COAL MINING

Ing. M.Sc. MARCO ANTONIO ARDILA B

Marco.ardila@uptc.edu.co

MINE SAFETY AND LEGAL

REQUIREMENTS
The main porpouses are:
Reduce or take out the mining coal
underground desasters.
Regulate the Health and safety
aspects of coal mining.
Control problems as:
Acid mine water discharge
Effects of subsidence
Interuption of aquifers

 The regulatios deal with the basic areas of:

Mine fires

Mine gases
Rock falls (roof and rib contol)
Operational and functional safety of

equipment
Mine rescue
Mine planing

Dust and noise

MINE FIRES: Causes and regulations aspects.

Spontaneous combustion
Conveyor belts working in coal fines
Electrical spark of the electrical
malfunction

Smoking
Mine gas explosions
Welding
Cutting

MINE GASES: The most common is methane.

Product of the carbonization process of coal
The concentration depends primarily on the degree of mineralization.
Carbonization process is advanced to the highest level in anthracite coal.

The coal of low rank produces highest quantity of methane.

The methane concentration maximun allowable is set at 1%, well below
the exposive range of about 5% to 15%

The explosion of a methane mixture is usually a localized process, which

can create an air/coal dust mixture that is of far greater danger than a
small methane explosion.

MINE GASES: The most common is methane.

The methane explosion cannot only prepare the proper mixture of air and

coal dust but can also create the necessary high-ignition temperature.
The coal dust explosions are therefore the kind of mine desaster that
usually produces the most devastating results.

ROCK OR ROOF FALLS: one of the most frequent causes of

injutity or death.
The law deals in great detail with this major problem.
Procedures for mine plans to assure that safety requirements are met.
General roof support requirements as well as special local conditions.

Frecuent visits by mine inspectors assure compliance with the mine plans.
Aditional measures:
Personal training

Modified equipment designed (canopy over operators seats, remote controls, etc.)
Operating procedures in regard to unsupported or dangerous roofs.

OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL SAFETY OF EQUIPMENT:

Other areas that regulatory agencies are involved are in the operational

safety of equipment. For exemple:

The equipment must be Specifically designed with cutoff swiches.
Levers are attached and mining equipment is fitted with methane monitors with
automctica power cutoff.
The airborne dust or noise levers, which have to be kept below certain maximun levels.

Mine Rescue. Each mine is required to have a rescue team that is trained
and equipped to work in the some times dangerous underground
environment in the event of the mine disaster.

OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL SAFETY OF EQUIPMENT:

Other Planning areas.
Mine planning control for safety feature design provides a very extensive means to

improve safety.
Escapeways , sufficient air supplies, safety pillars, roof support, and equipment selection

are importan features of mine planning.

Dust and noise.

Dust and noise created by the mining equipment usually affect the human body
noticeably only after years of exposure.
The effect s of black lung of silicosis can be very severe and physically disabling.
Regulations limiting the allowable maximun level of airborne dust to 2 mg/m3 are aimed
at this common problem.
Portable samplers attached to the clothing.

TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICS

CONSIDERATIONS IN A MINING PROJECT
A number of
considerations go into
the general assessment
of the conomic viability
of a mine site:

The quality coal

The geologic conditions
The location
The transportations
The shipping
The availability of
facilities, and
The availability of labor.

The size of a property in tons

recoverable and the quality of
the coal can be expressed as a
dollar value. This value has to be
compared with the required
investments for development and
operation of the mine (surface
facilities, coal treatment, shafts,
slopes, shipping, facilities) and
the shipping cost to determine
the economic viability.
The geologic conditions can have
a major impact on the value of
mining. A varying thickness can
require different sets of
equipment, faults could
necessitate additional shafts or
slopes, and water or strata that
are too hard or too soft can make
minning to expensive or
impossible.

The Market can be so far away that

shipping costs, particurlary in small
quantities, become too high, specially
if no rail or barge shipping facility is
nearby. If a coal cleaning plant from
another mina can be utilized, the
operation of a smaller mine might be
made economical.
The availability of personal is often a
determining factor. The cost for
relocation and housing can amount to
substantial sums.

The foregoing considerations, plus

the data obtained from an exploration
program are combined with such
factors as equipment cost and
expected production to supply the
information necessary for a detailed
economic analysis

INFRAESTRUCTURA DE
TRANSPORTE PARA LA
COMERCIALIZACION DE
CARBN EN COLOMBIA

EXPLORATION

This steep is done to establish

the size and quality of
reserves as well as to provide
information on probable
mining conditions.

A core drilling program is

designed with core holes or
check points positioned
according to pattern that
allows a projection of the
continuance of coal seam.

Certain general guidelines are

commonly used to establish
the density of the
checkpoints .

The most widely used has

been estalished by the U.S.
Geological Survey.

REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRAFICAS
EULER J. Wilhelm. Occidental Research Corporation, Lexintong, Kentucky.
En Coal Handbook. Edit Marcel Decker Inc., N.Y. U.S.A., 1981. ISBN 0-82471270-6.

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