ACARP Australian Roadway Development Improvement Project ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT OPERATORS’ WORKSHOPS March 2009

ACARP

Australian Roadway Development

Improvement Project

ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT OPERATORS’ WORKSHOPS

March 2009

Australian Coal Association Research ProgramAustralian Coal Association Research Program

ACARP Project C17010 2

SAFETY ASPECTS OF VENUE

As advised by venue


OBJECTIVE AND FORMAT

Provide a forum for roadway development operators to:

Learn of emerging best practice and roadway development initiatives

Learn of developments in equipment and technology

Network with peers, and share their experience and learnings (and not just their successes)

Identify areas for targeted research


FORMAT

Series of presentations not only outlining advances in roadway development research, technology and practice, but also challenging the way that we currently think about roadway development

Researchers giving us an update on roadway development related R&D

Operators detailing current and emerging operational practices and technologies

International OEM challenging our current roadway development practices

Presentations typically comprise a 20-30 minute presentation with a 10-15 minute open forum for discussion and sharing of experiences and learnings

Conclude with a review to capture key findings, identify opportunities to improve the workshop process, and to identify presentations for future workshops

Workshop report with copies of presentations to be provided to all participants


PREREQUISITES FOR ATTENDANCE

A passion for roadway development, and

A willingness to participate in discussions and share experiences

$150 ......

ACARP

Australian Roadway Development Improvement Project

CM2010 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

March 2009

Jim Sandford, Xstrata CoalBob Miller, Centennial Coal

Guy Mitchell, BMA Coal



ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE

• Significant improvements in longwall production and productivity are continuing to be made, with production doubling every 10 years or thereabouts

• Improvements in roadway development are generally failing to keep abreast of longwall improvements

• Higher capacity, new generation mines are being planned – 15 Mtpa

• Older mines are struggling to survive and it is becoming more difficult to find solutions and successfully apply them

• Unlikely that continuing increases in longwall production will be sustainable if current roadway development practices and trends remain unchanged

• Longwall sustainability!


ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT TASK GROUP

Previous attempts at ‘one off ‘ Company initiatives largely failed:

poor problem scope, planning and organisation

lack of mine involvement and commitment

loss of project champions

poor execution and patience

lack of critical mass to gain OEM support

ACARP considered it an industry wide problem requiring an industry wide approach to fund and resource the necessary improvements

RDTG formed in 2005 to develop and direct a roadmap for targeted R&D to improve roadway development

Member companies now include Anglo, Austar, BHPB, BMA, Centennial, Peabody, Rio Tinto, Vale, and Xstrata.


KEY ELEMENTS - CM2010 R&D STRATEGY The RDTG developed a Roadway Development R&D strategy based on input from

participants at the March 2007 round of Workshops:

Key enabling technologies underpinned by organisational and technical competencies

Project management of R&D and engagement of the corporate sector is essential to bring the CM2010 R&D strategy to fruition

Remotely Supervised Continuous

Miner

Automated Installation of Roof and Rib Support

Continuous Haulage

IntegratedPanel

Services

Improved Engineering Availability

Planning, Organisation and Process Control

People Behaviours and Skills

Project Management

of R&D Projects

High Capacity Roadway

DevelopmentSystem

Engagement of Corporate

Sector, OEMs, and

Mines

Key enabling technologies

Organisational and technical competencies


CM2010 R&D STRATEGY

The RDTG continued to refine the CM2010 R&D strategy to embrace a new generation high capacity roadway development system:

Vision

An integrated, remotely supervised high capacity roadway development mining system that enables 15 Mtpa longwall mines to be established and sustained with a single mining unit

The system will also enable mining to be safely undertaken under adverse or extreme mining conditions, or reserves previously considered unmineable

Measures

A sustained performance rate of 10 metres per operating hour (MPOH) for 20 hours per day, based on installing primary support of 6 roof and 2 rib bolts per metre advance together with roof and rib confinement measures (mesh)

Improved health and safety through reduced exposure to hazards in the immediate face area


KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES – CM2010

“Self-steering” technologies and systems to enable mining equipment to maintain both azimuth, horizon and grade control within a variable seam horizon, and the total automation of the cutting and loading cycle (including mining breakaways).

Automated installation of conventional resin anchored bolts and self drilling bolts, and the feeding of bolts and mesh to the installation hardware without direct operator involvement.

Alternative skin reinforcement and confinement technologies and systems that eliminates the installation of roof and rib mesh and provides an enhanced roof and skin reinforcement medium.

Adaption and refinement of continuous haulage technologies, and their integration into an integrated, remotely supervised high capacity mining system.

Technologies and systems that enables face services to be extended within the 3 minute cut, load support cycle without direct operator involvement.


INTEGRATION OF KEY TECHNOLOGIES The roadway development system is built on a number of independent

subsystems that remain largely unchanged since their inception some 40 years ago

With few exceptions, new technologies have been adapted to existing machine designs rather than result in any fundamental review of machine design

The integration of emerging enabling technologies into an integrated, remotely supervised high capacity mining system is expected to pose a significant challenge to researchers and OEMs

Adoption of an industry standard communications protocol will be a prerequisite to system integration (as in Longwall automation)

Applied research and design simulation will be necessary to integrate the emerging technologies and subsystems, similar to that achieved with TBMs in the tunnelling sector

CSIRO and UOW are developing a collaborative framework to enable their core expertise to be applied to the task, together with participating OEMs and other key researchers

13

PROJECT ESTIMATE - CM2010 The level of funding required to successfully develop and

demonstrate all elements of the strategy over the next 3 -5 years is expected to be of the order of $31M, comprising some:

$8.5M for fundamental, ACARP funded research

$22.5M for capital purchases and operational expenditure associated with the purchase of equipment and conduct of “new technology” trials and demonstrations at mines, funded directly by mines

The RDTG proposes that the fundamental research component be funded by ACARP outside routine funding processes, similar to that adopted for the Longwall Automation Project ($5M)

ACARP Project C17010


ACARP FUNDING 2007- 08

Throughout 2007- 08 a number of roadway development related R&D projects have been funded by ACARP, including development of:

The technology and systems required develop a self steering continuous miner

An automated system for installing SDB and mesh, including an integrated logistics and materials handling system from the supplier to the face

A polymer based alternative skin reinforcement and confinement system

A simulation model to enable the limitations of current development processes to be understood

A Roadway Development Handbook to capture the industry’s current “body of knowledge” of roadway development practice

In addition, the RDTG is providing ongoing support for:

The development of self drilling bolts and installation systems

Continuation of the Roadway Development Operators’ Workshops and Benchmarking Study.


2009 AND BEYOND

Given the scope of the CM2010 project and the level of Industry support required to successfully develop and demonstrate the emerging technologies, the RDTG proposes to pursue major project status for Roadway Development within ACARP, similar to the Longwall Landmark Project recently completed.

The RDTG also proposes to support mine based initiatives to develop and demonstrate other key enabling technologies, including continuous haulage systems, remotely operated shuttle cars, services management systems

Strategies are also being developed to engage OEMs in the development and integration of the enabling technologies, both at a demonstration level and in full commercialisation.

The RDTG is also expected to review the industry’s approach to and the development of the organisational and technical competencies required to underpin the successful implementation of the enabling technologies now under development.


IN CONCLUSION

A number of presentations in today’s Workshop will outline progress in development of the key enabling technologies referred to earlier.

Clearly, most projects have many challenges to address in order to bring them to a successful conclusion, however, after today I hope you will agree that we are beginning to kick butt in roadway development R&D!

Please enjoy the Workshop. We trust you get a good insight into current developments with roadway development research, technology and practice.

ACARP

CONTINUOUS MINER AUTOMATION

– REMOTE SENSING AND SELF STEERING

David Reid, CSIRO Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT)


ACARP

CONTINUOUS MINER AUTOMATION

– AUTOMATED BOLTING AND MESHING

Stephen Van Duin, University of Wollongong


ACARP

MORNING TEA


ACARP

TUNNEL BORING MACHINES AND THEIR APPLICATION IN ROADWAY

DEVELOPMENT

Charles Howarth and Christian Frenzel, Herrenknecht


ACARP

TOUGH SKIN – A SPRAY ON POLYMERIC

REPLACEMENT FOR ROOF AND RIB MESH

Chris Lukey, University of Wollongong


ACARP

undergroundcoal.com.au- THE AUSTRALIAN

UNDERGROUND COAL MINING WEB-SITE

Ernest Baafi, University of Wollongong


ACARP

SELF DRILLING BOLT UPDATE

Gary Gibson, ACARP


ACARP

ADVANCES IN STONEDUSTING

Matt Ryan, Mining Attachments (Qld)


ACARP

LUNCH


ACARP

INTRODUCTION OF SCROLLING HEADS AND PLOUGH SHOVELS ON CONTINUOUS

MINERS FOR IMPROVED STRATA CONTROL

Kyle Eager, Alan Ninness and Matt Reh, Dendrobium Mine


ACARP

THE AQUILA CONTINUOUS HAULAGE EXPERIENCE AND APPLICATION OF CHS

IN GATEROAD DEVELOPMENT

Larry Cook, Bounty


ACARP

INTRODUCTION OF CONTINUOUS MINER MONITORING AT CLARENCE

Bernard Vanderventer and Brian Nicholls, Clarence Colliery


ACARP

AFTERNOON TEA


ACARP

UNDERSTANDING THE ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

- FURTHER LEARNINGS FROM THE FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ROADWAY

DEVELOPMENT

Richard Porteous, Xstrata NSW


ACARP

UNDERSTANDING THE ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

ROADSIM - GATEROAD DEVELOPMENT SIMULATION

Geoff Gray, Simulation Modelling Services

Ernest Baafi, University of Wollongong



WORKSHOP CRITIQUE

What improvements could we make to the structure and format of the Workshop:

Suitability of location, venue and facilities? Timing (eg; day of week, and actual times) What issues should be the subject of future

workshops? Any volunteer presenters? Anything else?


END OF WORKSHOP

Thank you!

Please join us for some for refreshments and further

networking!

Documents

ACARP Australian Roadway Development Improvement Project ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT OPERATORS’ WORKSHOPS March 2009