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Post by John on Mar 19, 2012 7:36:33 GMT -5
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Post by John on Mar 19, 2012 7:40:28 GMT -5
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Post by John on Jul 13, 2015 7:53:59 GMT -5
I don't seem to be able to find up to date records, but some impressive figures over the years, 8 million tons a year seems to be a norm for faces these days, and over 500 yard long faces, jeeze I'd hate to crawl through those faces a few times in a shift, thankfully average face heights are 84 inches.
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Post by dazbt on Jul 13, 2015 15:26:15 GMT -5
I don't seem to be able to find up to date records, but some impressive figures over the years, 8 million tons a year seems to be a norm for faces these days, and over 500 yard long faces, jeeze I'd hate to crawl through those faces a few times in a shift, thankfully average face heights are 84 inches. That statement of “8 million ton a year faces being the norm” needs a little bit of better definition J, I presume that your ‘guesstimate’ is based on a minority of recent Longwalls, in my humble opinion, the vast majority of the World’s working Longwalls would be lucky if they achieved a twentieth of that production. In terms of the number of working “faces” (Longwalls) in the world I reckon the majority would be in countries that you haven’t considered, India, China, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and others, where the suggestion that single face annual tonnage production being anywhere the millions of tonnes would be ludicrous, what is your definition of ‘a norm’ ? |
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Post by John on Jul 13, 2015 17:35:25 GMT -5
I don't seem to be able to find up to date records, but some impressive figures over the years, 8 million tons a year seems to be a norm for faces these days, and over 500 yard long faces, jeeze I'd hate to crawl through those faces a few times in a shift, thankfully average face heights are 84 inches. That statement of “8 million ton a year faces being the norm” needs a little bit of better definition J, I presume that your ‘guesstimate’ is based on a minority of recent Longwalls, in my humble opinion, the vast majority of the World’s working Longwalls would be lucky if they achieved a twentieth of that production. In terms of the number of working “faces” (Longwalls) in the world I reckon the majority would be in countries that you haven’t considered, India, China, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and others, where the suggestion that single face annual tonnage production being anywhere the millions of tonnes would be ludicrous, what is your definition of ‘a norm’ ?
I did spot a Polish longwall that uses a Cat Plough that is a record producer and is fully automated, nobody on the face. India yes, I'll cede to that country, I doubt they would have too many high production faces.
My mind was wondering, and I should have stated US, Australian and many Chinese faces.
The figures I was looking at had a table, though over five years old, it was astonishing how many companies had longwalls in the 8 M tonnes per year category.
With the market as it is at present, I'd hazard a guess those companies will be holding production high to reduce costs.At least these days, I can blame it on age....LOL |
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Post by johnh on Jul 20, 2015 5:33:48 GMT -5
Narrabri Nth coal mine in NSW cut just over 308,000t in 7 days from the CAT Longwall 3 weeks ago, and a total run of mine over 325,000 t for the same week. for the financial year July to June they produced just over 7.7million tonnes, and are currently about 2 weeks from completing Longwall panel 4 which was a 5 million tonne block, LW 5 is another 5 million tonne block and due to start early September. The mine is aiming to eventually produce +10million tonnes per annum by the time they reach LW 7 which will be 400m wide cutting a seam height of between 4.3 to 4.4m.
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Post by John on Feb 15, 2016 8:50:20 GMT -5
I picked this up from International Mining News, an article they posted last year, these figures are just unbelievable, huge outputs and records set.
Grasstree goes world-class with 10Mtpa record
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Lou Caruana
ANGLO American’s Grasstree mine has smashed Australian underground coal production records by achieving 10 million tonnes of run of mine (ROM) coal in 2015.
At the longwall face at Anglo Coal's Grasstree mine.
The company believes this to be the largest production milestone in Australia's history.
It says it has been achieved through "dedication, commitment to safety and setting in place effective systems to consistently meet 100 operating hours per week of the longwall mine".
Ensuring equipment reliability has also been critical to the consistent production milestones of up to 250 kilotonne a week.
This enabled the longwall team to do their jobs effectively and with faith that systems were in place to ensure the equipment was 100% reliable, according to Anglo American head of underground operations Glen Britton.
He said the achievement is a testament to the commitment and calibre of the team at Grasstree.
“This is a world-class operating team and results like this start with the vision and belief that we can achieve something no one else has done before,” he said.
“From there, we were able to set out a plan for key improvements at Grasstree, starting with improved operational discipline, which demanded clear communication and planning.
“It has been a consistent effort, every shift, every day over the past 12 months with teamwork and safety at the core”.
Earlier this year, Grasstree produced 1,200,537 ROM tonnes in one month, beating the previous monthly record set by Oaky Creek North in 2009 by 8000t.
In spite of the current difficult market conditions and the pressures which come with this environment, Grasstree mine has put their best foot forward to deliver this achievement and a new bench-mark for Australian underground coal operations, according to Britton.
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Post by Wheldale on Feb 15, 2016 10:08:34 GMT -5
I wonder how many people they employ and what the cost per tonne is? Theres not much on the web about this pit, all I can find is it started in 2006 and was planned to mine 4.5mt per annum of coking coal. Hell of an output!! I wonder how big the belts are to shift all that coal?!
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Post by John on Feb 15, 2016 10:36:37 GMT -5
I wonder how many people they employ and what the cost per tonne is? Theres not much on the web about this pit, all I can find is it started in 2006 and was planned to mine 4.5mt per annum of coking coal. Hell of an output!! I wonder how big the belts are to shift all that coal?!
In my time we had a fitter, electrician, Deputy, then one man at the gate end, two shearer drivers, one man pushing over, one man advancing the roof supports and one spare man who "cleaned up". No outbye men, all belts automatic, if we had a belt problem, the longwall electrician took the personnel carrier and corrected that problem. One development, comprising of electrician, fitter, Deputy, one CM driver, two shuttlecar drivers, two roof bolters and one spare man.Three productions shifts, 7 hours over lapping, Days, Afters Swing shifts, one maintenance shift, nights commonly referred to as "Dogwatch" Monday through Friday.
Surface, several fitters in the fitting shop, plus welders, several elecs in the elec shop. Lamproom duties were carried out by afternoon, swing and nightshift elec, who also covered all surface operations.
Most production shifts had an Elec and Mech engineer, or in absence a Leading Hand elec for elec staff...Law required elecs and fitters be supervised, I was Leading Hand elec on nights for a while, and I suspect as I was still authorised as a Leading Hand, in charge of swing shift when we didn't have an elec eng.
Supplies were brought in on day shift by a supplies crew.
We hade a Manager, development manager and a longwall Manager, ALL class 1 ticket holders, three shift Under Managers, and one UM in charge on Days, all held Class2 tickets, plus four Deputy's, all holding Class 3 tickets on each shift.
One Elec and one Mech in charge, holding the relative tickets.
We also had a couple of surveyors, plus office staff. |
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Post by Wheldale on Feb 15, 2016 13:25:22 GMT -5
I wonder how many people they employ and what the cost per tonne is? Theres not much on the web about this pit, all I can find is it started in 2006 and was planned to mine 4.5mt per annum of coking coal. Hell of an output!! I wonder how big the belts are to shift all that coal?!
In my time we had a fitter, electrician, Deputy, then one man at the gate end, two shearer drivers, one man pushing over, one man advancing the roof supports and one spare man who "cleaned up". No outbye men, all belts automatic, if we had a belt problem, the longwall electrician took the personnel carrier and corrected that problem. One development, comprising of electrician, fitter, Deputy, one CM driver, two shuttlecar drivers, two roof bolters and one spare man.Three productions shifts, 7 hours over lapping, Days, Afters Swing shifts, one maintenance shift, nights commonly referred to as "Dogwatch" Monday through Friday.
Surface, several fitters in the fitting shop, plus welders, several elecs in the elec shop. Lamproom duties were carried out by afternoon, swing and nightshift elec, who also covered all surface operations.
Most production shifts had an Elec and Mech engineer, or in absence a Leading Hand elec for elec staff...Law required elecs and fitters be supervised, I was Leading Hand elec on nights for a while, and I suspect as I was still authorised as a Leading Hand, in charge of swing shift when we didn't have an elec eng.
Supplies were brought in on day shift by a supplies crew.
We hade a Manager, development manager and a longwall Manager, ALL class 1 ticket holders, three shift Under Managers, and one UM in charge on Days, all held Class2 tickets, plus four Deputy's, all holding Class 3 tickets on each shift.
One Elec and one Mech in charge, holding the relative tickets.
We also had a couple of surveyors, plus office staff.It's amazing how the number of miners differ from the Australian and the old UK mines. Are the Australian unions more laid back that the likes of the NUM with regards to one person doing the jobs of two people? |
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Post by John on Feb 15, 2016 13:59:38 GMT -5
Australian pits don't usually employ many men, my last pit, Angus Place had less than 350 employees, and that included the office staff. Since then things have changed, both the electrician and fitter on a face are now considered part of the team, they get extra pay for doing two jobs, but that reduced the manning of faces by two men.
In my time we had a fitter, electrician, Deputy, then one man at the gate end, two shearer drivers, one man pushing over, one man advancing the roof supports and one spare man who "cleaned up". No outbye men, all belts automatic, if we had a belt problem, the longwall electrician took the personnel carrier and corrected that problem. One development, comprising of electrician, fitter, Deputy, one CM driver, two shuttlecar drivers, two roof bolters and one spare man.Three productions shifts, 7 hours over lapping, Days, Afters Swing shifts, one maintenance shift, nights commonly referred to as "Dogwatch" Monday through Friday.
Surface, several fitters in the fitting shop, plus welders, several elecs in the elec shop. Lamproom duties were carried out by afternoon, swing and nightshift elec, who also covered all surface operations.
Most production shifts had an Elec and Mech engineer, or in absence a Leading Hand elec for elec staff...Law required elecs and fitters be supervised, I was Leading Hand elec on nights for a while, and I suspect as I was still authorised as a Leading Hand, in charge of swing shift when we didn't have an elec eng.
Supplies were brought in on day shift by a supplies crew.
We hade a Manager, development manager and a longwall Manager, ALL class 1 ticket holders, three shift Under Managers, and one UM in charge on Days, all held Class2 tickets, plus four Deputy's, all holding Class 3 tickets on each shift.
One Elec and one Mech in charge, holding the relative tickets.
We also had a couple of surveyors, plus office staff. It's amazing how the number of miners differ from the Australian and the old UK mines. Are the Australian unions more laid back that the likes of the NUM with regards to one person doing the jobs of two people?
But from what I'm reading, times started to get hard after the power industry and railways were sold off to private enterprise.
Mineworkers, like most workers were under what was called "Awards". Pay was fixed by law together with holidays and sick leave, so, if you were a miner, you got the same pay and conditions at every coal company you worked for, exception was production bonus, plus an employer could, if they wished, pay more or offer extra conditions.
But since 89, companies have renegotiated manning levels, from what I understand, mineworkers earn upwards of $A95,000 a year now, plus bonus.
Manning levels were negotiated between employers and district union offices, I recall Angus Place management negotiated the new double entry development manning levels just before I left. Originally it was six men in a team, which really was too many, not counting the elec and fitter, Deputy's had legal strings so couldn't be included, their district size was governed by the CMRA and the Chief Inspector of Mines.
But as both headings were close to each other, they only needed one elec and one fitter to cover both developments, whereas when I was there, they had to have one of each in each district. The only problem with having one elec and a fitter to cover two districts was if both machine had an elec or mech problem at the same time..Both districts are standing then for a longer than normal time.
I've seen similar happen at Boulby in North Yorks, we were just short staffed there, but I was forbidden to leave my district by the Mine Manager on safety grounds. Shafts, fans and main pumps were priority. One shift, my mate in one of the Heliminer districts had several breakdowns at once, the shift mining supervisor did eventually relent and allowed me to go down and assist, but on conditions, someone must sit by a phone and I to make my way outbye if ordered...
I was looking at Angus Place's setup a few years back, surprised me on how they were manning districts up, how can an elec or fitter carry out their inspections if they are part of a mining team?? I used to carry out external inspections during the first couple of hours of my shift, then to keep production through mealtimes, the team used to split into two, I'd join one half, fitter the other half, so we'd keep bonus levels high. Of course I couldn't do that all the time, as often I'd be left maintenance work now and then.
Now remember, NSW CMRA was pretty similar to the UK M&Q Act, so I wasn't authorized to cut coal or partake in coal production, but I became a pretty good shearer driver....I was only authorized to operate machinery for test purposes only, Oh well, took me several hours to do a thorough test...LOL |
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Post by Wheldale on Feb 16, 2016 15:30:09 GMT -5
It's amazing how the number of miners differ from the Australian and the old UK mines. Are the Australian unions more laid back that the likes of the NUM with regards to one person doing the jobs of two people?
But from what I'm reading, times started to get hard after the power industry and railways were sold off to private enterprise.
Mineworkers, like most workers were under what was called "Awards". Pay was fixed by law together with holidays and sick leave, so, if you were a miner, you got the same pay and conditions at every coal company you worked for, exception was production bonus, plus an employer could, if they wished, pay more or offer extra conditions.
But since 89, companies have renegotiated manning levels, from what I understand, mineworkers earn upwards of $A95,000 a year now, plus bonus.
Manning levels were negotiated between employers and district union offices, I recall Angus Place management negotiated the new double entry development manning levels just before I left. Originally it was six men in a team, which really was too many, not counting the elec and fitter, Deputy's had legal strings so couldn't be included, their district size was governed by the CMRA and the Chief Inspector of Mines.
But as both headings were close to each other, they only needed one elec and one fitter to cover both developments, whereas when I was there, they had to have one of each in each district. The only problem with having one elec and a fitter to cover two districts was if both machine had an elec or mech problem at the same time..Both districts are standing then for a longer than normal time.
I've seen similar happen at Boulby in North Yorks, we were just short staffed there, but I was forbidden to leave my district by the Mine Manager on safety grounds. Shafts, fans and main pumps were priority. One shift, my mate in one of the Heliminer districts had several breakdowns at once, the shift mining supervisor did eventually relent and allowed me to go down and assist, but on conditions, someone must sit by a phone and I to make my way outbye if ordered...
I was looking at Angus Place's setup a few years back, surprised me on how they were manning districts up, how can an elec or fitter carry out their inspections if they are part of a mining team?? I used to carry out external inspections during the first couple of hours of my shift, then to keep production through mealtimes, the team used to split into two, I'd join one half, fitter the other half, so we'd keep bonus levels high. Of course I couldn't do that all the time, as often I'd be left maintenance work now and then.
Now remember, NSW CMRA was pretty similar to the UK M&Q Act, so I wasn't authorized to cut coal or partake in coal production, but I became a pretty good shearer driver....I was only authorized to operate machinery for test purposes only, Oh well, took me several hours to do a thorough test...LOLInteresting article here about long wall faces in the USA. Some interesting figures. coalage.com/features/5010-u-s-longwall-operators-scale-back-production.html#.Vr5MWhElTNU |
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Post by russhamer on Oct 15, 2021 15:42:58 GMT -5
I hear ya! I have done my share of dinting - and floor bolting! At Snibston they would drill holes into the floor at 45 degrees, then grout in 6ft wooden dowels to try to prevent floor heave ahead of a retreating face - didn't work very well! Never seen floor bolting, but at Cotgrave, the main roads were full 20 foot rings! And even those on the north side grew out the floor to touch the roof! |
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