PRODUCT
LIEBHERR launches all-electric transhipment crane
Liebherr has expanded its portfolio of port and transhipment solutions to include the all-electric transhipment crane CBG 500 E. The crane combines state-of-the-art drive technologies with Liebherr’s own crane control system ‘Master V’. In addition, the energy recovery system LiCaTronic® makes optimum use of the energy available. The numerous configurations ensure the crane is versatile and adaptable to different customer needs.
The new all-electric crane CBG 500 E expands the transhipment solutions portfolio with a reliable machine that offers a handling performance of up to 2000 tph. The all-electric drives inside the crane, in combination with the supercapacitors, turn the rope luffing CBG 500 E into a unique handling solution in the market. The supercapacitors used as standard in Liebherr’s own LiCaTronic energy recovery system support the increasing requirements regarding energy efficiency. The combination of state-of-the-art inverter technology, power storage, and application-specific power management leads in a powerful drive system with simultaneous reduction of the required energy. The CBG 500 E is a heavy-duty transhipment crane that operates emission-free and environmentally friendly.
In addition to the powerful and efficient drives, the whole crane structure is optimised for an extraordinary performance. The boom of the CBG 500 E was designed as a lattice boom. This makes it particularly stiff and light, which further improves the turnover performance and at the same time reduces the energy need. The result is a lifting capacity of up to 105 t in hook operation and a maximum grab capacity of up to 90 t. The extension of the cabin and the high positioning ensure that the crane operator has an optimal viewing
angle of all processes. The crane operator is supported operationally by the new, integrated ‘Master V’ crane control system. Together with an efficient software architecture, it forms the basis for integrating future assistance and automation systems into the crane in the long term.
With the CBG 500 E, a crane has been developed that can be flexibly adapted to its subsequent purpose. An essential choice concerns the length of the boom, as the crane can be configured with 43 m and 50 m boom. The longer boom variant offers the decisive advantage of enabling direct transhipment between two vessels in sheltered and open water. The modes of operation range from bulk to container handling and are independent of the area of operation. For installation on a barge, the crane can be equipped with additional counterweights, enabling safe cargo handling in this application as well. Optional configuration options, such as a comfort ascent or additional platforms and boom walkways for maintenance purposes, complete the configuration possibilities. A crane with recognition value.
The CBG 500 E is designed in a colour combination of grey and white. The engine house with the all-electric drives is highlighted in yellow. The colour scheme is based on the Liebherr colours yellow, white and black, in order to create recognition. For clear identification of the machine, a combination of logo and type designation of the crane is placed on both sides. In combination with the blue line and the addition ‘all-electric’, it is clearly recognisable the CBG 500 E is characterised by advanced and zero emission crane technology.
For more information, check out the following video or the Liebherr website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XItXHcdUc
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NEWS
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Europe has long been trying to kick its coal habit – from use in power plants to coke ovens to blast furnaces.
Environmental concerns have put growing pressure on governments to act on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with coal use as a primary target. The continent has attempted to position itself as a global leader in climate change response, by committing to increasingly ambitious carbon reduction goals; including a precipitous coal plant retirement schedule.
However, Europe is on the verge of an unparalleled energy crisis this year, provoked by the war in Ukraine and resulting tensions with Russia. With gas supply at risk, coal-fired power generation may now be the key to ensuring reliability in a region that has long sought to end its use. Many European countries are bringing mothballed coal units back online and delaying retirements in an attempt to avoid power outages in the near term.
Yet, there are still questions around Europe’s ability to secure adequate coal supply, particularly as the European Union (EU) and the UK are banning Russian coal imports (EU in August and UK after 2022), which represented about half of EU and UK coal imports last year. Not to mention the incremental coal required for increased coal generation.
What are the impacts to the global coal market with the surge in European coal demand and its scramble to find alternative supplies to Russia? Will this sudden shift to coal dependency in Europe have implications for the region’s long-term climate plans?
A history of climate programs targeting the use of thermal coal in Europe
To set the stage for what is happening in the current European thermal coal market, it is helpful to understand the history of European climate programs and how policies have influenced a greater dependency on natural gas-fired power generation.
European demand for thermal coal peaked in 2007 at 937 million t and has since fallen by over 270 million t in the last 15 years. The fall in coal demand started with the implementation of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), launched in 2005 as the world’s first large scale greenhouse gas emissions trading program. Carbon prices increased the cost of coal generation and pitted coal in more direct competition with natural gas generation, which emits roughly half the CO2/MWh.
Natalie Biggs, Tony Knutson, Natasha Tyrina and Abhishek Rakshit, Wood Mackenzie, USA, discuss the state of the coal sector in Europe: what is happening, how we got here, and where current trends might be leading.
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Other climate programs and policy are ensuring a rapid transition from coal use in Europe. The European Climate Law, set into force on 29 July 2021, sets a 2030 climate target for European Union countries of at least 55% reduction of net emissions of greenhouse gases, as compared to 1990 levels, also known as the ‘Fit for 55’ package. There have been further pledges made under the US Paris Climate Agreement and COP26, with coal retirements as a key feature in meeting climate goals –over half of European coal-fired units set to go off-line by 2030.
With carbon prices and retiring coal units, demand for natural gas generation has grown and capacity has increased by over 50% in Europe since 2005.
European natural gas crisis spurs a resurgence in coal generation
With deteriorating relations with Russia, Europe now finds itself on the verge of an energy crisis. Europe relies heavily on fossil fuel imports from Russia, with an acute dependence on natural gas in particular. The European natural gas market is heavily reliant on piped Russian gas imports and lacks sufficient LNG regasification capacity to fully replace Russian gas supplies.
As the EU tries to cut economic ties with Russia by applying sanctions to Russian goods, it remains unable to ban Russian gas. This has given Russia leverage over the EU, with Russia threatening to cease gas flows. With the increasing risk to gas generation, many European countries are bringing mothballed coal-fired units back online, attempting to avoid power outages in the near term. Based on recent announcements, there is over 11 GW of mothballed European coal capacity that will be returning to the market temporarily.
Yet, increased coal demand from Europe is putting additional pressure on an already strained seaborne coal market, complicated further by EU sanctions on Russian coal that started in August. Europe’s ability to
access adequate coal supply is not guaranteed and will come at a high cost.
Current challenges for the European coal market
Most of Europe’s coal supply is mined within Europe, imports make up 25%. Despite its size, European coal is limited as a replacement for imported coal, both in terms of the quality required and ability to increase production.
The largest overall coal producer within Europe is Germany which produced 121 million tpy in 2021; however, it is mostly low-quality lignite (i.e. brown coal). German lignite does not travel beyond the mine-mouth plants that it supplies and is unusable in plants that are not designed to burn it. Poland is the largest producer of hard coal (55 million t produced in 2021); however, those mines are limited in increasing underground production capacity. Wood Mackenzie anticipates coal production will fall in Ukraine this year, as the majority of production is in the Donbass region, which has experienced heavy fighting.
For metallurgical coal, Europe is heavily reliant on imports, as domestic production has declined significantly over the years. Domestic coal production is centred in two countries – Poland and the Czech Republic. In 2021, Poland produced 12 million t, followed by the Czech Republic at just over 2 million t. This volume covered 25% of the EU and UK’s net coal demand in 2021.
Thermal coal
For thermal coal markets, the EU ban on Russian coal is a particular challenge for the high calorific value (high-CV) coal market – coals over 5800 kcal/kg GAR, also known as hard coals. Russia produces hard coals that are high-CV and low-sulfur. Coal-fired units that take Russian coal imports are specifically designed to run on this type of coal. Specific boiler design and fuel
Figure 1. Timeline of Europe’s previous coal phase-out plan.
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requirements make it infeasible to fully switch to a lower quality coal – only about 15% of low-CV coal could be used in a blend. It is also impractical from a financial and technical standpoint to redesign a boiler to accommodate these fuels. Additionally, the mothballed EU coal units returning to the market are nearly all reliant on high-CV imported coal as well, further increasing the need for that quality.
The additional EU demand for seaborne thermal high-CV coal supply from outside of Russia could amount to an annualised rate of approximately 75 million t:
40 million tpy – The amount of Russian thermal coal imports into the EU in 2021.
25 million tpy – the potential annualised coal demand from the return of the 11 GW of EU mothballed coal generation.
10 million tpy – increased utilisation from pre-existing EU coal units.
There will be additional demand pressure for high-CV Russian alternatives outside of the EU, as Japan has announced that it will also ban Russian coal imports (no stated start date yet). Japan imported 22 million t of Russian coal in 2021 (17 million t thermal and 5 million t metallurgical).
983 million t of thermal coal was traded on the global seaborne thermal coal market in 2021; however, overall seaborne supply for high-CV coal is only around 300 million tpy, of which only 240 million tpy is low-sulfur coal (‘high-quality’ coal: high-CV, low-sulfur – around 1% sulfur). To reduce SO2 emissions from coal generation, many countries limit the sulfur quality of the coal consumed. Russian coal represented around 22% of the high-CV coal seaborne market in 2021, or 27% for high-quality coal.
Replacing high-quality thermal Russian imports would not be easy. Likely alternative exporters of this quality would include the US, Colombia, South Africa, Australia, and a small amount from Indonesia. Each are limited in their ability to increase near-term supply quickly. Spot coal availability remains limited as suppliers are challenged to fulfil existing contract tonnes. Longer term, new investments in increasing coal supply are challenged by ESG concerns.
Short-term challenges for increasing production of high-CV coal include:
Australia – Production has been disrupted by flooding events, transportation issues, and labour shortages.
Colombia – The newly elected president, Gustavo Petro, wants to end coal production in Colombia by 2034. He will honour existing contracts, but near-term government intervention in labour or local community disputes may play out unfavourably to producers.
South Africa – Chronic issues with rail shipments, with Transnet struggling to deal with copper theft along the lines.
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The US – Spare capacity is limited as many coal producers were already fully contracted before the war in Ukraine. Producers are cautious about expansions due to lessons learned from multiple bankruptcy cycles. Additionally, most high-CV supply is high sulfur.
Indonesia – Produces some high-quality supply, but there are risks of export disruptions due to domestic market obligations.
What about Russia? Could Russian coal just pivot to Asia? Russia’s eastbound export capacity is limited by available rail infrastructure. With eastbound rail lines already operating at capacity, rail expansion projects behind schedule, and a surge in other diverted cargoes; the opportunities for ramping up Russian coal railings to Asia are slim. However, high seaborne coal prices and weak rouble can make the extremely long ocean freight routes from Russia’s western ports to Asia economically feasible. India is the main destination, due to the smaller distance; some shipments are also sent to China, South Korea, and Japan.
Metallurgical coal
Russia also supplies 11 million tpy of metallurgical coal to the EU – 7 million t PCI and 4 million t of hard
coking coal. The Russian ban leaves European steel mills exposed due to their high reliance on Russian pulverised coal injection (PCI) type coal. Of the 11 million t of seaborne PCI imported into the EU and UK in 2021, roughly 60% was from Russia.
Europe is less exposed to imports of Russian hard coking coals with only 4 million t imported in 2021. The large majority of European coking coal supply is sourced from Australia, US, and domestically.
Will Europe be able to source the coal it requires?
Thermal coal
European metallurgical and thermal coal buyers generally enter into longer-term contracts compared to Asian buyers who purchase more spot cargoes (exception of Japan and Taiwan). Since the start of the conflict, European buyers have been steadily negotiating with alternative suppliers for long-term contracts, sometimes paying well above spot price. While many buyers in Asia initially retreated from imports due to higher prices.
This dynamic could inadvertently end up pushing more of the shortage burden onto Asian markets. Importing coal regions in China and India have already struggled with supply issues and critically low stockpile levels.
However, high-quality thermal coal supply will still be very limited on the seaborne market and Europe will need to get creative in sourcing thermal coal by lowering its standards.
Options include:
Take higher sulfur coal: Germany’s recently approved Replacement Power Plant Availability Act, includes a condition that would allow operators to break from sulfur limits if they cannot reasonably source low sulfur coal. This will allow Germany to source more high-CV, high-sulfur coal that is typically produced by the US.
Blend with some low-CV coal: Hard coal plants can take about 15% of low-CV coal in a blend. The challenge with taking low-CV coal is that you will have to take more of it in order to make up for the heat content loss.
Crossover metallurgical coal use: Thermal coal prices are so high that there have been some arbitrage windows that have opened for metallurgical coal to crossover to the thermal market – a very unusual phenomenon. However, use of metallurgical coal is likely to lead to unit inefficiencies and more plant
Figure 2. European coal generation capacity by country.
Figure 3. 2021 European coal production by rank.
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maintenance, since metallurgical coal qualities tend to cause slagging or fouling issues. Yet, European generators may be willing to put up with these issues if it means reliable power supply through the winter.
Metallurgical coal
The European metallurgical coal supply situation is slightly different. Depending on where steel prices go, supply availability may be less of an issue. Replacing coking coals will be easier than PCI given alternatives in Australia, Canada, the US, Mozambique, and Indonesia.
Though the replacements will come with a higher freight cost. The four-month window between the announcement and the ban kicking in has allowed steel mill and coke oven operators to consider their options.
PCI is the obvious pinch point for European blast furnace operators. Options include:
Raising coke rates: The intent of PCI is to replace more expensive coke in the blast furnace.
Depending on steel margins, operators could simply increase coke rates to offset missing PCI volumes with a corresponding increase in costs. In an extreme case, PCI could be eliminated entirely where Russian PCI reliance is high.
Take additional term contract volumes: Some contracts offer a flex in volumes above and below the set tonnage. Depending on the direction of the steel market, additional tonnes may not be available from suppliers, especially for higher volatile coals that may swap over to the thermal market.
Access thermal coal spot cargoes: Unlikely and expensive proposition as steel mills would compete with power plants for limited coal volumes.
Inject natural gas: Given price and availability of gas in Europe, this is an unlikely option (but an option to replace PCI in capable blast furnaces nonetheless).
Are Europe’s climate goals at risk?
With the EU’s swift shift to reliance on coal generation, many are concerned about
Europe’s commitment to climate goals. There have been government proposals to halt carbon trading programmes temporarily as prices rise for carbon credits – which has added to the energy price burden on consumers. Many coal-fired units that were slated for retirement have been recommissioned or retirement dates delayed. There is even a proposal in Germany to withdraw its 2035 climate goals for the energy sector, which included a 2030 phase-out of coal plants.
However, high prices for fossil fuels may end up influencing a faster transition in the long-term.
The European Commission’s hastily published REPowerEU plan has set a goal to rapidly reduce its reliance on Russian imports by increasing its
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renewables target to 45% by 2030 – 15% higher than ‘Fit for-55’ and more than double today’s capacity. Other targets will follow, along with increased policy support for innovation and investment in the emerging technologies needed to accelerate the energy transition. Hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and long-duration battery storage stand to benefit.
For the European steel and met coal industries, it is a different story for climate goal risks. An imminent push to close fossil fuel-based integrated steel mills is not there. Though the industry is not without its emission reduction pressures. High electricity prices, in a trickledown effect from record thermal coal prices, are arguably the biggest near-term climate goal risk for the European steel industry. This is especially true for electric arc furnaces (EAF). This low emission technology uses tremendous
Table 1. European coal supply (million t)
Thermal Metallurgical
amounts of electricity compared to the BF-BOF route and could see units idled before fossil fuel based steel production. Idling EAFs could mean an increase for metallurgical coal demand, though the recent downward economic momentum could erase this shift.
Summary
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU member states had set a clear but ambitious path for longer-term European carbon reduction goals. Climate programmes aimed squarely at thermal coal generation were in motion. However, with deteriorating relations with Russia, Europe now finds itself on the verge of an energy crisis and is being forced to rethink its coal phase-out plans, at least in the short term.
EU and UK
Total coal supply
370 58
Domestic production 307 15
Import 63 43
Russian import 40 11
% Russian import/total supply 11% 19%
% Russian import/total imports 63% 25%
Europe
Total coal supply 544 82
Domestic production 451 18
Import 93 64
Russian import 56 22
% Russian import/total supply 10% 26%
% Russian import/total imports 60% 33%
Europe is heavily reliant on Russian piped gas imports and lacks sufficient LNG regasification capacity that could offset Russian gas supply. Russia’s position in supplying coal to the EU is also important. Europe is particularly reliant on the supply of Russian high-energy, low-sulfur thermal coal for power generation and PCI coal for injection in blast furnaces producing hot metal or liquid iron. Russian coal comprised approximately two-thirds of the EU seaborne thermal coal imports in 2021, and 60% of the EU’s PCI coal imports.
The supply of high-energy, low-sulfur thermal coal has been increasingly tight in the seaborne market since demand surged post-pandemic. Various disruptions at major supplier countries drove seaborne coal prices up and fuelled price volatility even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict started.
With the introduction of the ban on Russian coal imports into Europe on 10 August 2022, European power plants and steel mills will need to get creative in meeting their energy needs. Combined with the challenges of extremely low availability and high prices of natural gas, the EU may find itself needing over 70 million tpy of non-Russian coal. This includes replacing historical Russian coal imports and feeding the additional coal demand into power as gas generation is insufficient.
4. European thermal coal imports.
Alternative coal suppliers –Australia, South Africa, Colombia and the US – will be called upon to fill the gap. Exploring coal quality alternatives and different blending practices will also be necessary, as well as assessing their performance. For some, it will be trial by error. Where available, domestic coal production will be increasingly relied on from the likes of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Elsewhere, global trade flows will need to evolve, with more reliance on Colombian, South African, American and Australian coals in the EU, while Russian coals shift to Asia.
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Figure
The recurrent mantra that ‘coal is dead’ is now met with a louder than ever response of ‘long live coal’.
Coal provided approximately 40% of the global energy requirement in 2021 with a record 8 billion t of coal consumed, an increase of 6% over 2020. Global sea-borne trade in 2021 reached 1.2 billion t, an increase of 100 million t from 2020. Coal is found in 70 different countries around
Aiden Neary, Clean Coal Technologies, Inc., USA, weighs the pros and cons of the coal industry and how it can address the issue of dust.
Figure 1. Risk of combustion prohibits coal being covered during transportation.
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the world, and is actively mined in 50 of them; with the top three countries (Indonesia, Australia, and Russia) accounting for 70% of the global coal export market. China and India combined account for over 67% of the global coal use, and their annual consumption continues to rise each year. As these countries lift their citizens out of energy poverty using coal, as it is a more reliable and affordable energy source, the standard of living and life expectancy continues to increase. Few can dispute the need for coal; coal is constantly being mined and transported via truck, rail, and sea and will be for the foreseeable future.
There are two main disadvantages for the use of coal:
Carbon dioxide emissions and the belief that it contributes to climate change.
the lead in a number of these studies, with legal actions having been brought against companies, including BNSF. Their own studies show a loss of between 500 lbs – 1 t of coal dust can escape from a single loaded rail car, whereas other studies show as high as 3% of the coal loaded is lost during transportation.
Possible solutions
Coal dust loss during transportation causing environmental and air pollution.
The focus of this article is on the tangible and observable impact that coal dust has on air, land, and water pollution.
Coal mining
Coal is a brittle sedimentary rock that, when mined, handled and transported, creates a fugitive dust that has a negative impact on the health of the environment and humans. Despite somewhat creative, but nevertheless limited, advancements in suppressing and mitigating coal dust, it remains one of the most common issues for groups advocating for the cessation of coal.
The coal industry has not done enough to alleviate the legitimate concern about coal dust, and only though technological advancements will this issue be fully addressed. Coal dust comprises of a number of toxic substances, including: lead, tin, mercury, cadmium, nickel, and arsenic. It also includes radio isotopes of thorium and strontium. All in all, coal dust is a complex composition of elements that require meaningful consideration and effective solutions when it comes to managing its loss through transportation.
Managing coal dust
Coal is the second largest dry bulk commodity shipped globally by volume. In any year, in excess of 1.1 billion t of coal is moved via sea freight. In all but a few exceptional scenarios, coal is mined at the coal mine and then transported to the power station by trucks, rail, and/or sea barges.
Several studies have been performed on coal dust loss during transportation; although results may differ between findings, largely due to different seams of coal being prone to having higher levels of dust, the overall results prove that too much coal dust is lost during the transportation process. Rail companies have taken
The obvious solution is to simply cover the rail cars with the necessary protective covering, thereby preventing any dust loss. However, this is unfortunately not a viable option due to the chemical composition of coal. Coal dust is highly combustible and covering it increases the risk of the coal combusting, so alternative solutions have been employed. The primary solution currently used is applying a chemical spray (surfactant) over the top of the coal load to stabilise the dust. This process does not eliminate coal dust loss, although it has been proven to be effective in reducing the loss by as much as 80%.
Coal dust suppressants
Challenges with coal dust suppressant applications include:
The first and most important challenge regarding the application of coal dust suppressant is enforcement. Some countries, such as the US, are very thorough with ensuring this is done prior to rail transportation, but many other countries are less than rigid with its compliance.
Secondly, the cost of this process can be high. It varies from mine to mine, but costs as high as US$1/t are incurred. Not only does this have a negative impact on profitability, it can, in some cases, be cost prohibitive when moving coal.
Finally, the use of any chemical spray can have a negative environmental impact both in production and also disposal of coal.
When coal dust is lost during transportation, it can negatively impact a multitude of areas:
Environmental: Coal dust lost during transportation can enter the waterways which can have a poisonous effect on not only agricultural animals, but also in some cases on humans who rely on these streams for their water.
Human: Respirable coal dust has been proven to cause a number of serious illness amongst those exposed to it for prolonged periods of time. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease along with back lung disease (pneumoconiosis) has been linked to as many as 77 000 coal miner’s deaths since the 1970s. It is also widely reported in studies that families living close to rail tacks transporting coal have a
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higher than average case of asthma and other respiratory issues.
Financial: The cost of coal dust suppressant application can be as high as 10% of the total production cost (US$1.00) in some of the lower cost mining operations in the US (primarily in Powder River Basin region). There are also additional costs, including: environmental cleanup as the coal dust enters waterways, unclogging coal dust from rail cars, and workers compensation costs.
While progress has most certainly been made in addressing this challenge, the coal industry, rail providers, and power facilities can still do more. It would be-hoof the coal industry overall to show that it recognises, acknowledges, and is committed to finding a solution. A global coal transportation standard should be implemented using defined acceptable practices. Investments in technology that can better and more economically address the problem should be made. Governments should encourage, support, sponsor, and, in some cases, mandate initiatives to address this problem.
Aiming for dust free Technologies, such as Pristine technologies, owned by Clean Coal Technologies, Inc., produce a dust free end product as part of its coal beneficiation process. This process increases the Btu (heating value) of the coal by as much as 33%, and ‘coats’ the coal with heavy hydrocarbons from a slip stream of the same DNA coal that produces a clean dust free, stable coal ready for transportation.
Conclusion
The most effective solution-driven approach one can take is to firstly acknowledge and recognise both sides of any issue. For the foreseeable future, coal will play a critical role in
global energy production with record consumption expected again in 2022, subsequently causing record levels of coal transportation.
It also needs to be understood that coal use in developing economies (e.g. India and China) have brought hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and has increased not only life expectancy levels, but also significantly improved the quality of life.
That said, there are also challenges with using coal. The global coal industry needs to join forces and not only address these issues but, once addressed, effectively inform the public of their success.
The easy and lazy approach is to simply demonise and criticise coal – the constructive approach is to find workable and economical solutions.
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Steel cord conveyor belts are the lifelines of most large mines and handling facilities. Their reliability is essential, and their long-term operation is critical to the economics of mining.
Splices
All conveyor belts contain one or more splices because they are assembled from several individual lengths on site. Typically, an overland installation contains several dozen splices.
The splices are made on site under difficult conditions - i.e. conditions different from those in which the conveyor belts are manufactured. The vulnerable, unvulcanised rubber can lose the required properties at high ambient temperatures, resulting in negative degradation of the splice matrix. The deficiencies worsen during operation and can lead to the breakdown of the bond between the rubber and the steel cords, i.e. to the rupture of the splice. As in the conveyor belt itself, the steel cords have no contact with each other in the splices, the forces are transmitted exclusively via the rubber. The only thing that matters is that the rubber-steel bond holds.
Other factors, such as dirt, faulty workmanship, incorrect vulcanisation temperatures, incorrect heating time, insufficient or uneven pressing pressure, etc., also lead to weakening of the splice system.
Splice failure, i.e. loss of adhesion of the components with subsequent tearing, has disastrous consequences for production, personnel safety, and company profitability. Splice failure can occur early or take years to happen, due to progressive ageing. Joint failure can be rapid or slow, depending on where the detachment begins – it is similar to the opening of a zipper. These very serious problems occur more frequently than is generally known.
In addition to these endogenous factors that can jeopardise the operation of steel cord conveyor belts, exogenous causes, such as damage from foreign objects or from defective equipment parts, are of great importance. Often, damage to the tension member steel cords is not visible from the outside. In contrast to the steel cords, the cover rubber is highly deformable. In the event of impact damage, this can result in the belt appearing intact even though the steel cords inside the belt have been damaged. Depending on the number and position of the affected steel cords, the breaking strength of the conveyor belt may have been unacceptably reduced. In addition, corrosion may occur as a result of such damage; the danger is continuously aggravated.
Operators often counter the numerous risks by replacing conveyor belts or their splices long (often years) before they actually reach their potential service life, which is a waste of considerable financial resources.
Bernd Küsel, CBG Conveyor Belt Gateway, Germany, evaluates hazards for steel cord conveyor belts.
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Increase reliability and extend service life
Replacing a belt just because it ‘looks worn’, ‘is that old’, or because it is classified not safe to operate anymore by inadequate inspection methods, is no longer appropriate.
The basis for deciding whether and when a belt should be replaced or repaired should include a detailed assessment of the conveyor belt’s condition and its splices during operation. Gradual changes and intelligent analysis and evaluation must be included in the decision. The goal must be to operate the belt safely until its actual end of function.
Current methods
Some systems currently available on the market can have critical shortcomings. Only radiology-based systems can detect and highlight the multitude of potential problems in high-resolution quality in real time. The common methods include:
Opto-electronic systems
At most, damage visible from the outside can be detected. No information is provided on the condition of the tension member ropes or the joints. Damage filled with conveyed material is usually overlooked.
Magnetic resonance systems
This simulates analogue wave signals or steel cord images that need to be interpreted by specially trained personnel.
Monitoring is limited to steel cables, meaning other changes in the belt are not detected. Metallic cross reinforcements or other parts, e.g. conductor loops for longitudinal slitting detection, make the data practically unusable.
Unlike X-ray based systems, magnetic systems cannot detect foreign objects, edge damage, slitting, incorrect cord pitch, wire damage, etc.
Mobile systems
Inspections provide only a snapshot in time without the ability to intervene in the event of impending belt defects that could lead to total conveyor failure. They are often inaccurate, expensive (the equipment must be laboriously positioned and calibrated), and in most cases can only be performed when the belt is at a standstill or creeping. In addition, personnel deployment can be problematic due to travel restrictions (e.g. during pandemics, etc.).
Visual inspections by personnel
By their nature, visual inspections by people can detect very few, gross violations. The belt must be inspected from both sides in creep mode.
A new idea
To help try and improve belt safety and service life, Conveyor Belt Gateway jointly designed the CBGuard Life Extender monitoring system. This enables repairs to the conveyor belt to be carried out at the best possible time. The clear X-ray images that capture every cubic millimetre of the conveyor belt allow maintenance personnel to decide whether repairs should be made in the short term, or whether it is still
Figure 1. A CBGuard Life Extender in an overland conveyor.
Figure 2. A CBGuard in a coal handling conveyor.
22 WORLD COAL ISSUE 4 2022
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possible to wait until the next scheduled maintenance stop. This way, unnecessary interruptions in conveying are avoided.
Often, only partial lengths of the conveyor belt are worn. X-ray analysis can be used to easily decide which one needs to be replaced. The remaining belt can continue to be operated. The most important criterion is regularly the condition of the tension member steel cords.
The stocking quantity of conveyor belts can be reduced because the CBGuard software indicates in good time when replacements should be procured.
Core functions
The primary functions of the CBGuard system include:
Detailed, radiographic examination of steel cord conveyor belts in real time, during normal conveying operation.
Continuous, artificial intelligence-assisted analysis of the condition of all conveyor belt elements and comparison with their target condition.
Can be integrated with the Internet of Things.
Virtually retrofittable into all conveyor systems.
The system generates ionising rays from electricity that penetrate the moving conveyor belt and then strike the receiver module – an image field made of amorphous silicon. It is a process similar to the way photodiodes in a digital camera work. Countless, seamless images are continuously generated and analysed in real time by the intelligent software, which is based on advanced facial and palm print recognition algorithms. Specific events (e.g. damage to the belt) are detected by analysing hundreds of grey levels of the countless X-ray images. The smart software assigns specific damage or defects to the changes based on the individual structure, size, colour, and position.
The device complies with all international safety regulations and does not contain any radioactive material. The CBGuard is operated from the user’s control centre or via the Internet.
Automatic warning when threshold values, which can be individually configured by the operator, are exceeded, as well as shutdown of the belt drive in the event of threatening events, for example an imminent belt break.
Detection of any critical changes, such as: steel cord breaks, corrosion, blisters, and misalignments.
Detection of holes, notches, foreign objects, protruding steel cords, edge breakage, uneven cover wear, excessive elongation of joints, etc.
Automatic, immediate notification of maintenance personnel of faults via SMS. Alerts are also triggered on the computer monitor and directly on the scanner.
The scanner can be extended to include a laser module that measures belt thickness to within hundredths of a millimetre over the entire length and width. This function generates a topographical contour map from which abrasion weak points of the belts can be easily identified. For example, wear marks from chute seals, which can lead to longitudinal grooves and render an otherwise flawless belt unusable, are visualised. Detected at an early stage, appropriate corrections can be made to the conveyor system parts causing the damage.
Live marking of defects of any kind, whether in the tension member or cover rubber – visible on the monitor, in the video of the entire belt or in the printed report. All information is available at any time in high-resolution quality.
The compact design and low weight of the scanner allows easy and quick installation, and it is largely wear-free because it has no moving parts or contact with the conveyor belt.
Case study
One of the latest applications, was for a loading facility at a coal mining complex in South America.
Automatic identification of each splice using fingerprint technology. No manipulation of the conveyor belt is required.
Its lifeline, a several kilometre-long conveyor with a 2200 mm wide steel cord conveyor belt, is equipped with a CBGuard Life Extender X6, with an integrated cooling system and belt thickness lasers. The capacity of the conveyor is 8000 tph.
The automatic all-in-one belt health scanning during the conveying process allows the copmany to focus on its core business, coal mining and conveying.
Summary
For responsible and economical operators of long steel cord conveyor belts, the use of fully automatic, self-sufficient, radiographic monitoring is indispensable as it can ensure seamless, real-time monitoring of steel cord conveyor belts and improve operational safety and economic efficiency.
Figure 3. Service entrance for a CBGuard Life Extender.
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Keiran Knowles, Orica, Australia, reviews some of the latest developments in blasting technologies for surface mining.
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Asingle explosive technology that would deliver operational simplicity, a greater range of energy, and resolve multiple long-standing mining challenges used to feel like a distant dream. However, developments made by Orica have contributed to making this dream a reality; namely the completion of its 4D™ bulk explosives system, with customers in the coal mining industry being among the first to benefit from the innovation.
Since the introduction of 4D on the world stage at MINExpo in September 2021, significant progress has been made. Over 35 blasts in excess of 5000 t of 4D Coal and 4D Clear bulk explosives have been performed across several coal mines on the east coast of Australia, showcasing the capabilities of 4D in delivering on outcomes that are critical to mining operations. The beneficial outcomes include
the reduction in overall drill and blast costs by lowering explosives consumption and increasing loading efficiencies; reduction in fume events by better matching the energy from explosives in soft wet ground; and compliance to specific mine environmental limitations, such as vibration and air blast control.
In anticipation of the growing demand for 4D as a staple in the bulk explosives systems portfolio of mine operators, Orica has stepped up preparations for the full 4D product range – encompassing 4D Coal, 4D Clear, 4D Eclipse, 4D Protect, and 4D Extra – ahead of expansion into both the coal and metals markets across Australia, Asia, North America, and Latin America. Further expansion of the 4D technology will occur in Europe, Middle East, and Africa soon thereafter.
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A single bulk explosives system capable of tailoring energy in real time
Blasting has traditionally been considered in three dimensions (width, length, and depth), however decisions on the application of explosives are often one dimensional, in relation to the powder factor being applied to the blast. This typically results in the same explosive blend and density of product being applied to each blast hole across a blast pattern.
Given the varying geological conditions across every bench, and sometimes within individual blast holes, formulating an explosive blend that delivers truly
optimised blast results has been a major feat, with the technological capabilities of explosives manufacturing systems being a key hurdle to cross.
4D is Orica’s latest bulk explosives system that enables the real-time tailoring of explosives energy to geology across a blast. The proprietary technology comprises specific blends of emulsion and ammonium nitrate porous prills to suit all hole conditions – dry, wet, or dewatered – and can be executed through both pumped and augered loading methods.
The 4D bulk explosives system is currently available to the surface mining segment with an increased ranged of energies that can deliver up to 23% more relative bulk strength for hard rock applications, and a 43% reduction in energy for soft rock or technical applications, such as wall control.
An outcome of this capability is an optimised blasting operation through Orica’s advanced fleet of 4D enabled Bulkmaster™ and Pumpmaster™ Mobile Manufacturing Units (MMU™s), without the need to change raw materials in the MMU. 4D delivers the required energy matched to the geology, by intelligently and dynamically varying product energy to suit ground conditions or blasting objectives, irrespective of hole conditions.
Versatility and flexibility to suit all hole conditions and rock profiles
In softer geology, lower energy can be applied to reduce over-blasting in soft, wet ground resulting in lower explosives consumption and reduced overall blasting cost. Improved vibration control and a reduction in post-blast fume are also expected outcomes through the better matching of energy to rock hardness in wet conditions. Further, by matching energy to geology, mines can achieve a more consistent muckpile with improved excavation productivity. For sites with long sleep times, the ability to auger-load low energy, water-resistant 4D explosives into dry holes provides insurance from adverse weather events.
Operators in the hard rock mining segment can expect improved fragmentation in ore blasting, excavator productivity and better mine to mill outcomes, with the potential of real-time increases in energy. The added energy can be used to expand patterns, while maintaining the same energy per bank cubic metre, thus reducing the amount of drilling, explosives, and initiating systems required per blast. Mines can also apply different energy to ore and waste in the same blast, and leverage 4D to satisfy technical applications, such as buffer blasting for wall control.
Environmentally, by enabling the loading of lower energy products in damp or wet holes in softer geology, 4D reduces the risk of blast fumes and nitrate leaching, resulting in greater environmental compliance. Greater vibration control can also be
Figure 1. 4D-enabled MMU, equipped with LOADPlus smart loading system and unique formulation, enables the real-time adjustment of 4D energy without the need to change product type or raw materials.
Figure 2. 4D enables matching of the required energy to rock strength in real time.
Figure 3. The advanced formulation of 4D emulsion blended with ammonium nitrate porous prills enables both pumped and augered loading methods for improved productivity of explosives delivery.
28 WORLD COAL ISSUE 4 2022
achieved especially when blasting near communities or sensitive infrastructures, as real-time energy tailoring enables mines to blast within their maximum instantaneous charge weight.
An integrated system embedded with cutting-edge technologies
The 4D system is the culmination of Orica’s advanced range of technologies, including Orica’s proprietary emulsion chemistry that enables rapid chemical sensitisation and significantly lower densities to be achieved and maintained. Central to the 4D innovation is an upgraded fleet of Orica’s Bulkmaster and Pumpmaster range of MMU, equipped with a new gassing chemical system and an upgraded smart process control system, called LOADPlus™, that ensures accurate and efficient loading of the required explosive blends and densities.
The 4D bulk system brings together many of Orica’s strengths. It is an integrated system that incorporates formulation expertise, blasting know-how, state-of-the-art digital tools (including process control), and a reliable MMU.
4D enabled MMUs are equipped with the latest digital technologies, such as the BlastIQ™ blast optimisation platform; which integrates as-loaded
blast data to improve product quality control and assurance. Additionally, with a suite of advanced applications that seamlessly interfaces with the BlastIQ, such as SHOTPlus™, blast designs can be wirelessly transferred to the MMU to streamline blast hole loadings according to blast designs, making manual input and errors a thing of the past.
Conclusion
When used holistically, technologies such as these can offer mines greater flexibility, control, accuracy and efficiency in blasting, with domains being identified and optimised across the bench, based on historical drill and blast records from measure-while-drilling data or prior benches.
Figure 4. The convergence of technologies powering the 4D Bulk system.
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Coal washing is considered by many as a last resort or at best a necessity. Due to the natural variations found in general mining conditions, unwanted material is removed as well as the desirable coal. These detritus materials are usually from the rocks forming the floor, as well as the roof of the seam or the rocks adjacent to it. Also, other material may have been erroneously included in the mining and mechanical handling of the material, as well as any inferior coal that may not be suitable for the desired purpose of the product.
In order to remove the wanted from the unwanted material, a physical difference between the two must be exploited. Usually, it is the variation in the physical density of the coal and discard that facilitates their separation, but for the very finest of coal it is normally the surface chemistry of coal particles that is used. By its very nature, coal washing must remove some of the ‘as mined’ material (even though it is not saleable) and throw it away. It adds capital and operational costs as well. However, the coal, once it has been washed, is far more saleable and the value after its enrichment should far exceed the cost of removing mine waste and the costs associated with the plant and its operation.
Derek Parnaby Cyclones International Ltd are a family-owned British company that has been selling coal washing and processing equipment since
the 1970’s. The company has recently been awarded two more contracts in South America for washing plants, and this article aims to share some of these details of these two projects.
Modular plants
Based on the company’s proven range of modular dense medium cyclone plants, the new installations will have 80 tph and 100 tph capacities. Firstly, Parnaby was approached by an existing client for a new plant and an inspection of their existing plant, in order to determine whether it required updating. The second plant was requested by a new client to Parnaby, but one which had previously heard of the company via employees that had worked on some of its previous installations in South America.
For high yielding soft South American coals, nearly all of the modular plants supplied by Parnaby are of a dense medium cyclone design, which takes the best of the old DSM principles and is updated with more modern technologies. Using a wide range of home and internationally sourced equipment to provide a cost-effective installation that is efficient, modular, mobile and easily containerised, in order to minimise shipping costs, Parnaby aims to provide a cost-efficient solution for their clients. The two plants are very similar in principle with different equipment sizes to suit the different feed materials.
Mick Naylor, Derek Parnaby Cyclones International Ltd, UK, considers the benefits of coal washing and outlines the key elements of two new washing plant installation projects.
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Basic design
The plants will consist of a conventional design with a nominally minus 50 mm raw coal feed. The minus 1 mm will be removed by wet screening on the de-sliming screen. The minus 50 plus 1 mm overflow from the screen is fed directly to the wing tank and mixed with the circulating medium. From here it will be pumped to the dense medium cyclone.
The selection, size, and parameters of the cyclone were adjusted to suit the two different applications. The cyclone will separate the coal from any discard that was included in the feed. With adjustments to the density of the medium, the quality, and, of course, the yield of the coal product is modified to maximise the coal recovery at the desired ash and sulfur contents. Coal and discard products report to their own medium recovery/dewatering screen, prior to centrifuging the coal product.
The minus 1 mm removed from the feed by wet screening on the de-sliming screen is pumped to a bank of classifying cyclones to remove the nominally minus 0.15 mm material. The minus 1 plus 0.15 mm is cleaned in a bank of spirals to again separate the fine coal from fine discard and each product is dewatered on a high ‘G’ dewatering screen. The fine coal is further dewatered in a fine coal centrifuge.
The minus 0.15 mm material is pumped to a bank of froth flotation cells to recover the very finest
coal particles. An oil-based collector collects the fine coal, and this then attaches to a bubble created by the action of the froth cells and the frothing reagent that is added. This obviously is lifted by the bubble, and in turn makes a froth layer at the top of the flotation cell, which is removed and dewatered. Fine discard remains in the slurry and passes to the thickener. All effluents are collected and treated in the thickener/clarifier cell, so that the regenerated clarified water is reused throughout the plant as sprays, top up water and screening water, whilst the suspended solids that were held in the effluents settle to the bottom of the thickener. They are then pumped to a holding tank and dewatered in a multi-roll filter press. By this method, under normal operating conditions a closed loop effluent system is maintained, and no effluents are released.
The majority of Parnaby’s modular plants have galvanised structures and are fitted with wear linings as appropriate.
Site layout and installation
Both sites offer similar difficult challenges. Due to their locations in the mountainous regions of Latin America, the sites will have to be tiered. Therefore, Parnaby have looked at using the natural fall of the hillside to assist in the processing of the coal. So, typically, the raw coal preparation will
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take place on the highest tiers, the washing plant will be located on the middle tier, and the product stockpiles, bunkers, etc. will be on the lowest level. This means that the product conveyors will not have to be excessively long or steep to achieve good working capacities in all the product storage facilities. To achieve a practical and maintainable layout, Parnaby worked closely with each client’s civil engineering experts and their operation and
maintenance personnel. Several plans and provisional layouts were submitted before the final layouts were accepted and approved. This has involved a weeklong series of meetings in South America, where the final options were discussed and agreed.
Due to the ever-increasing costs of shipping, where possible, the plant will be containerised with a minimum amount of equipment being transported as deck cargo. This has necessitated a small amount of redesigning for the larger items of equipment, in order to enable it to be quickly and easily broken down into smaller parts that can readily be reassembled on site, without the need for specialist tools and equipment. Fabrication and procurement are currently ongoing, and the client’s ground breaking for civils installation is expected to commence in 4Q22.
The plants are destined to be delivered later in 2022, and commissioning is envisaged to commence in 4Q22. The product will be utilised as prime coking coal and will be used in-house for their production of top quality coking coal. Both clients have chosen to use modern versions of ‘beehive coke ovens’, as both feel that it is best suited to the local coals and generates the best coke available. An expansion of the coke ovens on one of the sites has already commenced, so the new coal product is required as soon as possible. Again, the siting of the coke ovens is tiered to suit the existing ground conditions, but does present some logistical problems for the use and firing of the ovens.
Parnaby is looking forward to completing these plants and their commissioning. All of the major functions will be carried out in-house, with electrical engineering works being sourced out with the clients approval and to their standards. The plant controls will be programmable logic controller (PLC) based, with visual displays of levels and densities. All the plant equipment will have its start/stop sequences controlled and monitored, in order to ensure correct functioning. The switchgear will be housed in a ‘wardrobe’ style panel.
History
Parnaby have been familiar with delivering coal washing plants worldwide for many years. Larger 400 tph modular plants have been supplied over the years; to Spitsbergen and to two clients in the UK.
Slightly smaller plants have also been supplied into several artic locations. 17 plus plants and parts thereof have been shipped over a period of numerous years to the Republic of South Africa, with different capacities and combinations of large and small coal dense medium systems. Plants and parts have been supplied to all parts of America (north and south), as well as Canada. Asia has been a constant market for Parnaby with plants located in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. A 300 tph plant has recently closed in Poland after nearly 25 years of production, but this plant was of the natural medium system, utilising the fines in the feed to create a ‘natural’
Figure 2. Typical dense medium cyclone installation.
Figure 1. Typical Parnaby modular coal washing plant.
Figure 3. Typical electrical MCC board installation.
32 WORLD COAL ISSUE 4 2022
medium that assisted the separation in the barrel and cyclones.
The structural design for the majority of these plants has been with a firm eye on it being modular. This eases its relocation if required. No one knows how a mine will develop and whether production will continue as it was anticipated at the time of planning the washing plant project. A case in point being that the Spitsbergen plant was expected to have a long life with the new mine coming on stream. However, a change in Norwegian government policy meant that although the new mine was more or less developed and proven out, it was closed. If the location of the plant had been further south and the logistics of shipping the plant were easier, it could easily have been relocated elsewhere. However, due to the harbours being frozen for six months of the year, it was very cost prohibitive to dismantle and relocate the plant.
Conclusion
Ideally coal washing or coal preparation should be assessed and reviewed as to whether it will be required at an early date in a mine’s life, not as an ‘add on’/‘retrofit’ when all else fails. If the review finds that in the early years, it is unlikely that coal preparation will be required, then great. If it indicates that it will be essential to produce a saleable product it should be assessed and designed into the project from
Figure 4. 400 tph plant installed in Spitsbergen.
the beginning; thus minimising handling, storage, and, ultimately, costs. Even though it will be many, many years before the stigma of it being a ‘necessary evil’ is overcome, it can and often does transform an ‘as mined’ unsaleable product into a high value, desirable, and highly saleable product. Nonetheless, the design and operation benefits hugely from a small amount of initial planning and forethought.
For the near future coal, washing is here to stay, but it deserves to be put higher up the list of planning requirements, in order to minimise its costs and overall impact.
Derek Parnaby Cyclones International -
Derek Parnaby Cyclones Internationala company synonymous with coal washinghas a world-wide reputation for excellence.
The market-leading company has manufactured high quality plants for over three decades, and it continually develops its natural and dense medium washing and separation processes. Its experience and expertise attracts contracts from across the globe.
Applications include:
• Coal preparation
• Effluent treatment
• Modular and mobile plants
• Fines coal beneficiation via gravity spirals and hydrosizer
• Froth flotation
• Dense medium and natural medium washing process
• Plants of up to 5 million tonnes per annum Parnaby Cyclones up million per annum
• Plants of up to 5 million tonnes per annum
Derek Parnaby Cyclones International Ltd
Chilton Industrial Estate, Chilton, near Ferryhill, County Durham DL17 0SH
Derek Parnaby Cyclones International Ltd
Chilton Industrial Estate, Chilton, near Ferryhill, County Durham DL17 0SH
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)1388 720849 Fax: +44 (0)1388 721415
Telephone: +44 (0)1388 720849 Fax: +44 (0)1388 721415
email: enquiries@parnaby.co.uk www.parnaby.co.uk
email: enquiries@parnaby.co.uk www.parnaby.co.uk
Ali Iqtidar and Malik Ihtesham Haider, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, Pakistan, outlines the development of the Thar coal mine project and how it aims to help bridge Pakistan’s power gap.
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Pakistan currently generates approximately 37% of its electricity using oil, which is the most expensive source of power generation, while there is negligible reliance on coal reserves.
The Thar Desert, a natural boundary between India and Pakistan, is largely undeveloped, despite being home to the seventh largest lignite coal reserves in the world (175 billion t). The abundance of these reserves has the potential to produce 100 000 MW of electricity for the next 200 years, and yet the contribution of coal is very marginal in Pakistan’s energy mix.
The overall objective of developing the Thar coal mine at Block II is to generate electric power from local
coal resources, to decrease the country’s reliance on imported coal, and to contribute towards bridging the gap between electricity supply and demand.
The project
Thar Coal Mining project is being undertaken by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. (SECMC) – a joint venture agreement between the Government of Sindh, Engro Energy Ltd, and its partners. The total allocated area of 95.5 km2 has been leased to SECMC for 30 years, further extendable to another 30 years for the extraction of coal. The project is categorised as an ‘early harvest’ project by the
35
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to generate electricity utilising Thar’s untapped coal reserves.
In 2012 – 2013 RWE developed the bankable feasibility study for a mine size of 3.8 million tpy (Phase 1), which concluded that the project is technically, commercially, environmentally, and socially feasible. In 2016, SECMC engaged Xenith Consultants who developed a competent person statement, in accordance with JORC Code for the Lignite Resources in Block II, reporting that the total resources are 2.4 billion t.
Health, safety, and environment systems that are implemented at the Thar coal mine are benchmarked against Queensland best practices and is the first mine globally to achieve ISO-45001 certification. Thar coal mine is also certified on ISO-9001, ISO-14001, and ISO-17025. In addition, the mine is complying with all applicable national health and safety laws. Detailed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment studies have been conducted for both mining and power projects in Block II by international consultants; SRK-UK and Hagler Bailly. As per the latest environmental audit report, the mining project is fully compliant with NEQS
and SEQS standards, while the power project also fulfils International Finance Corporation guidelines on emissions, indicating that present CO2 emissions from Thar coal combustion are negligible.
Mine development
The 3.8 million tpy (Phase 1) mine commercial operations date (COD) was achieved in July 2019, and the coal is being sized through crushing stations, transferred to stacker/reclaimers, truck loading silos, and then supplied to mine mouth power plant (2 x 330 MW). Thar coal mine is on track to achieve its Phase 2 COD in September 2022, which will expand the mine to 7.6 million tpy, adding another 2 x 330 MW of power generation capacity. Phase 3 mining operations will commence in 2023, targeting the expansion of the mine to more than 12 million tpy.
The first two phases of the mine are being operated with a shovel and truck method with 7 m3 and 60 t capacity respectively, whereas Phase 3 mine will include 12 m3 shovels and 100 t trucks, which has delivered 11 million t of coal supply to the power plants so far. In the later phases of the mine, the combination of bucket wheel excavators with shovels and trucks technology will be adopted. The mine is equipped with a production monitoring system and conventional slope monitoring mechanism, however there are plans to install a LIDAR based slope monitoring system in 2023. SECMC team has adapted advanced globally used mining tools for the purpose of mine designing, scheduling, drone 3D image processing, slope stability assessments, as well as resource and groundwater modelling. The mine has also installed a 5 MW solar plant, producing clean energy and reducing emissions by replacing diesel used for mining site power generation.
Groundwater extraction and disposal
Thar block II generally consist of three underground aquifers. Since all the coal seams/sequence are interbedded between the coal seam roof and coal seam bottom aquifer, a robust dewatering network has been installed and made operational, which includes several submersible and centrifugal pumps. The overall dewatering volumes extracted since the start of dewatering operations (April 2017) to date are 164 million m3. A key element of water management is the use or disposal of the pumped water. The dewatering volumes from mine are
Figure 2. Coal production from the thickest coal seam.
Figure 1. Overburden removal and transportation to expit dump.
36 WORLD COAL ISSUE 4 2022
presently being utilised in the Thar million tree program (1.05 million trees planted to date) and bio-saline agriculture projects, located within mining periphery to offset the carbon footprints and cumulatively contribute for strengthening all three pillars of sustainability.
Nearly half of the disposed-off groundwater volume influx (from mine to Gorano pond) has now been directly diverted to mine mouth power plants after their recent commissioning. The remaining groundwater volumes are being used as part of mining operations – such as water sprinkling and dust suppression – anything remaining is disposed-off through a 26 km long pipeline to the Gorano pond (5.79 km2 area), located within Thar region. Because of the disposal of mine groundwater to Gorano pond, various fish species have been farmed in the pond leading to the significant development of biological diversity and foster attraction of avifauna and other varieties in the Thar desert area.
Conclusion
Tharparker is the home for indigenous fuel that has the power to make Pakistan self-reliant in the
energy sector. Exploring and exploiting local coal reserves is the cost-effective solution to reduce the energy deficit. Expanding the Thar Coal Mine at Block II to more than 12 million tpy will make coal the cheapest available fuel for power generation in Pakistan.
The Thar coal mine has the potential to benefit Pakistan avoid importing coal, reduce its energy import cost, save its foreign exchange reserves, and deliver the affordability essential for an industrial and economic revival.
Figure 3. Coal transportation for coal handling system.
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Tuz Caner and Jean-Luc Scmitter, Weber Mining & Tunnelling, explore the use of phenolic foams to prevent spontaneous combustion in the Soma region coal mines.
This article will review the potential safety issues of spontaneous combustion and roof collapse arising from unstable strata at the Soma coalfield in Türkiye, and how the application of phenolic foams for ventilation control and cavity filling improve safety and production.
Case study: Soma coalfield, Türkiye
Coal in the mines at the Soma coalfield is very sensitive to spontaneous combustion.
The mining method used is longwall top coal caving (LTCC) (Figure 1). The Soma Eynez coal seam is a large seam, bearing a thickness of up to 30 m, and is produced by running three longwalls at different elevations at the same time. Each longwall has a cutting height of 3 m. The first longwall runs near the roof, while the other two stay approximately 30 m behind. With this mining method, the longwall that moves at the bottom encounters the most issues, due to the 30 m of loose goaf material above.
Managing spontaneous combustion
The most critical issue to manage is spontaneous combustion. It is
important to stay on the move with the longwall and to seal the goaf as soon as possible, in order to prevent fire issues.
If the longwall stops long enough, the air present behind the shield line can ignite the coal.
At the intersection between the coal face and the gate road, the airflow from the bottom roadway has a tendency to head straight for the caved goaf. Therefore, it is important to control the airflow entering the goaf area and to direct it instead through the longwall face – this can be achieved by constructing an air barrier at the bottom end of the face line. In order to prevent this situation, an airtight barrier is constructed with foam on the maingate and tailgate of the coal panel (Figure 2). This system also reduces the risk of spontaneous combustion within the goaf area.
Roof collapse
Another common issue is the possibility of the roof collapsing. This occurs often when the longwall advancement slows down. In this situation, the coal face has time to destabilise and wash out, leaving an unsupported portion of roof which starts to collapse.
To continue production and to restore workplace safety,
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these cavities have to be filled as fast as possible. Reducing downtime is critical to prevent the situation from becoming worse (Figures 3 and 4).
It is important to treat cavities as soon as possible, stabilising smaller cavities before they become larger.
The speed of filling is also critical, as it should not slow down the longwall advancement.
Therefore, the cavity filling material for this situation should have the following properties:
A high expansion rate to:
� Maximise cavity fill capacity.
� Reduce pumping times.
� Reduce the transport time of filling material.
A fast-setting time in order to avoid the shuttering of the cavity.
Pumpable from a distance to save transport time and to improve safety.
The solution
Phenolic foam resin cavity fillers meet all of these requirements.
State-of-the-art phenolic foams expand up to 80 times, with immediate foaming and a setting time of minutes. Recent developments have also been made to improve the safety aspects of these chemistries. These modern foam formulations represent significant improvement for safety in use.
Compressive strength is also an important factor when it comes to filling big cavities. When compressive strength is required, there are alternative versions of phenolic foams with less expansion and higher compressive strength.
This foam is also used to control ventilation.
Sealing behind shields, especially on the corner between the air entry and the longwall, minimises the oxygen in the goaf significantly, thereby reducing the spontaneous combustion threat.
Having this foam on site enables rapid action to close or seal the intake air roadway in case of fire in the longwall.
Results
Weber Mining’s Mariflex LS1 is the phenolic foam used for ventilation control and cavity filling at IMBAT (Soma Region).
Using Mariflex LS1 helped the mine to reduce the incidence of production downtime, improving the productivity and, most importantly, the safety of the miners working in very harsh conditions.
Conclusion
At Soma, the use of phenolic foams with high expansion and fast setting times has provided rapid filling of cavities and ventilation control, improving safety and production.
Figure 1. Mining method at Imbat (SOMA Region). Source: JANGARA, H. and OZTURK, C. A., ‘Production alternatives’, Ground control conditions of the mechanized longwall mining at Alpu lignite deposit, Istanbul Technical University.
Figure 2. Use of foam to construct an airtight barrier.
Figure 3. Use of foam to restore safety to unstable roof.
Figure 4. Use of foam for cavity fill.
40 WORLD COAL ISSUE 4 2022
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Ahead of bauma 2022 in October, World Coal previews some of the companies that will be exhibiting at the Trade Fair Center Messe München.
ABB C2.413
A trusted partner to the mining industry globally, ABB will present its industry specific portfolio at bauma. Mining technology experts will take visitors on a journey across grinding, motors, drives, electrification, conveying, material handling, automotive wiring harness protection, and traction.
In line with the exhibition’s main themes, ABB continues to deliver seamlessly integrated electrification, automation and digital solutions, products, and services from mine to port.
ABB will showcase its digital portfolio, including ABB AbilityTM MineOptimize solutions and the ABB Ability eMineTM suite of electrification
and digital systems, designed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the mining sector.
eMine comprises ABB Ability eMine FastCharge, which is set to become the world’s fastest and only fully automated charging system for haul trucks, offering up to 600 kW of power. It also includes ABB Ability eMine Trolley System technology, which can reduce diesel consumption by up to 90%.
Also designed and manufactured by ABB, Harnessflex® Specialist Conduit Systems include flexible conduit systems and connector interfaces, protecting critical electrical and electronic wiring assemblies on automotive machinery from mechanical abrasion, liquid ingress, dust, and salts.
BEUMER Group
B2.413
The BEUMER Group will showcase its expertise in economical transport solutions for the mining industry. Among other things, the system provider will provide information on the conveying, loading, palletising, and packaging of building materials and cement.
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With the BEUMER Group’s overland conveyors and pipe conveyor, users can transport different bulk materials even over long distances and over rough terrain, enabling large gradient angles and tight curve radii.
A highlight in Munich is the joint trade show appearance with the FAM Group. With the acquisition, the BEUMER Group has strengthened its market position in the minerals and mining sectors. FAM plans, designs, and manufactures turnkey plants and systems for the extraction, conveying, loading, storage, and processing of various raw materials. The business areas of the two companies complement each other ideally. In addition to planning and engineering, FAM brings the complete value chain, including after-sales service, to the BEUMER Group.
Boart Longyear C2.414
Established in 1890, Boart Longyear is in its 132nd year as one of the world’s leading providers of drilling services, orebody-data-collection technology, and innovative, safe, and productivity-driven drilling equipment. With its main focus in mining and exploration activities, spanning a wide range of commodities (including: copper, gold, nickel, zinc, uranium, and other metals and minerals), the company also holds a substantial presence in the energy, oil sands exploration, and environmental sectors.
The Global Products division offers sophisticated research and development and holds hundreds of patented designs to manufacture, market, and service reliable drill rigs, innovative drill string products, rugged performance tooling, durable drilling consumables, and quality parts for customers worldwide.
The Geological Data Services division utilises innovative scanning technology and down-hole
instrumentation tools to capture detailed geological data from drilled core and chip samples. This valuable orebody knowledge gives mining companies the ability to make timely decisions for more efficient exploration activities.
The Global Drilling Services division operates for a diverse mining customer base with drilling methods, including: diamond coring exploration, reverse circulation, large diameter rotary, mine dewatering, water supply drilling, pump services, production, and sonic drilling services.
Brokk
A1.451 & FM.711/4
Brokk is a world-leading manufacturer of remote-controlled demolition robots. Since 1976, the company has produced small but powerful robots, developed for demolition solutions for the construction, cement, mining, metal processing, tunnelling, and nuclear industries.
At Brokk, demolition robots is what the company does. It dedicates 100% of its time, resources, and passion to remote-controlled demolition robots, and nothing else. That is why Brokk has the widest range of demolition robots, with unique characteristics and countless options. From the Brokk 70, small enough to fit through narrow doorways, to the Brokk 900 with a weight of 11.4 t and a 9 m reach. The range consists of demolition robots in different sizes with one thing in common: compact power.
At Brokk, the company continue’s to innovate and push the development of new technology forward. Pushing the limits of what is possible with remote-controlled demolition robots and finding new applications, all while staying true to the same commitments made in 1976 – safe, efficient, and profitable demolition.
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Derrick Corporation
B2.137
For over 70 years, Derrick® Corporation has been leading the industry in the design and manufacture of high frequency vibrating machines and screen surfaces. With a pioneering spirit driving innovative solutions, Derrick is continuously at the forefront, advancing the field of fine particle separation technology. Known globally for its high-capacity and superior separation efficiency, Derrick products are used successfully around the world. Its advanced technology allows processors to screen a wide variety of wet or dry fine materials in the range of 10 mm to 38 μm.
Derrick has success stories in nearly every mining application that requires fine screening. Its proven fine particle separation technology has been beneficial in coal, copper ore, gold, industrial minerals, fertilizers, iron ore, plastics, silica sand, potash, and many other fine screening applications – creating more efficient processes, saving energy, and increasing profits for the processors. In addition, structural requirements for Derrick screens are considerably less than other types of vibrating screens, since Derrick screens transmit virtually no dynamic load to the support structure.
Derrick has also offered premium slurry separation and desanding equipment to the worldwide microtunnelling, large diameter tunnelling, slurry wall/foundation drilling, horizontal directional drilling, hydrovac mud processing, water well drilling, dredging, and other civil construction industries for over 30 years.
DSI Underground C2.143
DSI Underground is a leading supplier of ground support products, systems, and solutions for underground mining and tunnelling. The company is present in 70 countries and employs over 2500 people, including engineers and technical specialists with in-depth experience in the underground industry.
With market-leading brands covering everything from bolting systems to injection chemicals and resin capsules, it reinforces mines, tunnels and underground structures, helping customers advance underground and towards their objectives – faster and more efficiently.
At bauma 2022, DSI will showcase its latest ground control solutions for underground structures. Experience its virtual reality-based training with the AT – Pipe Umbrella Simulator, powered by Edvirt, allowing operators to get familiar with the AT – Pipe Umbrella System. Learn more about the range of dynamic anchors, including POSIMIX Anchors, OneStep Bolts, and the Mechanical Dynamic Rock Bolts for hard-rock mines, developed by Sandvik in Australia. The MD Bolts set a new standard for seismic ground support, and the MDX Bolts offer a unique design for effective anchorage. DSI will also display its chemical injection simulator and the complete product range of injection chemicals for mining and tunnelling, with two-component foam or organic mineral adhesive.
Dunlop Conveyor Belting (Fenner Dunlop Group)
B2.238
Netherlands-based Dunlop Conveyor Belting will be a particularly strong presence at this year’s bauma exhibition. Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and, more recently, the troubles in Ukraine, the company continues to exceed even its own ambitious expectations. The company is especially looking forward to bauma this year because of the portfolio of well-proven, top performing products, as well as some genuinely new innovations.
The Ultra X range of single-ply belts beat conventional multi-ply belts by being particularly rip and tear resistant, yet really cost competitive at the same time.
Although the company is planning to unleash new additions to their X range, Dunlop’s overall market strategy will definitely not be changing. Ever since the company was first born over 100 years ago, the foundation of the business has always been quality and producing belts that are as close to ‘fit and forget’ as possible, and which carry on running many times longer.
FLSmidth
B2.203
FLSmidth will again, proudly, be one of the more active participants at bauma, with a top-level delegation of product and industry experts. FLSmidth’s delegation will be covering everything from pit to plant; including state-of-the-art equipment, digital solutions, and sustainability-enhancing mining technology and services.
Present at the booth will be a Raptor® Cone Crusher (designed for the aggregates industry), the LoadIQ smart solution that ensures easy-to-implement mill optimisation, and KREBS® pumps. The company will also feature the REFLUXTM Flotation Cell (RFCTM) technology that is pushing the boundaries on concentrate grade, recovery, and throughput well beyond the performance of conventional open tank systems. Meanwhile, the ever-popular MissionZero Mine interactive 3D model will allow visitors to the booth to interact with the sustainable mining flowsheets of the future.
As part of FLSmidth’s participation, Josh Meyer, Global Service Business Line President, will give an official event presentation examining the productivity and sustainability challenges facing the mining and aggregates industries and how auditing, digital solutions, upgrades, and expert service can provide fast, easy-to-implement gains. Meyer will look at how operators can meet their sustainability targets by optimising existing sites and aggregates plants.
Maschinenfrabrik Köppern GmbH & Co. KG
C2.238
The Köppern Group is a modern, high-tech German group of companies at the forefront of plant and machinery manufacturing for various processes
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related to the fertilizer, cement, minerals, and metalworking industries.
Köppern high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) have proven successful throughout the world, in plants specialising in the cost-saving high pressure comminution of cement clinker as well as other highly abrasive feed materials, including slag and various ores (such as: iron, copper, gold, diamond, molybdenum, and lithium ore), with pilot HPGR testing capabilities in Australia, Canada, and Germany.
The Köppern Hexadur® and Hybridur® tyres feature an extremely wear-resistant surface that provides enhanced roller protection and ensure substantially extended, uninterrupted service life when grinding highly abrasive feed materials.
Köppern – quality made in Germany:
State-of-the-art HPGRs and wear protection.
Process technology know-how.
High plant availability.
Low maintenance cost.
Magotteaux
B2.338
Part of Sigdo Koppers, listed in Santiago, Chile, Magotteaux is a world leader in process optimisation solutions for abrasive and impact applications in the mining, cement, aggregates, quarrying, power stations, and recycling industries.
Magotteaux employs over 3000 individuals and has a market footprint of above 1 million t of grinding media and castings through its 22 specialised production units, sales offices, and technical centres worldwide. Its team of 200+ technical and sales experts are located close to customers’ operations, in order to help them with much more than just grinding optimisation and milling efficiency. Working continuously to reduce their environmental impact, Magotteaux provides innovative solutions to help all of its customers to do the same.
The company notably produces the Mag’Impact, a vertical shaft impact crusher that can also help meet the market demand for high quality crushed sand, and all of its associated wear parts, as well as horizontal shaft impact crushers wear parts, such as crusher blow bars.
Meet Magotteaux’s experts to discover the company’s unique expertise in crushing processes.
Mincon
C2.415
Ireland’s Mincon Group will be at bauma 2022 with its latest hard rock drilling systems for the construction and mining industries.
The Group will also use the show to launch its next-generation MP-series DTH hammers, which promise to deliver uncompromised performance and real-world fuel savings to help businesses lower costs and reduce carbon emissions.
