s formula,

1320 * w0.46
Factor of safety = h0.66 * p

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 Where, w = least width of the pillar,
h = height of gallery &

1.1 H(W+B)2
p (load) = W lb/sq.in.

Where, H = Depth in ft.,

B = Bord width in ft. &
W = Pillar width in ft.

 As per Bieniawski S = 400+200 W formula,

H

where, S = Strength of a pillar in lbs/sq in.,

W= Width of the pillar in ft. &
h = Height of splits/galleries in ft.

In USA, web pillar width and barrier pillars width are calculated according to the tables given
below:

Web Pillar width, m

Design Depth Mining Height, m

of Cover, m 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7
20 0.80 1.20 1.60 2.00 2.40 2.80 3.20 3.60 4.00 4.40 4.80 5.20 5.60
40 1.00 1.25 1.60 2.00 2.40 2.80 3.20 3.60 4.00 4.40 4.80 5.20 5.60
60 1.25 1.59 1.88 2.16 2.42 2.80 3.20 3.60 4.00 4.40 4.80 5.20 5.60
80 1.48 1.88 2.25 2.58 2.90 3.21 3.50 3.79 4.07 4.40 4.80 5.20 5.60
100 1.69 2.16 2.58 2.98 3.36 3.72 4.07 4.42 4.75 5.09 5.41 5.73 6.05
120 1.88 2.42 2.90 3.36 3.79 4.21 4.62 5.02 5.41 5.80 6.18 6.55 6.92
140 2.07 2.66 3.21 3.72 4.21 4.69 5.15 5.60 6.05 6.49 6.92 7.35 7.78
160 2.25 2.90 3.50 4.07 4.62 5.15 5.67 6.17 6.68 7.17 7.66 8.14 8.62
180 2.42 3.13 3.79 4.42 5.02 5.60 6.17 6.74 7.29 7.84 8.38 8.92 9.45
200 2.58 3.36 4.07 4.75 5.41 6.05 6.67 7.29 7.90 8.50 9.10 9.69 10.27
220 2.74 3.58 4.35 5.08 5.80 6.49 7.17 7.84 8.50 9.16 9.80 10.45 11.09
240 2.90 3.79 4.62 5.41 6.18 6.92 7.66 8.38 9.10 9.80 10.51 11.20 11.90
260 3.06 4.00 4.89 5.73 6.55 7.35 8.14 8.92 9.69 10.45 11.20 11.95 12.70
Coal Strength, Mpa 6.20 Mining Width, m 3.50 No. web pillars 19
Pillar width in italics have width-to-height ratio of 0.8

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 Figure 1: Empirical design chart and curves for web pillars, MEDOC

Barrier Pillar width, m

Design Mining Height, m

Depth of 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7
20 0.98 1.21 1.60 2.00 2.40 2.80 3.20 3.60 4.00 4.40 4.80 5.20 5.60
40 1.95 2.42 2.82 3.19 3.52 3.84 4.13 4.42 4.69 4.95 5.20 5.44 5.68
60 2.92 3.63 4.23 4.78 5.28 5.75 6.20 6.62 7.03 7.42 7.79 8.16 8.52
80 3.90 4.83 5.64 6.37 7.04 7.67 8.26 8.83 9.37 9.89 10.39 10.88 11.35
100 4.87 6.04 7.05 7.96 8.80 9.59 10.33 11.03 11.71 12.36 12.99 13.60 14.19
120 5.84 7.25 8.46 9.56 10.56 11.50 12.39 13.24 14.05 14.83 15.58 16.32 17.03
140 6.81 8.46 9.87 11.15 12.32 13.42 14.45 15.44 16.39 17.30 18.18 19.03 19.86
160 7.79 9.66 11.28 12.74 14.08 15.33 16.52 17.65 18.73 19.77 20.78 21.75 22.70
180 8.76 10.87 12.69 14.33 15.84 17.25 18.58 19.85 21.07 22.24 23.37 24.47 25.54
200 9.73 12.08 14.10 15.92 17.60 19.17 20.65 22.06 23.41 24.71 25.97 27.19 28.38
220 10.70 13.28 15.51 17.52 19.36 21.08 22.71 24.26 25.75 27.18 28.57 29.91 31.21
240 11.68 14.49 16.92 19.11 21.12 23.00 24.78 26.47 28.09 29.65 31.16 32.63 34.05
260 12.65 15.70 18.33 20.70 22.88 24.92 26.84 28.67 30.43 32.12 33.76 35.34 36.89

Coal Strength, Mpa 6.20 Mining Width, m 3.50 No. web pillars 19
Pillar width in italics have width-to-height ratio of 0.8

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Figure 2: Empirical design chart and curves for barrier pillars, MEDOC

6.0 Steps required prior to implementation

In order to introduce this technology, following areas would require special attention:

 The technology is new in India. Therefore, the method of working, operating parameters,
compatibility and financial viability are yet to be established.
 Reserves and yearwise areas of working, yearwise projection plans of the projects and
operating parameters of Highwall Miner.
 Introduction of Highwall Mining Technology requires approval of DGMS and
Environmental Clearance.
 In order to implement and execute the technology and to evaluate the stability of the
pillars, all necessary scientific investigations will be essential for drawing the mine
planning before it is submitted to DGMS for approval.

7.0 Brief description of operation of Highwall miner :

The machine is fitted with cutter head of Joy continuous miner. But the specifications of cutter head
depend mainly on seam thickness and strength of coal. The cutter head cuts coal and the same is
being conveyed and discharged to surface either by belt conveyor or by auguring. As the face

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 progresses, the conveying unit (about 6 m long) is being added to complete the drivage. On
completion of the drivage the machine is shifted to the next drivage along strike. Coal on the
surface is being loaded on the trucks by pay loader for despatching it to final destination.

The method of extraction is to drive series of parallel galleries upto a length of 250m to 400m
depending on local conditions leaving a solid barrier in between.

In the global market, as far as information is available to us, there are only two manufacturers of
this type of machine i.e. M/s Superior Highwall Miner (SHM) and M/s ADDCAR. But there are
two basic differences in the machine manufactured by M/s ADDCAR and M/s SHM. These are as
follows:

(i) Coal conveying system: The coal conveying system is by auguring and belt conveyor
system in respect of machines developed by M/s SHM and M/s ADDCAR respectively.

(ii) Mechanism of shifting from one site to another: The machine manufactured by M/s SHM
is equipped with four crawlers which can be made to turn 90o or any other suitable angle
for moving from one location to another. However, the machine manufactured by M/s
ADDCAR moves more or less in the same way as Dragline moves.

8.0 Rate of Production and Percentage of Recovery in USA:

The rate of production and percentage of recovery depend on seam thickness and other site
conditions. These are depicted below in the following tables:
Penetration (ft.) Tons Per Month
Mining Height (in)
Average Maximum Average Maximum
32-48 800 1,000 40,000 80,000
48-84 1,000 1,300 110,000 180,000
Plus 84 1,200 1,600 160,000 250,000

Percentage of recovery
Design Mining Height, m
Depth of Cover, m 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7
20 81.2 74.5 68.6 63.6 59.3 55.6 52.2 49.3 46.7 44.3 42.2 40.2 38.5
40 77.0 72.8 67.8 63.0 58.8 55.1 51.9 49.0 46.5 44.2 42.1 40.2 38.4
60 72.4 67.4 63.7 60.4 57.7 54.3 51.1 48.3 45.7 43.5 41.4 39.6 37.9
80 68.6 63.3 59.1 55.8 53.0 50.5 48.4 46.4 44.7 42.8 40.8 39.0 37.3
100 65.4 59.8 55.5 52.0 49.1 46.6 44.4 42.4 40.7 39.1 37.7 36.4 35.2
120 62.7 56.8 52.4 48.8 45.9 43.3 41.1 39.2 37.5 35.9 34.5 33.2 32.0
140 60.3 54.3 49.7 46.1 43.1 40.6 38.4 36.5 34.8 33.2 31.9 30.6 29.5
160 58.1 51.9 47.4 43.7 40.7 38.2 36.0 34.2 32.5 31.0 29.6 28.4 27.3
180 56.1 49.9 45.2 41.6 38.6 36.1 34.0 32.1 30.5 29.0 27.7 26.5 25.4
200 54.4 48.0 43.4 39.7 36.8 34.3 32.2 30.4 28.7 27.3 26.0 24.9 23.8
220 52.7 46.3 41.6 38.0 35.1 32.7 30.6 28.8 27.2 25.8 24.6 23.5 22.4
240 51.2 44.7 40.1 36.5 33.6 31.2 29.1 27.4 25.8 24.5 23.3 22.2 21.2
260 49.7 43.3 38.6 35.1 32.2 29.8 27.8 26.1 24.6 23.3 22.1 21.1 20.1

Coal Strength, Mpa 6.20 Mining Width, m 3.50 No. web pillars 19

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Figure 3: Empirical recovery chart and curves, MEDOC

9.0 Status of implementation:

Efforts are being made to identify the suitable sites in all producing subsidiary companies for
application. It is hoped that tender will be floated by each subsidiary company by the end of
Dec.'07. The status is as follows:

Name of Company Status of implementation

ECL Sites identified. Tender is to be floated.
BCCL Site identification is in progress.
CCL Tender floated. Evaluation is in progress.
WCL Site identification is in progress.
SECL Tender floated. Evaluation is in progress.
MCL Site identification is in progress.
NCL Site identification is in progress.
SCCL Work awarded.

10.0 Conclusion :
There are reserves confined to thin seams (less than 1.5m) in different coalfields which can not be
exploited either by opencast or underground mining methods economically. There are also reserves
blocked in the batter in opencast projects which also can not be extracted because further
advancement of quarry is not possible on account of many issues. There are reserves confined to

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coal seams lying below the final floor of the quarry at certain depths which cannot be exploited
economically.

The Highwall mining technology will have wide application in exploiting such reserves
economically. This will not only enhance the underground production of the nation but also from
coal conservation point of view this technology will provide a new dimension to the coal sector.
Therefore, it can be inferred that application of this technology will play a leading role in the coal
sector.

In view of the above, it is strongly recommended that all efforts should be made by all the
producing companies in consultation with respective regional institutes of CMPDI to identify the
suitable reserves/patches for application of Highwall mining for achieving the goal as stated above.

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