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28 Mining Reporter 1-2010
SHAFT SINKNG
Germany have to take the sea route from Rotterdam
to Murmansk and then be transported onwards to
Dudinka. As the ports of Murmansk and Dudinka
are closed from the end of April to mid-July because
of adverse weather conditions all supplies have to
be carefully planned several months before they are
shipped to the site and must also be registered well
in advance with the customs authorities and shipping
companies.
Materials supplied from within Russia, such as pipe-
work, vehicles, items of equipment and concrete rein-
forcement, can be transported on the Trans-Siberian
Railway to Krasnoyarsk and from there shipped down
the Yenisei River to Dudinka. These internal shipments
also have to be planned in advance in great detail, as
the Yenisei is only navigable during the ice-free months
of July to September.
Scope of the contract
The volume of work assigned to Thyssen Schachtbau
GmbH as the general contractor essentially involves
the construction of a complete mining facility:
The surface work mainly comprised:
Construction of an accommodation block for some
150 workers.
Erection of the permanent 66 m-high shaft head-
frame.
Construction of the winder house and installation of
two SIEMAG M-TEC
2
twin-drum winding machines.
Installation of two Howden mine ventilation fans
delivering approx. 750 m of air per second, along
with fan housings and diffusers.
110 kV and 6 kV AREVA transformer station for
permanent power supply to the shaft.
Workshops and stores buildings.
Temporary concrete mixing plant and temporary fan
building for the shaft sinking.
Permanent belt installation to serve the waste tip.
Table 2. Surface structures.
Above ground the project includes the preparation
of the shaft site, the erection of all temporary and
permanent surface buildings and mine facilities and
the installation of the shaft surface infrastructure
(Figure 3, Table 2).
Work to be carried out underground comprises the
sinking of the 2,055 m-deep ventilation shaft, the
construction of the fan drift and the excavation of
shaft landings, pump rooms, roadway entries and
a shaft undercut (Figure 4).
The preparatory work at the shaft site, which is located
in a river valley in the foothills of a range of moun-
tains, required extensive earth-moving operations to
be carried out under strict environmental conditions
in the natural landscape of the tundra, the aim be-
ing to create an average gradient of 1.5 over the
40,000 m site. The shaft surface was covered with a
1.5 m-thick layer of aggregate and surrounded by a
drainage trench.
Because of the permafrost the foundations for
the buildings had to stand on drilled piles 700 mm
in diameter and set on compact rock. The piles were
between 7 and 20 m in depth, depending on the local
ground conditions at the shaft site.
The shaft, which is to be sunk by conventional
drilling and blasting, has a specied nished diam-
eter of 9.0 m and an end-depth of about 2,055 m.
The 135 m-deep section of foreshaft has a concrete-
backlled cast-iron tubbing lining, while the main shaft
section is to be constructed in steel concrete from the
135 m level to shaft bottom.
The blasting holes, which have a maximum depth
of 4.5 m, are drilled with a pneu matic, six-arm shaft
drilling machine. This rig can also be employed for
large-prole holing work and for drilling exploration
boreholes to a maximum length of 60 m.
The foreshaft is excavated using a portal crane and
kibble system, with a hydraulic excavator loading out
the debris on the sinking oor. The main shaft section
will be constructed using a 7 m-capacity dirt bucket
and a grab with a payload of some 1.2 m.
An innovative six-deck working platform system is
used for installing the permanent shaft lining and shaft
Figure 4. Connec-
tion of the water-
proof fan drift is
a rst time used
new concept for
Norilsk.
Figure 3. The shaft
facility in Septem-
ber 2009; left to
right: Basestruc-
ture of the 110 kV
power station,
45 m of nal 66 m
of permanent
headframe, 6 kV
station, temporary
ventilation build-
ing, temporary
social building.
29 Mining Reporter 1-2010
SHAFT SINKING
ttings, some of which are to be tted in parallel with
the sinking work. This six-deck platform moves on a
walking mechanism without the need for the normal
scaold winches and is a very eective piece of equip-
ment for the sinking of ultradeep shafts.
The two permanent SIEMAG M-TEC
2
(today: SIEMAG
TECBERG) twin-drum winding machines are available
for the sinking operation. The kibble winch is essen-
tially used for manwinding and debris clearance and
for supplying materials to the sinking crew.
The SIEMAG M-TEC
2
twin-drum winder, which will
operate the skip conveyance when the mine comes
into permanent production, is to be equipped with
two manwinding cages during the sinking phase so
as to keep the platform team supplied with materials
such as pipework, shaft guides and buntons.
The concrete for the shaft lining is mixed above
ground and then transported by a pump and drop-pipe
system to the placement point behind the formwork at
the level of the shaft platform, where it is compacted.
A combination of rockbolts, wire mesh and, where
required, shotcrete is used to provide temporary cavity
support at the sinking oor. The shaft insets, pump
rooms and roadway entries, along with the shaft bot-
tom road, are all to be excavated conventionally by
drilling and blasting with shotcrete spraying.
The entire shaft complex is to be handed over
as a turnkey facility at the end of 2015. The TS pro-
gramme of work has so far not deviated from the
project schedule.
Progress to date
Earthmoving and ballast laying work commenced at
the shaft site on 28. November 2007, which was just
two months after the contract was awarded (Figure 5).
In spite of the adverse weather conditions the site
was covered with up to 4 m of snow during the winter
2007/2008 the earthmoving and excavation work
progressed speedily. Some 150,000 m of tundra
and loose soil were moved and about 60,000 m of
crushed stone ballast laid in place. Preparation work
at the shaft site was therefore practically completed
by the autumn of 2008. A tipping point was also set
up to accommodate the sinking debris.
After the local authorities had issued the regula-
tory blasting permit the rst round of blasting for the
shaft prole commenced in July 2008. The shaft collar
section was constructed to a depth of about 18 m and
lined with cast-iron tubbing (Figure 6). The shaft cel-
lar and four sets of headgear foundations were also
completed during 2008 (Figure 7).
The excavation for the fan drift, which in some places
was 16 m below ground level, was also constructed
by drilling and ring. The drift broke through into the
shaft in August 2008. The connection between the
shaft and the fan drift was formed using an adapter
frame, which was bolted up to the tubbing segments
to create a watertight, exible junction. The shaft cel-
lar and entire length of the fan drift were lined with
a waterproof welded membrane.
Work on the drilled piles for the accommodation
block began in early May 2008. After the foundations
had been completed and a lattice of steel beams
erected the actual building work was able to commence
at the end of August. The accommodation block with
its adjacent wastewater treatment plant will provide
washroom facilities for about 150 workers (Figure 8).
The unit also contains oces and conference rooms,
along with lounge areas. The accommodation block
was ready for occupation in February 2009.
Figure 7. Some
meters ready sunk
which was easier
than to over come
all that admini-
strativ barriers.
Figure 6. Every
shaft project
starts with a small
step, here already
four months after
contract awarding.
Figure 5.
Surveying on
dicult conditions
with equipment
up to date.
30 Mining Reporter 1-2010
SHAFT SINKNG
The 6 kV power supply station temporarily required
for the shaft sinking operation was fully installed and
commissioned. The temporary fan building, a store-
house and the permanent 110 kV and 6 kV transformer
units are all currently under construction (Figure 9). The
bottom 45 m section of headgear has been erected
and is now being covered with steel sheet cladding.
The complete headframe structure, which will stand
66 m in height, is to be ready by early 2010.
Outlook
Developments on the international nancial markets,
and the fall in the world market price for nickel, have
forced MMC Norilsk Nickel to reschedule the WS 10
shaft complex project by gearing down the construc-
tion work for the year 2009. The work is back in full
operation since January 2010. The foreshaft sinking
from the 18 m level to a depth of about 150 m can
start in May 2010.
The installation of the permanent SIEMAG TECBERG
twin-drum winding machines, which will be used to
sink the WS 10 shaft from the 150 m level to its nal
depth of about 2,055 m, has now been postponed
until August 2010.
Summary
In spite of the extremely exposed location of the shaft
site good progress has been made on the extensive
surface facilities, including the construction of the ac-
commodation block, the shaft cellar, the 18 m-deep
shaft collar, the fan drift and the permanent headframe
structure (Figure 10).
The extreme climate has aected not only the
planning of the project but also every aspect of the
construction work and has required the planning
engineers and site managers in particular to be able
to adapt to events as they arise and to have the ex-
ibility needed to acquaint themselves with building
methods not known so far. Because of the limited
transport options and restricted payload capacity
the procurement and transport of equipment and
materials, which have to be shipped via the Polar Sea
or down the Yenisei River, has to be organised many
months in advance and well before the items in ques-
tion are required at the construction site.
The planning, construction and assembly work
required for the WS 10 shaft complex has posed a
number of exceptional problems. However, thanks to
the commitment and technical skills of the construc-
tion crews and the excellent working relationship
established with the personnel from MMC Norilsk
Nickel, all these diculties have been successfully
resolved and the various construction phases have
been delivered on schedule.
Figure 10. Some
2,800 m concrete
installation prepa-
ration work for
the shaft cellar in
parallel to the
nal headframe
installation.
Figure 9. Installa-
tion of the shaft
building from
which the highest
head-frame of
Norilsk will be
built.
Figure 8. Good
humor some
adverse conditions
notwithstanding.
31 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
A Safe Method for Cutting down
Production Loss in Case of a Mine Fire
Dr.-Ing. Walter Hermlheim, Central Department of Occupational Health, Safety and Environment,
RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne, Germany
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Betka, Central Mine Rescue Station, RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG, Herne, Germany
D
uring the rst decades of fully mechanized
longwall mining, as a matter of fact sponta-
neous combustion res could only be fought
under a high risk, e.g. by conventional sealing, by
digging out or by measures of ventilation-pressure
regulation. Today the classical cycle Sealing Wait-
ing Reopening can be cut down to only a few days
by means of an inertisation. Production can restart
under safe conditions while re ghting work is still
going on.
The formerly high danger when sealing a re can
be reduced considerably provided the described safety
regulations are observed. In this way a properly ap-
plied inertisation contributes to cut down production
loss in case of a mine re, to preserve the coal deposit
as well as to improve the safety of the mine rescue
brigade itself.
Ignition Hazards
In the past spontaneous combustion res in the goaf
close to the longwall or the roadway have proven to
be particular ignition hazards. Since the mid sixties
there were over 200 spontaneous combustion res
with more than a dozen cases of CH
4
ignitions.
Furthermore, in addition to smaller gas res which
normally can be safely put out by the workforce
themselves, there were a few larger, open gas res
Due to adequate preventive measures against
res and explosions, mine rescue work has
become rare in the coal mining industry of the
developed countries. The main eld of activity
of the rescue brigades today comprises the
prevention of damage to property. Besides
being responsible for the safety of the un-
derground workforce, mine rescue brigades
can contribute in this context reduce produc-
tion losses. It should be agreeable that mine
rescue work for the prevention of damage to
property should not be more hazardous than
regular underground work. This requires a
regular check of safety regulations for riskre-
lated work, e.g. as to high climatic loads or
to the ghting of re types which include
the potential risk of an explosion. This paper
points out the experiences of the German
coal mining industry gathered on the latter
subject during the last three decades. Special
emphasize is put on ignition hazards related
to spontaneous combustion res.
which required action by the mine rescue and even
inertisation in some cases (Figure 1).
Basic Rules Regarding Spontaneous
Combustion Fires
The most fundamental safety rule when ghting
spontaneous combustion res in the goaf which
are close to the longwall and to the roadway and
thereby explosion prone (Figure 2) is to agree on a
safe boundary value for retreat from the re and for
the last possible opportunity for a goaf or full space
inertisation.
Based on the analysis of the ignition events men-
tioned above, it has proven to be reasonable to set
this boundary value at a fuel concentration of 50
60 % of the lower explosive limit in the air leakages
escaping from the re through the goaf. That means
that organised work in roadways close to the seat of
the re in the goaf, e.g. sealing or the preparation
Figure 1. Mine Res-
cue Training Drill-
ing into the Goaf.
Figure 2. Resealing
a Roadside Pack
with Sprayed
Concrete.
32 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
mixture by a timely preparation of a goaf inertisation
(Figure 4). Below of approximately 10 Vol.-% O
2
the
CH
4
concentration is irrelevant (see Figure 3).
If in addition noteworthy concentrations of Hy-
drogen and Carbon Monoxide appear in the combus-
tion gasses, Coward-Diagrams for gas mixtures with
several combustible components must be used for
the evaluation mentioned above to reset the boun-
dary values.
Coal Production during a Fire
If, besides the boundary values mentioned above, a
number of other safety criteria are met, dierent from
procedures in most other coal producing countries,
production can safely be resumed even when the
re is still going on and is not yet fully extinguished.
These rules include:
The location of the hidden re is known or can
be estimated with sufcient precision.
The goaf is separated from the open mine
workings and sealed by roadside packs which
are constructed from solidly setting mortar
matter.
Known hollow spaces in the goaf behind the
longwall/ roadway crossing point are lled or
interrupted by barriers constructed from mortar
matter, e. g. when the ventilation windows in
the roadside pack are lled after the face has
advanced (Figure 5).
The permitted boundary values for hazardous
gasses are not exceeded and the Oxygen content
remains above 18 % in the airow within the
open mine workings.
Continuous monitoring of the air leakages
within the goaf via ventilation pipes prove that
there are no explosive gas mixtures present
within the goaf close to the re (negative ex-
plosion index). A sufcient distance from the
explosive limits must be kept at all times (see
Figure 3).
The Graham index (does not apply during iner-
tisation) and the CO generation do not show a
tendency to rise.
of an inertisation, is possible for as long as the CH
4
concentration of the gases leaking from the re meas-
ured in the sning pipes which penetrate through
the roadside pack into the goaf is lower than 2.5 to
3 Vol.-% CH
4
(Figure 3).
Goaf Inertisation
Alternatively the Oxygen concentration in the air leak-
ages can be kept at a safety margin of 2 % below the
nose limit of the explosive triangle for the respective gas
Figure 5. Ventilation windows: Every 7 to 10 m ventilation windows are kept open in the road-side
pack for climatisation and methane control purposes. After the face has advanced approximately 20
m past the window, it is sealed.
Figure 4. Goaf
Inertisation.
Figure 3. Coward-Diagram for Methane with safety boundary to the
explosion triangle (dashed) for ghting spontaneous combustion res
in the goaf.
33 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The re does not generate more CO than the
alarm value of 20 l/min. Deviations from this are
possible, but they require the mutual consent
of the head of the control centre and of the
representatives of the central mine rescue sta-
tion and the mines inspectorate within a risk
assessment by the operation control.
Goaf inertisation is applied if it is necessary to
meet the requirements described above.
It must be kept in mind that the rules mentioned
above were in their full extend drawn up for goaf
res close to the longwall/roadway area, which are
known to have caused ignitions in the past due to
their proximity to sizable unventilated i. e. methane
loaden cavities in the goaf.
Therefore a precise knowledge or an educated
guess regarding the location of the re is not always
necessary, if nothing points to proximity of the event
in the goaf to the longwall/roadway area and if the
re zone has denitely no connection to goaf cavities
close to the longwall/roadway. If the distance from the
face exceeds 300 m experience tells that no possible
pathways for ignition do exist.
Full space Inertisation
If it becomes necessary to fully render the danger area
inert (full space inertisation) from a safe distance due
to a considerable risk of explosion, it has proven to be
of advantage to improve the existing rule for isolating
parts of the mine workings construction of explosion
proof seals around the aected area and subsequent
simultaneous closing by a stepwise approach and
reduce the risk even further (Figure 6).
To do so, the airow towards the re is locked by
means of a brattice at a safe distance from the danger
zone and fed with Nitrogen. The return airow from
the re is locked after the workings aected and the
goaf have been ushed with Nitrogen for several
times. A safe distance for inertisation of a possible
ignition hazard is normally a kilometre between the
place where a possible explosion is extinguished by
the next explosion barrier and the brattice which cuts
o the airow to the re. The brattices in the return
airow from the re can be installed as close to the
re as possible, because they are constructed when the
Oxygen concentration has dropped to a safe level.
Criteria which suggest that a full space inertisation
is necessary are:
The presence of indicators pointing to a re
existing already prior to a deagration or ex-
plosion (repeated ignitions are possible, maybe
in intervals).
CO concentrations which do not drop back to
the original value after a deagration or explo-
sion (repeated ignitions are possible),
A gas re which spreads in the goaf or other
cavities and therefore or because of its general
size cannot be controlled by direct approach,
Dangers by a methane drainage pipe close to
the centre of the re which cannot immediately
be controlled.
To safe costs, it is advisable to have a goaf inertisation
system operational before safety relevant boundary
values are exceeded. This way the expensive and
potentially dangerous intermediate step full space
inertisation can be omitted.
It must be stressed the full space inertisation
does not require explosion-proof seals, rather light
Figure 6. Full Space
Inertisation of a
spontaneous
combustion re
which poses an
ignition hazard
(top) and of an
open re
(bottom).
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34 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Compared to the described inertisation procedure
the classic sealing procedure without inertisation for
the control of such incidents has almost completely
disappeared. Figure 8 shows an explosion-proof seal
constructed from mortar matter which will withstand
static loads of 5 bar. Such seals are used to nally seal
o abandoned mine workings in an explosion-proof
manner.
Reopening the Fire Zone
The only way to make sure whether a re has burned
out or has been extinguished or contained via full space
inertisation is to restore the ventilation in the area,
which was rendered inert, on a trial basis.
This requires preparations to immediately reseal
the opened brattices (air locks) and to immediately
restart the full space inertisation if the re surges up
again. For such a trial ventilation the area around
the aected zone should be cordoned o in ample
distance. All activities are undertaken by the mine
rescue under breathing and ame protection. If the
ventilation trial must be aborted because the re
surges up again, the procedure and time scheme are
the same as for a new full space inertisation.
Preparation and Precaution
On a case to case basis it is advisable to have a prepared
goaf inertisation system which can be operated from
a safe dis-tance in place before a possible incident to
make a costly and elaborate full space inertisation
unnecessary in the case of a explosion hazard. Such
measures are especially advisable for coal seams
which are prone to spontaneous combustion and
have residual coal close to the roadway or the face
in end position.
In the case of a positive Y ventilation system the
use of so-called lost ducts in the salvaged area of the
air-drawing roadway is an opportunity. Such ducts
should be overlapping and coupled in such a way
that that a tube ends respectively between 20 m and
100 m behind the face (Figure 9).
In seams which are prone to spontaneous combus-
tion and in which shortly before the end position is
reached, residual coal must be left in the goaf, it is
advisable to install lost ducts between the shields on
the fresh air side of the residual coal not closer than
10 to 15 m to the area of the salvage zone. When the
end position is reached, the area behind the shields
including the cavities on the edges of the longwall
can be lled with foamed phenol resin.
References
1. Hermlheim, W. ; Beck, K.-D.: Inertization as Means
for Reducing Down Time and the Explosion Risk in Cases
of Spontaneous Combustion. Proceedings 6
th
Int. Mine
Ventilation Congress. Pittsburgh, 1997.
2. Hermlheim, W. et al.: Handbuch fr das Grubenret-
tungswesen im Steinkohlenbergbau (Colliery Mine Rescue
Handbook, in German). Essen: VGE-Verlag, 2007.
3. Hermlheim, W. ; Bolesta, M.: Examples of Grouting
Techniques in Operational Applications. Proceedings 6
th
Int. Conf. on Rock Bolting & Injection Techniques and
Roadway Support. RWTH Aachen Technical University,
2008.
Bild 9. Prepared
Inertisation
Overlapping lost
Ducts in the
Salvage Zone of
the Top Road.
Figure 8. Seal
constructed from
Mortar Matter
with all necessary
Fittings.
Figure 7. Water
Explosion Barrier.
brattices are entirely sucient. The explosion pro-
tection is pro-vided by the Nitrogen and sucient
safety distances. The required safety distance of
1 km is from the spot at which a potential explosion
is extinguished by a water barrier. A network of such
barriers (Figure 7) therefore is a precondition for the
approach described above.
35 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Strata controI in
in-seam roadways
The publication is divided into a number of sections detailing the
planning, design and operating life of a mine roadway. Viewed in its
entirety the book provides an integrated appreciation of how to plan
and design in-seam roadways, while as a work of reference it can help
solve specihc problems in that the individual sections can be treated
as self-contained elements:
* Geology o Gernan black coal deposits
* Geotechnical principles o strata control
* Rock pressure and rock stress
* Mine layout
* Rock and roadway deornation
* Planning tools and support design
* RAGStandard planning
* Roadway support systens
* Roadway developnent nethods
* Roadway nonitoring
* lnproving rock conditions and roadway repair
* Roo support or the T|unction zone
t
o
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d
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Phone +49 (0) 20 54 / 9 24-123
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E-Mail vertrieb@vge.de
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Strata controI in in-seam roadways
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Elementary mining practice
and geomechanical and
mine-support research for
practitioners,
mine pIanners,
engineers and
students.
Under the direction of
Martin Junker
produced by authors with
practical experience in the held
Published by
RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG
(RAG)
in collaboration with
DMT GmbH & Co. KG (DMT)
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36 Mining Reporter 1-2010
HEALTH AND SAFETY
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Edited by Hubertus Schneich
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The new wall map, which has been updated using information generously provided by various companies,
illustrates the key role that natural gas plays in supplying energy to Europes industrial nations.
It shows the network of existing and planned gas pipelines in Europe together with the connections to the
most important supplier regions in the CIS, the North Sea and North Africa.
To take account of the increasing economic importance of liquid gas the map now shows the location of
LNG terminals along the coasts of Europe and North Africa. It also identies all the current production areas
along with their estimated gas deposits.
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37 Mining Reporter 1-2010
PLANNING
Hard rock mining the opencast
way versus a combination of
opencast and deep mining methods
An energy balance sheet
Dr.-Ing. Alexander Hennig, Chief Engineer, Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Niemann-Delius, B.Sc. Thorsten Skrypzak,
Institute for the Opencast Mining and Drilling (BBK III), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
T
he Federal Republic of Germany has access to a
large number of shallow rock and stone deposits
that contain large quantities of high quality
mineral. However, the ongoing extraction of these
deposits means that the mining levels are becoming
every deeper. This in turn makes for ever longer trans-
port routes and results in a signicant rise in energy
consumption as the opencast lifecycle increases. This
eect is especially apparent when using the shovel and
truck method of winning, a non-continuous mining
technique that is widely employed in the rock min-
ing and quarrying sector. One way of reducing the
high total energy demand is to modify the in-plant
transport routes and transport procedures. It was
against this background that an energy usage study
was carried out of a combined surface and deep-mine
transport system, comprising both roadway and shaft
transport techniques, as part of a research project
carried out by the Institute for the Opencast Min-
ing and Drilling (BBK III) at RWTH Aachen, Aachen,
Germany, the resulting process then being compared
with the traditional opencast system of dumper truck
haulage. The ultimate aim of the project was to nd
out whether, and to what extent, such a combined
system could reduce energy consumption levels in the
The amount of energy consumed when
cutting solid rock has a signicant impact
on the overall protability of a projected
mining operation, especially when energy
prices are high. The raw-materials industry
is therefore now more focussed than ever
on optimising the winning process in energy
usage terms. Against this background, both
when planning new mines and developing
existing facilities, factors such as the winning
process and machinery combination are in-
creasingly becoming the centre of attention;
these systems may be completely new to
the industry or may until recently only have
been employed in other branches. For the
hard rock cutting sector, which has always
been based around opencast operations, this
increasingly means coming to terms with
the options and benets of using methods
borrowed from the deep mining industry.
rock and stone mining sector and therefore oer an
alternative to conventional surface mining methods.
Another aim of the investigation was to examine that
point in time, in respect of the status of the opencast
mine, at which it would be most logical in energy us-
age terms to make the transition from one transport
system to the other.
Strategy
The analysis was based on a project-specic model of a
new mining undertaking. As the diverse and countless
individual features often present in real mining areas,
for example in terms of the geometry of the mineral
beds, were deliberately omitted from the ctional
deposits the opportunity presented itself to give a
paradigmatic character to the project ndings. Based
on the depiction of the deposits and planned working
faces in their respective feature sizes a performance-
based selection was made of the various items of plant
and machinery, whereby the equipment layout and
performance was designed for the optimum eect.
This was followed by a quantication of the energy
demand from the individual working cycles. In order
to examine the mining operation as a whole and to
develop a meaningful reference value the energy
consumption rates were based on each tonne of
mineral extracted. This approach was then used to
carry out separate analyses for the opencast mining
operation using dumper trucks and for the combined
mining system using underground mineral haulage
techniques so that both systems could ultimately be
matched one against the other.
Deposits and layout
of the excavations
The body of deposits used for the analysis is 260 m in
thickness and extends over an area measuring 300 m
x 400 m. The rock strata are assumed to have an aver-
age density of 2.8 t/m. This gives a workable content
of 31.2 Mill. m or 87.36 Mill. t.
The natural stone quarry is designed for an annual
output of 1.5 Mill. t. The opencast site has a bench
height of 20 m and a bench slope of 80. The width
of the intermediate berms is 3 m. The selected layout
comprises 12 working levels with a total excavated
volume of 18,575,000 m of saleable mineral.
38 Mining Reporter 1-2010
PLANNING
Mining by opencast methods
The deposits are mined on a non-continuous basis
using conventional drilling and blasting methods.
This is currently the most commonly used method for
excavating natural rock and stone, though the options
for employing alternative winning techniques have
been greatly extended in recent years as a result of
new technical developments in this eld. Drilling and
blasting is suitable for mining rock and stone of any
strength category. Slurry explosives are used so that
there is no likelihood of problems arising due to the
ingress of water into the shotholes. Some 41,000 m
of shothole have to be drilled every year for the multi-
row ring patterns with their 115 mm-diameter holes.
A performance-related drilling machine can achieve
an average drilling advance of 40 m an hour in the
solid rock.
The blasted rock has an average size of 700
800 mm and this material is loaded on to the dumper
trucks by a hydraulic excavator tted with a bucket of
6.5 m capacity. The operating conditions for a loading
machine of this size, which are governed for example
by the properties of the material being loaded and
the factors that apply during bucket discharge, can be
categorised in this particular case as moderately
heavy to heavy. The study also took account of the fact
that free-steered loaders are frequently used for this
Sub-process/machine Calculated energy consumption in litres
of diesel or in GWh electrical energy
Excavation by drilling
and blasting
1.4 Mill. l
Loading by hydraulic
excavator
3 Mill. l
Bulk transport by
dumper truck
20.1 Mill. l
Primary crusher 7.6 GWh
Auxiliary equipment 0.8 Mill. l
Total 25.3 Mill. l +7.6 GWh
Table 1. Energy consumption rates for various sub-processes in the open-
cast mining industry.
work. However for this particular mining scheme such
an arrangement proves to be more energy consuming,
as in view of the longer loading times the number of
transport vehicles would have to be increased in order
to achieve the same production level.
In order to quantify energy consumption during
product haulage by dumper truck the average transport
distance to the destination point was calculated for each
working level and each run was then subdivided into
uphill and downhill gradients and horizontal sections.
The calculations were based on a gradient of 10 %. It
was found that a medium-sized truck with a payload ca-
pacity of 38 m was well suited to this particular mining
concept in terms of both fuel consumption and loading
time in conjunction with the hydraulic excavator. Ac-
cording to the manufacturers data the deployment of
a truck of this size and output range would result in an
average consumption of some 148,000 l of diesel fuel
a year. However, as the mining operation advances so
the number of vehicles needed will increase. This fact is
determined by the dynamics of the mineral extraction
points and the situation will gradually change both as
regards the horizontal transport distances and, more
signicantly, in terms of the dierence in height that
has to be overcome.
As well as the main opencast operations of excavat-
ing, loading and transporting the mineral the analysis
also included the energy consumption levels of the
primary crusher. This was done for two reasons: rstly,
the transition from rock winning to mineral process-
ing, as far as the primary crushing stage is involved,
is sometimes fairly uid, and secondly, the primary
crusher had to be installed as a central component of
the transport chain when setting up the subsequent
combination of surface extraction methods and un-
derground transport systems. While the excavation
machines would be operating on a single-shift basis,
the crusher was to be set up for a two-shift routine.
The crusher unit was designed to deliver a throughput
of 375 t/h.
In addition to the dierent excavation, loading and
transport machines directly involved in the winning
operation an opencast mine will feature a number
of auxiliary items of equipment that are needed to
supply and back-up the sequence of operations. The
type of equipment involved, and the scheduling of its
deployment, will vary greatly depending on the condi-
tions that exist at the working faces. In the example
selected here the equipment employed for these
particular services was assumed to have an energy
consumption rate in the mid range.
The Table 1 shows the energy consumption rates
for the opencast mining operation as calculated on
the basis of the total operating time of the excavation
project in question.
Using these gures the energy consumption level
for the opencast mining operation can be calculated
at approximately 0.51 l of diesel fuel per tonne of
mineral produced. In actual practice consumption
rates tend to lie between 0.5 and 1 l of fuel per tonne
of mineral. The comparatively low amount of energy
consumed during the opencast mining of stone from
the workings under analysis can be attributed to the
model-based character of the depicted deposits and
Figure 1. Percentage-based contribution of indi-
vidual items of plant to overall energy consump-
tion during opencast mining.
39 Mining Reporter 1-2010
PLANNING
to the well coordinated combination of the selected
plant and machinery (Figure 1).
Mining by a combination of methods
The concept of using the following approach for
mining the deposits is based on the idea that the
continuous increase in energy consumption for
truck haulage operations, which will result from the
ever longer haulage distances, can be prevented by
employing a transport route that will remain con-
sistent throughout the entire life of the workings.
Stone excavation will continue to be undertaken by
opencast mining methods, i.e. drilling and blasting,
while the mineral transport operation will use an
underground roadway network running beneath the
deposits (Figure 2).
The working cycle used for the actual mining opera-
tion, and the energy consumed in the course of this
process, will not dier in any way from the mining
operations described above.
The mineral extracted from the oor of the opencast
workings is loaded and carried by free-steered LHD
(payload capacity 14 m) to a glory hole located in the
centre of the mine. This glory hole was constructed
by raise boring. The surface area of the stoping levels
decreases with increasing depth. The average distance
to be covered by the LHD is therefore at its maximum
on the rst level, in this case 175 m. The stone is then
tipped into the glory hole and delivered to the under-
ground roadway.
While the surface mining work is organised on a
one-shift basis, the underground transport operation
and shaft haulage cycle will be a two-shift process.
This will ensure that the required production levels
are achieved and at the same time will help to reduce
the dimensions of the underground installations and
equipment. The deep workings can therefore also be
made smaller in scale and the outlay on drivage and
tunnelling work can be kept to a minimum. Conversely,
however, this concept will require the excavation of
underground bunker capacity. The rst of the two in-
termediate bunkers, each of which will be designed for
half a days output of 3,000 t, will receive the mineral
as soon as it has been tipped into the glory hole. This
is the only way in which the one-shift mining process
can link up smoothly with the two-shift transport
operation under way below ground.
The stone is drawn o from the bunker by a vibrating
conveyor and delivered to the primary crusher, whose
design and energy consumption rate is equivalent to
that of the crusher unit installed in the initial mining
operation.
The second bunker is located adjacent to the sur-
face winding shaft. After passing through the primary
crusher the mineral is transported along a conveyor
road by a horizontal belt installation 210 m in length
and with a belt width of 800 mm. It has been shown
that belt conveyors are the most energy ecient
transport system for operations of this type. As the
conveyor road runs horizontally the output of the
belt drive can also be kept relatively low, in this case
a mere 18.5 kW. The second intermediate bunker is
needed because it is not possible to transfer the min-
eral directly from the continuous belt conveyor to the
non-continuous one-skip shaft installation.
A measurement belt, which weighs out transport
units of approximately 15 t of mineral for the shaft
skip, has to be equipped for a drive output of 110 kW.
However this belt does not operate continuously over
the entire shift time, which means that energy con-
sumption at this installation can be greatly reduced.
The same applies to the second vibro-conveyor that
draws the mineral from No. 2 bunker.
The underground workings are ventilated by a
mine fan and two auxiliary fans installed in the road-
ways. Because of the automated transport process
and electrically powered transport systems the total
ventilation requirement is merely 450 m/min, which
equates to a fan output of about 9 kW. The mineral
winding shaft serves as the downcast shaft, while
the return air exits via a ventilation borehole that is
combined with the surface glory hole.
The winding shaft is 345 m in length and has a
diameter of 6 m. One shaft compartment is used for
Figure 2.
Schematic
representation of
the underground
roadway layout.
40 Mining Reporter 1-2010
PLANNING
tion values established for the various part-processes
and items of plant over the entire lifespan of the
project.
The application of this particular winning method
therefore results in an energy consumption rate of
0.67 l of diesel fuel (converted gures) per tonne of
mineral extracted (Figure 3).
Analysis and assessment
of the results
An individual assessment of the two working methods
results in an energy consumption gure of 0.1 l/t for
the conventional opencast mining technique and
0.67 l/t for the combined system, as based on the
production of 1 t of mineral. The opencast method
therefore works out as more energy ecient when
viewed over the entire life cycle of the operation. The
main reason for this result is the high annual energy
demand of the shaft winding installation, which re-
mains constant over the entire mining period, as the
annual output of the mine does not change and is
extracted from a consistent depth.
In the case of the dumper truck transport system
as used for the opencast mining operations, on the
other hand, there is a signicant change in energy
expenditure when taken over the entire life cycle of
the project. As the winning depth increases there is
a substantial rise in energy consumption and in the
number of vehicles deployed. On the rst working
level, however, haulage from the extraction point to
the reference destination only means negotiating a
height dierence of some 20 m. When the material is
being transported along the underground roadways,
on the other hand, and even when mining is still under
way on the rst level, it still has to be raised up the
shaft from a depth of 345 m, after having been pre-
viously tipped down the glory hole. This means that
the shaft winder has a much higher energy demand
than the truck haulage system.
Further investigations were carried out in order to
determine at what working level, and hence at what
mining depth, the opencast method being used in
this particular mining scenario becomes more energy
intensive than the underground conveyor system.
Although the shaft winding installation has a high
energy requirement, this is oset by the relatively low
energy demand calculated for the rest of the combined
underground transport system based on belt convey-
ors. Even the roadway development work proved to
be less energy intensive than had been expected. The
Figure 4 shows the annual energy consumption for a
mineral yield of 1.5 Mill. t from the individual working
levels for both the opencast mining system and the
combined system (Table 3).
It becomes clear that the combined system only
becomes more energy ecient than the opencast
method when mine level 10 is reached. Prior to this
both energy consumption rates gradually move into
line with each other. While the truck haulage operation
becomes increasingly energy intensive, the amount of
fuel consumed by the combined systems free-steered
load and carry vehicle drops slightly as the mining
levels become narrower. This is also reected in the
Sub-process/machine Calculated energy consumption in litres of
diesel fuel or in GWh of electrical energy
Development work 0.065 Mill. l
Excavation by drilling
and blasting
1.4 Mill. l
Free-steered loader in
load-and-carry mode
7.6 Mill. l
Underground transport
equipment (vibro-conveyor, belt
conveyor, measurement conveyor)
23.2 GWh
Primary crusher 7.6 GWh
Shaft winder 122.1 GWh
Ventilation (main fan and
auxiliary fans)
2.5 GWh
Total 9.065 Mill. l + 155.4 GWh
Table 2. Energy consumption rates during individual sub-processes
based on equipment combinations.
winding men and materials, while the second houses
the skip conveyance. Because of the excellent stability
of the local strata the shaft wall can be supported by
a combination of rockbolts and wire mesh. This means
that practically the entire shaft diameter of 6 m will
be available as usable space. In order to achieve a
winding speed of 12 m/s the shaft winder has to be
designed for a skip payload of nearly 16 t and a drive
output of 1,100 kW.
Before regular production can begin the calculations
also have to take account of the energy consumed
by the underground tunnelling work (conventional
drivage system) and the dumping of the excavated
debris at a spoil tip some 300 m distant from the shaft
mouth. Both diesel-powered and electrically driven
machines were used for the development work. For
reasons of clarity the energy consumption levels of the
dierent items of equipment were consolidated into
a single value. This means that the equivalent diesel
consumption rates were used for the electric-driven
machines. The Table 2 shows the energy consump-
Figure 3. Percentage-based contribution of indi-
vidual items of plant to overall energy consump-
tion during underground operations.
41 Mining Reporter 1-2010
PLANNING
overall analysis of the energy expenditure report.
The further the mining operation progresses beyond
level 10, which in this particular scenario represents
a depth of some 200 m, the greater is the energy-
consumption advantage of the underground transport
system (Figure 5).
In simple terms this result means that the nal depth
of 260 m selected for this particular mining project
was not large enough to fully exploit the benets of
the underground transport method. The additional
energy expenditure incurred in the early stages of the
underground operation, compared with that used
by the opencast system, could not be compensated
for as the project progressed from mine level 10 to
its nal depth. Even though the opencast transport
lines became longer than the underground conveyor
roads once the project reached level 3 (see Figure 5),
it would still be some time before the shaft winding
system could reach its energy break even point.
The shaft winding machine is without any doubt
the largest energy consumer in an underground mine.
Mine fans also consume similar quantities of energy,
but only at the larger mines and when air-ow require-
ments are high.
Conclusions
The combination system being studied in the case of
the selected area of deposits is overall more energy
intensive that the conventional opencast extraction
method. However, it is clear that once an opencast
mine reaches a certain working depth, which would
have to be determined on an individual basis, there
are energy benets to be gained from transporting
the mineral along an underground roadway connect-
ing to a surface shaft.
The certainty of this statement can primarily be
attributed to the fact that neither the underground
Mine
level
Energy requirement in litres of diesel
fuel for a 1.5 Mill. t yield of mineral
Opencast Process combination
1 450,000 1,035,000
2 515,000 1,030,000
3 585,000 1,025,000
4 650,000 1,020,000
5 730,000 1,015,000
6 790,000 1,010,000
7 860,000 1,005,000
8 920,000 1,000,000
9 990,000 995,000
10 1,070,000 990,000
11 1,120,000 985,000
12 1,240,000 980,000
13 1,300,000 970,000
Table 3: Energy consumption for a mineral yield
of 1.5 Mill. t.
development work nor the ventilation system has a
signicant inuence on overall energy consumption
and can quickly be compensated for.
Moreover, the network of underground roadways
can still be constructed even after the opencast mining
operations have commenced.
As the underground development work is being
undertaken beneath the deposits there is no risk of
the tunnel drivages colliding with the advancing stopes
and benches above ground. This means that the limits
of workability of a valuable mineral can be extended
quite signicantly to include deeper working levels,
which makes for a considerable increase in the volume
of recoverable deposits. For one thing, this can have
enormous benets when carrying out an economic
feasibility study of an existing mining project, as de-
posits will now become accessible that were previously
not included at the planning stage.
For another, deposits that were previously consid-
ered to be unprotable can become exploitable. This
makes a real contribution towards meeting future
demand for raw materials.
Figure 4. Graphic representation of the energy requirement for the
annual mineral yield from the individual working levels for both the
opencast and the underground systems.
Figure 5. Distances to be overcome by the mechanised haulage/convey-
ing systems operating between the extraction site and the reference
unloading point
42 Mining Reporter 1-2010
METHANE
International CMM and
VAM Project Development
Experiences of a Mining Consultant
Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Imgrund, DMT GmbH & Co. KG, Essen, Germany
M
ost coal deposits contain more or less
methane, which is adsorbed in the coal
matrix and also occurs within pores, cleats
and voids of both, coal and surrounding rock. This
methane is released as a result of mining coal and
subsequent pressure release in the surrounding
strata. If possible, methane emissions will be con-
trolled by diluting and discharging the methane
through the mine ventilation. If this is not sufci-
ent, gas drainage will be carried out. Apart from
being a safety risk in the mine operation, methane
from coal mines is an energy source which could
be utilised by various technologies for heat or po-
wer generation (Figure 1). Regarding the climate,
methane is also identied as a greenhouse gas,
which is 21 times more harmful to global warming
compared to carbon dioxide (1).
As in most cases the utilisation of methane from
coal mines is not economic at actual prices for gas,
electricity or heat, projects are often nanced by the
generation of carbon credits. This business is based
on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and
Joint Implementation (JI) of Kyoto Protocol. These
so called project based mechanisms allow emitters
of carbon dioxide fullling their emission reduction
Methane is a waste product of mining coal.
Utilisation of this gas is a more and more
interesting issue for coal mine operator as
well as a young business based on the carbon
market. Apart from using drained gas for
power generation using internal combustion
engines or supply to the natural gas grid,
thermal oxidation of highly diluted methane
in the ventilation air is in the focus of interest.
Projects for utilisation of this waste product
are usually nanced by carbon credits. The
German mining engineering and consulting
group DMT supports international companies
during development of gas utilisation projects
around the world.
targets by carbon oset projects in foreign countries.
Carbon credits could be generated either by methane
utilisation or just conversion of methane to water and
carbon dioxide as a less harmful greenhouse gas. The
abatement of 1 t of methane is equal with avoiding
18.25 t of carbon dioxide.
The methane discharged by ventilation (Figure 2)
is called ventilation air methane (VAM) and the
drained methane is called coal mine methane (CMM).
Usually the concentration of VAM in the ventilation
air is limited to 1 % maximum, depending on the
individual national mine safety regulations. Other
limits are common for particular parts of the mine like
return airways of panels. The utilisation of such highly
diluted methane-air mixtures has become technically
and economically interesting by new technologies as
thermal oxidation during the last years. Concentrations
of CMM are considerably higher, but limits dier from
country to country.
After the closure of a coal mine, methane emissions
abate more or less quickly, but use to continue on a
lower level for decades. This source is called abandoned
coal mine methane (AMM). Methane concentrations
of AMM depend on the residual gas contents after
mining as well on the inow of air into the disused
mine workings. Methane could also be produced from
virgin coal beds, as a source of natural gas or during
pre-dainage of coal seams to be mined. This is known
as coal bed methane (CBM).
Development of methane
utilisation projects
Utilisation of coal mine methane has a very long
tradition in Germany, but development was acceler-
Figure 1. CMM
red power plant
at a Chinese
colliery.
Figure 2.
Ventilation air as
an energy source.
43 Mining Reporter 1-2010
METHANE
ated by the Renewable Energy Law in the year 2000.
This has been supporting CMM and AMM to power
projects with access to the grid and guaranteed prices
for power input. Today there is more than 220 MW
electrical capacity, installed at 128 CHP plants on dif-
ferent locations. During the last 10 years, DMT GmbH
& Co. KG, Essen, Germany, has played a major role in
building up Germanys CMM and AMM industry and
also has been involved in AMM and CBM projects in
other European countries.
Based on this development, during the last years,
DMT has cooperated with dierent parties involved in
international carbon nanced CMM and VAM projects.
Clients are power generation companies, energy trad-
ers, investment companies and developer of emission
reduction projects. So far, DMT has been involved
in about 65 projects worldwide, mainly in PR China,
followed by Russia and Eastern European countries.
In PR China projects in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia,
Ningxia, Shanxi, Anhui, Chongquing, Yunnan and
Guizhou provinces have been assessed (Figure 3).
It must be considered, that the stakeholders in CMM
and VAM projects have dierent views on methane
emissions. For the mine operator coal mining is the
core business. CMM and VAM are waste products at
rst, produced by measures for eective and safe
coal production. Mine ventilation and gas drainage
have to meet the mine operations requirements and
national mine safety regulations.
The project developer, as well as an investor or a
buyer of generated carbon credits, is interested in
the converted methane volumes. After investment in
utilisation or abatement plants, the revenues from car-
bon credits are essential for them. Maximum utilisable
methane volume ows and adequate concentrations
are the important issues.
As both parties have dierent interests or at least
rankings of their interests, the common interests have
to be elaborated as a base of cooperation. Anyway,
the gas utilisation has to be managed after achieving
coal production and mine safety. DMT understands
its position as a bridge between these two parties,
bringing in know how regarding the interactions
between coal mining and gas emissions on one side
and the requirements as well as the possibilities of gas
utilisation on the other side.
Barriers in CMM and VAM projects
Due to the greenhouse warming potential of methane,
CMM and VAM projects have a large potential com-
pared to other emission reduction projects. However,
since 2007 only 26 projects have been registered as
CDM projects, all of them in PR China. A small amount
was registered as JI projects in Eastern European
countries. Among others, DMT indicates some major
barriers in project development.
As mentioned, for the mine operator coal produc-
tion is the main business. Hence, gas utilisation is of
secondary interest. The following example shows the
value of emitted methane compared to the value of
mined coal. The example is a gassy mine in Eastern
Europe producing 4 Mill. t of coal and emitting
118 Mill. m of methane annually. At a coal price of
130 US-$/t and a carbon credit price of 15 US $/t car-
bon dioxide equivalent, the value of the total emitted
methane is only 4 % of the value of the mined coal. As
an abatement rate of 100 % usually is not economic,
the possible revenues from carbon credits are even less,
about 15 Mill. US-$/a. Nevertheless, this is recognized
as additional business by many mine operators.
Further barriers are uctuating methane volume
ows and concentrations of both, CMM and VAM.
This results in an utilisation ratio of considerably less
than 100 %. At rst, volume ows and concentra-
tions depend on the mining and drainage methods.
They could uctuate short term, within hours, days or
weeks, and long term, within months or years. Long
term uctuations could be a result of a changing
coal production level as well as a result of increasing
or decreasing gas contents within the deposit. Short
term uctuations are inuenced by the current coal
production, the operation of the drainage system and
the barometric pressure.
Gas emission forecasts are carried out by mining
companies or national institutes for dimensioning
ventilation and gas drainage. Ventilation and gas
drainage is designed based on the maximum expected
methane emissions which have to be controlled dur-
ing mining. In some cases they are compiled just for
approval procedures without any interest in accuracy.
They could dier from reality considerably. At a major
mine DMTs technical team has seen plans for a CMM
to power plant with a gas demand exceeding the
total gas emission of the mine, drained and vented
methane. Misinvestment would have been more
than 30 Mill US-$. Hence, for methane utilisation,
methane emissions must be assessed in another way
(Figure 4).
Consultancy services
DMT oers various services during project develop-
ment and focus on bringing in special knowledge and
Figure 3. DMTs
activities in CMM
and VAM project
development in PR
China.
44 Mining Reporter 1-2010
METHANE
engineers as well as inspections of relevant surface
and underground facilities (Figure 7).
For the analysis of statistic methane emission gures
it is essential to understand how these gures were
produced. Hence, it is necessary to discuss the measure-
ment and documentation methods with the people
who compiled these gures. For the mine operator,
these statistics are often of limited interest. Electronic
state of the art sensors are not unusual even at less
developed mines, but sometimes no calibration is car-
ried out due to additional costs. Hence, at some mines
the gures produced by old fashioned measurement
devices are more accurate than the gures measured by
state of the art sensors. Nevertheless ocial methane
emission statistics may base on electric sensors.
Gas content gures are a basic gure for gas
emission forecasts. Hence, usually underground coal
samples are taken for gas content determination in
DMTs laboratory.
The gathered data are analysed as a base for an
independent forecast of total and utilisable methane
emissions. As methane emissions may dier depend-
ing on the mine district, the mined seam as well the
mining, ventilation and drainage method, it is neces-
sary to analyse gas emission gures dierentiated.
Therefore, the historic methane emission gures are
broken down as detailed as reasonable. By this, the
particular sources of gas emissions the individual
productive or abandoned mine districts, headings
and panels and within this source the working seam
and the particular surrounding strata are identi-
ed. The inuences of coal production, ventilation
and gas drainage operations on methane quantities
and qualities are evaluated based on this detailed gas
emission balance.
Gas emission forecast
Especially for VAM projects, the whole mine operation
and the future mine development have to be analysed
carefully, as small dierences in VAM concentration
could result in considerably misinvestment.
DMT compiles gas emission forecasts based on an
empirical model developed during the last decades
for the prediction of roof and oor gas emissions of
high productive longwall panels. As the origin of the
method is in German collieries under special conditions,
it has to be adjusted and calibrated when used in other
deposits. Scientic numerical simulations are only as
accurate as the input parameter. These parameters
like permeability of virgin and destroyed coal and
rock are commonly not available. Hence, DMT uses a
pragmatic forecast method based on the theoretical
calculation and the detailed analysis of recorded actual
and historic methane emissions.
The Figure 8 shows the forecast for a CMM project
at a Chinese mine, working three seams successively
from the top to the bottom seam. After mining the
top seam the gas contents in the roof and the oor
of the middle seam are reduced, so gas emissions will
be considerably lower.
Deviations of actual from forecasted gas emissions
are common and recognized worldwide. This applies
also to the particular national forecast methods. As a
experience wherever it is reasonable. In the early stage
of project development, DMT assists with directed
data acquisition and interpretation with the target
of separating economic from obviously uneconomic
projects as early as possible. It must be considered,
that mining operations, especially in PR China, cover
a wide range of technical standards (Figures 5 and 6)
and geological conditions.
The second step is a technical due diligence, includ-
ing data acquisition and discussions with the mines
Figure 4.
Dimensioning of
CMM drainage and
CMM utilisation.
Figure 5. Colliery
at Western China.
Figure 6. Small coal
mine in Northern
China.
45 Mining Reporter 1-2010
METHANE
result it is necessary calibrating the forecast with the
reality very carefully for each project.
The methane emission forecast and the possibilities
for energy supply lead to the methane utilisation con-
cept. In most cases gas engines and thermal oxidation
plants are the core of the concept. Apart from this,
there are further possibilities for methane utilisation
and abatement, for example direct gas distribution
via pipeline injection, conventional boilers and CMM
ares.
Risk assessment
The CMM or VAM project is reliant to the mine as gas
producer. The project could depend on the advance
of just one panel. This results in signicant risks as
the project developer, investor or credit buyer have
almost no inuence on gas delivery.
An omnipresent risk is a production reduction or
even stop. Without coal production methane emis-
sions in most cases decrease to near zero. Production
reductions or downtimes could be a result of geologi-
cal problems or gas outburst. DMTs team has visited
a mine construction site in Asia, which was stopped
for about one year due to a major gas outburst. After
this period mine development moved to another, less
explored part of the deposit - with leaving the future
quite uncertain.
Last but not least, gas quantities and qualities
depend on the actual operation of ventilation and
drainage and, of course, of the individual people
and their understanding of the job. This includes
the whole involved sta from the management to
the working force actually drilling and operating the
drainage boreholes.
Improvement of gas
drainage and ventilation
The evaluation of improvement potential has three
main targets: reducing the identied project risks
where possible, enhancing utilisable gas volume ows
and enhancing coal production and mine safety.
The rst possibility is adjusting the utilisation
concept to the minimum gas delivery. That is more
reasonable than building up a power plant and search-
ing for additional gas afterwards. Flexibility might be
important as no mine can guarantee the gas delivery
for a whole project lifetime.
At CMM projects maximum and stable methane
volume ows are of interest. Apart from an optimised
borehole layout and adequate borehole sealing, the
management of the boreholes is a solution for this.
At VAM projects an enhancement of concentrations
is not trivial, as safety in all parts of the mine must be
guaranteed. Overall reduction of ventilation air ow
is no solution and highly dangerous. Nevertheless at
many mines for example needless air shortcuts could
be reduced. Apart from improvement of ventilation,
CMM gas can be added to the oxidation plant.
Low concentrations of CMM are common in some
countries, even in the explosive range. Apart from the
safety risk, air shortcuts result in a reduction of drain-
age system capacity. Reducing shortcuts is interesting
for both, the CMM power plant operator and the
mine operator, as this aects the operation costs of
the drainage system.
The ventilation layout of panels aects the drainage
ratio due to the possible drilling locations and the inu-
Figure7. CMM
pumping station
at a colliery in
Eastern Europe.
Figure 8. Forecast
of drainable and
utilisable CMM.
46 Mining Reporter 1-2010
METHANE
ence of the pressure drop of the ventilation. At retreat
longwall panels drainage boreholes are often drilled
from the gate road in advance of the coal face. These
boreholes are frequently destroyed by the advancing
coal face. Horizontal boreholes drilled from raises (as
carried out in PR China) are more eective, but also
more expensive. In the UK cross measure boreholes
are drilled in the rear of the coalface of retreat long-
wall operations. Ventilation of the drilling location is
carried out by a back return method.
Advanced longwall operations with Y-form ventila-
tion could be provided with more ventilation air. At
panels with very high gas emissions or working thin
seams this is essential, as the coal face width is a limit
for the ventilation air ow. Due to the pressure drop
of ventilation, maximum gas emissions are not con-
centrated at the return air side of the coal face, but
are dispersed within the return airway. Gas drainage
is supported by the pressure drop and a full access
to all boreholes. By regulation of each borehole the
operation lifetime of the boreholes is increased and
methane concentrations could be enhanced.
Specics of VAM projects
Compared to CMM utilisation, VAM projects are
considerably more ambitious. The development of
future VAM concentration is essential, because of the
technical limit of the oxidation plant (about 0.2 %)
and a sucient methane throughput. At a constant
utilised ventilation air ow, the methane throughput
depends on the concentration only.
At high mixture volume ows, a deviation in
methane concentration measurement of only 0.1 %
has an enormous inuence in the total VAM volume.
On the other side this is a tolerated deviation, which
can be found at every mine. Therefore, the assess-
ment of historic and actual gas emission data, as well
as the methane forecast, have to be very accurate.
Future variations of ventilation air ow have to be
considered.
The example in Figure 9 shows the forecast of VAM
concentrations for two cases. Currently at this mine
there are considerably air shortcuts within the upcast
shaft, which are one third of the mine districts total
airow. These could be reduced with low cost im-
provement by about 75 %. Without improvement the
project would not be economic. Apart from additional
revenues from carbon credits, the energy demand of
the main fan could be reduced considerably.
Summary
Methane emissions at coal mines are not only a safety
issue, but could mean additional revenues by power
and heat production or the generation of carbon
credits. With the Kyoto Protocol the utilisation or just
abatement of methane emissions from coal mines has
become a worldwide growing business. Nevertheless,
for a mine operator methane is a waste product as
rst, while for the CMM or VAM project developer
methane is the essential source for project revenues.
During project development, these dierent points of
view have to be considered. If not, the project wont
be sucient for both parties.
DMT has been involved in the development of
several projects for the utilisation of drained coal mine
methane (CMM) and ventilation air methane (VAM),
most of them in Asia and Eastern Europe. Within a
technical due diligence, an independent forecast of
utilisable methane emissions and an assessment of risks
and improvement potential is elaborated. This is the
base for investment in methane utilisation equipment.
Misinvestment, caused by incorrect interpretation
of gas emission statistics, gas emission forecasts and
future mine development, could be avoided.
Improvement of both, gas drainage and mine venti-
lation could be a benet for both, the mine operation
and the methane utilisation. Within the project, coal
production and mine safety must be considered as
most important. Hence, the dierent requirements of
mining and methane utilisation have to be evaluated
and common interests have to be elaborated for a
successful project.
References
1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC): IPCC
Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), 2007.
Figure 9.
Forecast of VAM
concentrations.
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