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Post by John on Aug 10, 2015 7:45:58 GMT -5
Springvale was what was known as Kerosene Vale when I worked at Angus Place, the workforce started Angus Place and the old pit closed. Later to be reopened as a longwall complex to feed the new power station called Mt Piper. Springvale. |
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Post by tygwyn on Aug 10, 2015 8:17:01 GMT -5
I hope Taff in Oz and other`s read this,maybe then he would understand my comment to him,``Earn the big buck`s while you can``his reply was ``Why``,rather obvious i would have thought.
Maybe the mine he work`s at is secure,but thousand`s of other Miner`s in the last few year`s have lost their chance`s of big wages.
It does`nt look good on the horizon.
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Post by John on Aug 10, 2015 8:29:39 GMT -5
I hope Taff in Oz and other`s read this,maybe then he would understand my comment to him,``Earn the big buck`s while you can``his reply was ``Why``,rather obvious i would have thought. Maybe the mine he work`s at is secure,but thousand`s of other Miner`s in the last few year`s have lost their chance`s of big wages. It does`nt look good on the horizon.
Problem with Springvale is it wants to take coal under environmentally sensitive land. |
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clem
Trainee
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Post by clem on Aug 11, 2015 1:43:22 GMT -5
Things are not good here in NSW thousands of people un employed and a few mines closed most U/G, However a lot of the multinational company's are using the down turn to get big new approvals through on the pretext that they will secure jobs .The reality of it is they are driving down conditions and wages and replacing permanent jobs with contractors on a lot less money. The port of Newcastle is still shipping record levels of coal and big new opencuts are starting as we speek Maules Creek is planning +20Mt a year and ramping up to it. Its just a shame that people are scared and cant see what is going on. |
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Post by John on Aug 11, 2015 6:17:44 GMT -5
Things are not good here in NSW thousands of people un employed and a few mines closed most U/G, However a lot of the multinational company's are using the down turn to get big new approvals through on the pretext that they will secure jobs .The reality of it is they are driving down conditions and wages and replacing permanent jobs with contractors on a lot less money. The port of Newcastle is still shipping record levels of coal and big new opencuts are starting as we speek Maules Creek is planning +20Mt a year and ramping up to it. Its just a shame that people are scared and cant see what is going on.
If the mine owner had any integrity, they would bring Angus Place back on line until negotiations to operate at Springvale were completed.
When I first started in the NSW coal fields, late 1979, I forget how many collieries that were operating in the Wollongong area, but must have been over 24, Hunter Valley had many too, as did the Western Coalfield. Queensland didn't have as many pits as NSW back then as it was being developed. Blackwater I believe was the biggest coal producer back then. Most of the Queensland operations were in the middle of nowhere, so had a job attracting mine workers.
First longwall operations were in a south coast colliery, I think it was Bellambi, just north of Wollongong in the early 1970's. AB16/200 shearer with modified Gullick 5 leg chocks, didn't last long under the Illawarra sandstone!! That was the last longwall until Angus Place placed their order for a heavy duty face to their own specs. Can't be done said both of the big UK chock builders. So the NSW government put out world wide tenders...Wasn't long before Gullick came back with their design...LOL Photo's of those shields can be found on this site. |
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Post by John on Aug 11, 2015 6:58:03 GMT -5
The mate who passed the story on to me, has said the Lithgow Mercury has the story wrong, about Springvale, he's looking into it and will pass on to me an update on the Springvale story.
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Post by bolter on Sept 25, 2015 19:57:46 GMT -5
Hello John.
When I got to a position where I could have an influence, I couldn't believe the inadequacy of face support capacities.
At a time when self-elected Bretby 'centre of excellence' considered a 240T support to be heavy duty, I was regularly seeing face breakdowns, cavities over and in front, and general 'out of control' roofs.
I researched the whys and wherefores, and constantly found each and every 'technical paper' constantly referring back to the same referenced papers from the past. As I looked further and further back, it appeared that the person who originally derived the equivalent specific density for coal measure incumbent strata, on which the NCB/BC support requirements were based, had weighed the ex-mine tubs, BUT, forgotten to account for the water content.
The 'Notes for Guidance' were therefore way out of kilter. Every subsequent technical paper had been misguided, to say the least.
As an academic 'Mining Engineer' all one had to do was to quote this 'eminent engineer' and your work would be accepted.
After a lot of hard work, I managed to garner support from several senior figures, and the acceptance of these seemingly 'etched in stone' standards began to be questioned.
Very quickly we saw supports like 2 leg 900T [for Coventry] as used elsewhere in the world, and our problems of adequate roof support faded.
My previously held faith in 'politically/self-elected' authorities dissipated from then on.
vbr Chris A. |
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rob52
Shotfirer.
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Post by rob52 on Nov 1, 2015 5:47:59 GMT -5
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Post by John on Nov 1, 2015 7:29:43 GMT -5
That's a bit of good news Rob, when I worked at Angus Place, just about half a mile further up the road from the old Kerosene Vale mine, now called Springvale mine, there were quite a few collieries around Lithgow, nearly all of them closed now.
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rob52
Shotfirer.
Posts: 199
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Post by rob52 on Nov 2, 2015 8:26:33 GMT -5
yeah,....they might get to use the "New Booster Fans" now per preso given Nov 25, 2014, inspectorate had some Qus though... Angus Place Booster FansRob |
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