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buffer blasting as applicable to spontaneous combustion in coal surface

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Technical Report · September 2016

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 University of Johannesburg
Department of Mining Engineering
Title page
Module name MINING TECHNICAL SERVICES
Module code MTLB411
BUFFER BLASTING IN SURFACE COAL MINING(as applicable to spontaneous combustion)
Student name OTLOTLENG OAGENG
Student number 201144552
Due date 2016/09/30

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Abstract
Buffer blasting is a wall control blasting technique that can be used to control spontane-
ous combustion in surface coal mines. In this report buffer blasting and spontaneous com-
bustion are both explained and their relationship in surface coal mines is outline. This
report also focuses on other methods used to prevent and control spontaneous combus-
tion in surface coal mines. According to the report buffer blasting is the simplest wall con-
trol blasting technique that is used to control spontaneous combustion.

Keywords: buffer blasting, spontaneous combustion, cladding, buffer, wall control.

ii
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Buffer Blasting ................................................................................................................................. 2
2.1. Description .............................................................................................................................. 2
2.2. Objectives of buffer blasting ................................................................................................... 3
3. Spontaneous combustion ............................................................................................................... 4
3.1. Causes of spontaneous combustion in high walls .................................................................. 4
3.2. Factors affecting spontaneous combustion............................................................................ 5
3.2.1. Rank................................................................................................................................. 5
3.2.2. Moisture content ............................................................................................................ 5
3.2.3. Air flow ............................................................................................................................ 5
3.2.4. Weathering ..................................................................................................................... 5
3.3. Spontaneous combustion in South African collieries ............................................................. 6
3.4. The effects of spontaneous combustion ................................................................................ 6
3.4.1. Effect on health ............................................................................................................... 6
3.4.2. Effect on safety ............................................................................................................... 6
4. Buffer blasting and spontaneous combustion ................................................................................ 6
4.1. Buffer blasting as a control tool for spontaneous combustion .............................................. 8
4.2. The importance of buffer blasting .......................................................................................... 9
5. Other methods used to control spontaneous combustion ............................................................ 9
5.1. Bord collapse........................................................................................................................... 9
5.2. Buttress design...................................................................................................................... 10
5.3. Cooling agents ....................................................................................................................... 10
5.4. Sealing agents ....................................................................................................................... 11
5.5. Dozing over ........................................................................................................................... 12
5.6. Cladding ................................................................................................................................ 12
6. Case studies .................................................................................................................................. 13
6.1. New Vaal Colliery .................................................................................................................. 13
6.2. Middleburg Mine .................................................................................................................. 14
6.3. ATCOM Colliery ..................................................................................................................... 14
6.4. Landau Colliery...................................................................................................................... 15
6.5. Kleinkopje Colliery................................................................................................................. 16

iii
7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 18
8. References .................................................................................................................................... 19

iv
List of Figures
Figure 1: a description of a layout in order to achieve a buffer blast..................................................... 3
Figure 2: bords sealed using buffer blasting……………………………………………………………………………….........4

Figure 3: a typical fire triangle……………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

Figure 4: a typical layout of a strip mine with buffer blasting and spontaneous combustion……………..7

Figure 5: open bords at risk to spontaneous combustion…………………………………………………………………..8

Figure 6: open bords where spontaneous combustion has occurred…………………………………………………8

Figure 7: buffer blasting’s effect after stopping the fire……………………………………………………………………..8

Figure 8: a typical layout of bord collapse………………………………………………………………………………………….9

Figure 9: a void closed by application of bord collapse………………………………………………………………………9

Figure 10: application of buttress dump and cladding……………………………………………………………………10

Figure 11: water infusion used to cool down a hot spot………………………………………………………………….11

Figure 12: the application of sealing agents…………………………………………………………………………………….11

Figure 13: a dozer busy dozing over old workings……………………………………………………………………………12

Figure 14: application of cladding, a levelled cladding material……………………………………………………….13

Figure 15: the current buffer plan at Landau Colliery……………………………………………………………………….16

v
1. Introduction
Buffer blasting is one of the wall control blasting technique that will be discussed on how it is used
to control spontaneous combustion in surface coal mines. This report focus mainly on buffer blasting
and spontaneous combustion. The objectives and the importance of buffer blasting as tool to control
spontaneous combustion is also discussed. Apart from buffer blasting there are other methods that
can be used to prevent and control spontaneous combustion, hence this report will discuss other
methods briefly. Furthermore, to familiarise this report to the actual incidents that happened in other
collieries, this report also includes the case studies that were conducted at five different collieries
that experienced problems with spontaneous combustion and the method used to control it was
buffer blasting.

1
2. Buffer Blasting
Buffer blasting is one of the blasting method that is used when controlling the walls and not disturb
the underlying strata by limiting the movement of the blast energy. It involves the material that is in
situ and when breaking that material, it heave it in an upward direction. Buffer blasting that is con-
fined (in bord and pillar), it helps to close up the roadways and the material is forced into void area
by the blast energy. The result of this is that the blasted material will become denser and hence it
will be hard to load.

When the ground is competent enough, buffer blasting can be used alone as a control blasting tech-
nique. However, in most cases buffer blasting is not used alone, it is used with other blasting tech-
nique [1].

2.1. Description
Topsoil removal
This is the first step in any strip mining, removal of vegetation and then the topsoil is removed and it
is stored for rehabilitation. Depending on the type of equipment used will contribute to the strip
width and it will also depend on the type of mining method employed and the production require-
ments. A typical strip mine would consist of one dragline, shovels, trucks and also drilling and blast-
ing equipment. If buffer blasting is going to be used it will affect the stripping width. The use of
buffer blasting reduces the chances of spontaneous combustion and it is effective to measure and
control [2].
Overburden removal
The overburden removal is the removal of the last strip left to expose the top coal seam. This is a
safe stage if the top seam has not been mined previously, but if spontaneous combustion is faster
from the underlying strata it is possible that it would have gone to the top seam. The use of venting
holes will be the evidence if the firs has spread or not. The temperatures of the blast holes must be
measured and they must be covered to prevent air ingress into the holes just as a pre-caution [2].
Upper seam operations
This stage starts immediately after the removal of the overburden by the use of a dragline. The aim
is not to expose too much coal at once. This means that the sequence of drilling, blasting, removal of
overburden and the extraction of coal must be carefully planned. The signs of spontaneous combus-
tion may be visible when the inter-burden is exposed during the removal of the top coal. If it has like
that, the inter-burden must immediately be levelled and clad with sand to cover up the cracks and
fractures [2].
Inter-burden drilling
If there are any previously mined coal seam or seams under the inter-burden, the drilling pattern will
depend on the layout of the old workings and the thickness of the inter-burden and the coal seam.
Drilling must be monitored continuously in case of any misjudgment [2].

2
 Inter-burden blasting
In mining double seams in an operation there are challenges that are going to be expected therefore
careful planning is required. The dewatering process is risky to spontaneous combustion because it
allows the coal to be exposed to air. Under these predicaments buffer blasting is used to limit the
exposure of coal to air [2]. Figure 1 shows the drilling and charging of holes in order to achieve
buffer blasting.

Figure 1: a description of a layout in order to achieve a

buffer blast [2].

2.2. Objectives of buffer blasting

There are two objectives of buffer blasting and there are as follows:

To break the rock and coal such that they stay intact without disturbing the rock mass
or causing the rock mass to move. Horizontal movement of the coal and overburden
must be avoided so that they should not mix, hence during blasting both the coal and
the overburden will move in an upward direction [2].
To seal off the bords by breaking the pillars and collapsing both the top layer of coal and
the strata lying over it into the bords mined previously. The blast must be designed in a
way that the pillars will be blasted in to the bords and the overlying strata falling into
the bords also and sealing them off. An example is provided in the figure below showing
this objective [2].

3
 Figure 2: bords sealed using buffer blasting [2].

3. Spontaneous combustion
An oxidation reaction that occurs without any external heat source is a spontaneous combustion.
These process will change the internal heat profile of whatever material and lead it to have a rise in
temperature and that rise in temperature will eventually lead to open flame and the material will
burn [2].

3.1. Causes of spontaneous combustion in high walls

Coal can relate with oxygen gas in the air at any temperatures. When the temperature in the air in-
creases, in increases the rate at which oxygen and coal reacts at. At temperatures below 40 °C, it is
classified as low temperatures, and the interactions between oxygen and coal are mainly of physical
adsorption. The oxy-compounds break down between the rising temperatures of 40 °C to 70 °C, and
it results in a faster rate of oxidation that leads to the increased emission of gaseous products and
heat [3].

There are several factors in surface mines that contributes to spontaneous combustion, and they
are:

The presence of micro and macro cracks in the high walls and/or pillars exposing the
coal to oxidation;
When the coal bench walls are exposed to the open atmosphere for a long period;
When the coal accumulates in the roadway due to the spalling of pillars [3].

4
 3.2. Factors affecting spontaneous combustion
For spontaneous combustion to occur, there are three fundamental factors that will contribute, and
there is what is called a fire triangle. A fire triangle is just an illustration of what is needed for a typi-
cal fire to take place. For a fire to take place there must be the presence of oxygen, heat and some
sort of fuel, if any of these substances is absence there will not be any fire. In addition to these,
there are other factors that may accelerate and encourage spontaneous combustion. In this section
of the report these other factors that encourage spontaneous combustion will be discussed and
amongst other they include rank of coal, moisture content of coal, air flow, physical conditions
within the old working areas and weathering. Figure 3 shows the fire triangle.

Figure 3: a typical fire triangle [2]

3.2.1. Rank
If the coal is of the lower rank, it is more vulnerable to burn. For an example, the coal in New Vaal it
is found to be of a low grade. The results from tests done at the University of the Witwatersrand
shown than the coal from the New Vaal was high in terms of being vulnerable to burn [4].

3.2.2. Moisture content

When the old working dewater, they are more prone to spontaneous combustion since the coal is
exposed to oxygen. The air is drawn into the working due to pressure differentials. When there is
high humidity within the air, the coal will be moist, but it will dry out due to the process of conden-
sation [4].

3.2.3. Air flow

For spontaneous combustion to occur there must be a supply of air flow. Old workings has got nu-
merous openings like geological drill holes, blast holes which pierce through to the old workings and
mining the strip over the old workings and exposing it to oxygen. Through these holes oxygen can
enter and if it is sufficient it will create spontaneous combustion [4].

3.2.4. Weathering
The more weathered the coal is, there more is it vulnerable to burn. If there are multiple layers of
coal and the top layer is highly weathered and therefore it will be more prone to combustion [4].

5
 3.3. Spontaneous combustion in South African collieries
Spontaneous combustion is mostly experienced in the surface mines of Witbank and Sasolburg coal-
fields in areas that previously mined using bord and pillar methods. The coalfield that experienced a
serious spontaneous combustion problems and discards is the Waterberg coalfield. During the pe-
riod of 1992 and 1993 the most critical events of spontaneous combustion arose in the New Vaal. In
October 1992 about 4.5 km in length of the main pit was burning. In 1993 the use of pre-splitting
was stopped and they used buffer blasting to stop the areas where there was fire. The buffer was
extended from 20m to 120m. Until today these techniques have been very successful in controlling
spontaneous combustion, buffer blasting and pre-splitting are good examples.

3.4. The effects of spontaneous combustion

3.4.1. Effect on health
Fumes

The fumes released during spontaneous combustion are the ones posing a real threat to the health
of people. The shovel operators are the worst affected employees followed by the truck drivers ac-
cording to the risk assessment that have been carried out. It is further disclosed that the worst con-
ditions occur during the winter season during early mornings and at night where there is high quan-
tities of cold air. The more specific symptoms reported by most of the drivers are headaches and diz-
ziness [4].

Dust

Spontaneous combustion also produces excessive amounts of dust from coal and ash. The coal with
the lowest quality has an average of 39.5% ash like the New Vaal’s coal. In ash there is a high content
of silica and half of that silica can damage the health of the employees for a long term [4].

3.4.2. Effect on safety

Drilling and blasting

There most section that is prone and adversely affected by spontaneous combustion is the drilling
section. If any area to be blasted contain fire, it poses a safety risk and therefore for blasting to con-
tinue temperatures must be measured from all the holes before charging up with explosives [4].

4. Buffer blasting and spontaneous combustion

At first pre-splitting was the preferred technique to control spontaneous combustion but this
method had its disadvantages of providing a heating up platform for the coal and it enhanced the
chances of spontaneous combustion to occur. When pre-splitting was completely stopped, buffer
blasting was introduced as an alternative method to control spontaneous combustion. At first it was
an 8 to 10 m buffer blasting but it had a little success in controlling spontaneous combustion. The

6
configuration of the buffer was then changed to 20 m and the cut was 40 m, and the success was
great in controlling spontaneous combustion.

Even though there was a great success the configurations were again changed to 40 m cut and 40 m
buffer blasting. This is the configuration that managed to control spontaneous combustion to a point
where even in the old workings there were no incidents reported of spontaneous combustion. The
current configuration of the buffer is now 50 m. the whole overhaul of buffer blasting over pre-split-
ting took three years to achieve [3]. A typical layout of a strip mine where buffer blasting is used to
control spontaneous combustion is illustrated in figure 4.

Figure 4: a typical layout of a strip mine with buffer blasting and spontaneous
combustion [3].

7
 4.1. Buffer blasting as a control tool for spontaneous combustion
Buffer blasting is used as a control tool for spontaneous combustion. It is either practised before to
prevent spontaneous combustion or after spontaneous combustion has occurred to fight and con-
trol it. The figures below shows bords when buffer blasting is not practised and when spontaneous
combustion has occurred in one of those bords.

Figure 5: open bords at risk to spontane- Figure 6: open bords where spontaneous combus-
ous combustion [2]. tion has occurred [2].

Sometimes after blasting a buffer, to meet production targets, these bords are again excavated.
However the removal of the blasted buffer from the bords will expose the open bords to oxygen and
will immediately be prone to spontaneous combustion. The removal of the blasted buffer will yield
risks associated with spontaneous combustion, and depending on several factors such as the cut
width, the length of the high wall and the rate of mining, it can take up to six months to replace the
buffer zone [2]

Figure 7: buffer blasting’s effect after stopping the fire [2]

8
 4.2. The importance of buffer blasting
The importance of buffer blasting in controlling spontaneous combustion cannot be ignored. Accord-
ing to the research that was conducted by CoalTech in 2011, it showed the following reasons for do-
ing buffer blasting to control spontaneous combustion.

The overlying high wall strata was not disturbed;

The stability of the high wall was improved;
The controlling of spontaneous combustion was better [2].

5. Other methods used to control spontaneous combustion

Apart from buffer blasting there are other methods that are also used to control spontaneous com-
bustion in surface coal mines. These other methods are either used individually or in combination
with other methods depending on the type of event being experienced.

5.1. Bord collapse

When using the bord collapse method, the drilling of holes is done on top of the bords into the pil-
lars. When this method is used, the pillars are left intact because the blast energy is used to break
the coal on the roof of open bords so that it collapse into the open voids [3].

At Boschmanskrans Colliery that is operated by Ingwe, this method is being applied successfully. The
bench height of this mine is low because the use truck and shovel method instead of a dragline. The
advantage of the small blast pattern used at Boschmanskrans Colliery is that the distribution of the
explosives energy is even enhancing the collapse of the bords always [3]. In figure 8 and figure 9,
there is a layout of bord collapse and the application of the bord collapse method respectively.

Figure 9: a void closed by application

Figure 8: a typical layout of bord collapse [3]. of bord collapse [3].

9
 5.2. Buttress design
The buttress method is used with one aim, which is to seal the open voids with blasted material. It
uses the principles of buffer blasting but partners it with the benefits of throw blasting. Throw blast-
ing sometimes used in partnership with dragline operations to move the overburden material. This
technique of throw blasting reduces the time to move the broken rock and improves the dig-ability
of the blasted material. Some of the blasted material is thrown to the pile side where it does not re-
quire handling. In this technique, it required to leave a buttress dump as a support for the high wall
and reduce the risk associated with high wall failures. If there is any underground workings, the but-
tress dump also reduces the ingress of air into those workings. Cladding and sealing off of the but-
tress dump is used if there is a need to further reduce the ingress of air because it will close any
cracks that may have been produced by blasting activities [3]. Figure 10 shows a layout of a mine us-
ing buttress design as their control tool.

Figure 10: application of buttress dump and cladding [3].

5.3. Cooling agents

In order to cool down hot spots, a technique where the application of water at high pressure is used.
The use of cooling agents like Pyrocool may be used to improve the cooling characteristics of water.
One problem with this technique is that it is difficult to deliver the water as well as the cooling
agents to the hot spots which are normally inside the muck pile. One of the challenges to use cooling
agents is the cost. Water infusion may also increase spontaneous combustion due to the moisture in
the long term [3]. The figure below shows how cooling agents in water are applied to cool down a
hot spot.

10
 Figure 11: water infusion used to cool down a hot spot [3].

5.4. Sealing agents

To get a sealing agent we need to combine an inhibitor of coal oxidation like calcium chloride, with a
binding agent and filler like bentonite. The known oxidation inhibitors are poor in stability when ap-
plied as a coating material on coal surfaces or as a filler in cleavages and fissures in pillars. Sealing
agents are not always economical and practical to use to control spontaneous combustion because
high walls are sometimes very long and high (2km long and 60m high) [3]. The application of sealing
agents is shown in figure 12.

Figure 12: the application of sealing agents [3].

11
 5.5. Dozing over
Dozing over involves dumping sand directly over the high wall, meaning that it closes off the old
working area very quickly after being unprotected from atmosphere. The dozer will push the sand
into the openings subsequently compacting the high wall. These process is shown in the figure be-
low. This is not a fully effective technique because in sealing off old workings venting can still occur
[3].

Figure 13: a dozer busy dozing over old workings [3].

5.6. Cladding
The cladding process is the process of placing weathered material (waste) on top of the buffered
high wall. This placement of waste reduces the flow of air and heat through the buffer and helps to
reduce the chimney effect inside the high wall. In figure 14, a grader has already levelled the clad-
ding material [3].

12
 Figure 14: application of cladding, a levelled cladding
material [3].

6. Case studies
There are mines where researches were conducted in order to better understand the phenomenon
of controlling spontaneous combustion. In some of these mines there were different techniques be-
ing applied in order to better select the most appropriate method. In this section of the report we
focus at some of the mines where they have experienced spontaneous combustion and the method
used to control it was buffer blasting. These case studies are focused at incidents that happened at
New Vaal Colliery, Middleburg Mine, ATCOM Colliery, Landau Colliery and Kleinkopje Colliery.

6.1. New Vaal Colliery

At the New Vaal all three of their existing pit have similar problems concerning spontaneous com-
bustion. The remnants that are left behind during blasting of the top seam can heat up but cannot
cause major fires. When there is an old working area that exists between the middle and bottom
seams that is when a problem associated with spontaneous combustion is severe. Sometimes the
problems are so severe that they start to compromise the stability of the high wall. The measured
temperatures from the open bords are up to 2000°C. The New Vaal Colliery have bad experiences in
preventing spontaneous combustion because of the difficulty of identifying underground workings
and identifying bords when drilling. If no proper procedure is not followed, there can be a premature
detonation that is created by the heating up of blast holes caused by spontaneous combustion [2].
These guidelines are followed in order to carefully conduct blasting:

No detonators must be used at the bottom of the holes;

If the temperature exceeds 60°C there is no charging up;
For a downline, boosters and detonating cords must be used;
If the temperatures is okay shock tubes may be used. Shock tubes may melt before
detonation take place in high temperatures [2].

New Vaal’s control of spontaneous combustion

13
 Cladding of heating’s in the high wall to deal with spontaneous combustion;
Where mining is taking place, the use of water cannons has been successful;
Prevention of spontaneous combustion involves mainly the creation of a buffer, with
configurations of 20 m width for 60 m wide cut;
The location of the old pillars is critical for the purpose of blasting and also the blast
design must be appropriate [2].

6.2. Middleburg Mine

The problems associated with spontaneous combustion occur at the number 2 seam, due to the pre-
viously mined underground workings. In number 4 seam there are no previously underground work-
ings hence there is no spontaneous combustion. At the Boschmanskrans pit there was spontaneous
combustion in the product stockpiles and also in the high walls of the pit.

During the pit visit, there were problem areas that were identified and there are:

At some positions of the high walls where spontaneous combustion was happening
around the edges of the pillars was visible;
Where shale and coal were loaded together there was spontaneous heating;
There were burning spoils;
Problems relating to cladding high walls with sand;
When loading hot coal there were visibility problems [2].

Middleburg Mine’s control of spontaneous combustion

Buffer blasting techniques are applied to prevent the ingress of air into the old work-
ings thus causing spontaneous combustion;
The configurations of the buffer is 15 m on a 60 m cut;
Every three to four days blasting takes place with the use of emulsion;
1 m is left during the drilling of the overburden to prevent blast holes from penetrat-
ing into the bords;
Less than 100 m of coal is exposed at the time the dragline loads;
Water cannons are used to cool down hot spots during the loading of hot coal [2].

6.3. ATCOM Colliery

The old workings are the cause of problems associated with spontaneous combustion in the north-
ern part of the lease area. One of the problems usually reveals itself in the inter-burden. Because of
the commitment at the mine to prevent spontaneous combustion there has not been a major threat
[2].

ATCOM Colliery’s control of spontaneous combustion

14
ATCOM Colliery has established preventative and controlling systems for spontaneous combustion.
Good communication at the mine regarding spontaneous combustion problems influences all mining
decisions [2].

Buffer blasting technique is used to prevent spontaneous combustion;

The dimensions of the buffer is 0.75 * bench height, but they are prepared to use
1.5 * the depth of cover;
Lately the mine uses 50 m buffer on a 50 m wide cut in order to control spontaneous
combustion;
The dragline leaves 50 m of coal in length to be exposed before being mined and no
spontaneous combustion problems have been encountered;
The mines high wall is orientated in a north/south direction and it acts as a shield of
wind, meaning that the air is not forced into the buffer by the wind;
Immediately after blasting, cladding of the surface take place using red soil by doz-
ing, and the material taken from number 4 seam is an excellent cladding material;
The blast holes are typically 22 m in length and 250 mm in diameter;
Blast holes are sealed immediately after drilling in order to prevent coming in of air
[2].

6.4. Landau Colliery

In 2003 Landau Colliery had a severe problem associated with spontaneous combustion. The parting
between two seams was thick because the coaling processes needed to be directed in two passes.
There was a problem with the removal of coal and the parting due to its hardness it had to be
blasted, and the coal was exposed to more cracks. Buffer blasting is the technique that the manage-
ment believes it can prevent spontaneous combustion, even though the risk will not be 100% elimi-
nated while open cast operation are still used subsequent to mining of previously mined bord and
pillar workings [2].

Landau Colliery’s control of spontaneous combustion

Buffer blasting is used. The dragline mines cuts that are 60 m wide with a buffer of
20 m at all times;
Cladding is used after buffer blasting;
Because pre-splitting creates cracks around the high wall, it is avoided;
There is a constant monitoring of high walls and if there is any change it is dealt with
immediately;
Dewatering is done just in time;
Immediate dealing of venting holes and hot holes;
To close hot holes, they use flower pots and gas bags;
There is a hot hole procedure that needs to be followed in case on how to handle a
hot hole;
The coal left exposed in the pit must not be older than three weeks [2].

The current buffer plan is shown in figure .

15
 Figure 15: the current buffer plan at Landau Colliery [2].

6.5. Kleinkopje Colliery

The mine has got serious problems regarding spontaneous combustion. They are experiencing prob-
lems in all of their pits and they are discussed differently [2].

5 West South

The coal is of poor quality and its typical calorific value is 18 MJ/kg to 19MJ/kg. It starts burning once
the high wall is exposed to the atmosphere. If it burns, this burning also takes place around the
edges of the spoil material [2]

3A North

There is number 2 seam that has been pre-mined, and the mining of number 1 seam has not yet
commenced. There is an overburden that is between 15 m to 30 m accompanied by a large syncline
in the high wall of the pit. There is a problem with drilling because the thickness of the overburden is
not constant, sometimes drilled holes penetrate into the old workings. These open blast holes create
a chimney effect that contributes highly to spontaneous combustion [2].

2A North

16
They are mining both the number 2 and 4 seam con-currently. The thickness of the overburden is
about 25 m on average. In this pit there is not much of spontaneous combustion, but during coaling
seasons they have experienced some heating in the eastern part of the pit [2].

2A South

They are mining 3 seams namely number 1, number 2 and number 3 seams. This area was mined by
underground operations and these old workings are flooded. This pit has experienced broad prob-
lems associated with spontaneous combustion [2].

Kleinkopje Colliery’s control of spontaneous combustion

Buffer blasting was first used, but was stopped because of the chimney effect
caused by the first row holes;
Dewatering of old workings is important and it is currently around 5Ml/day;
Cladding when sequenced properly is usually effective, but it is known that this pro-
cess increases the chance of spontaneous combustion [2].

The mine has got spontaneous combustion report outlining the key performance indicators, and to
achieve the spontaneous combustion KPIs this is a list you have to comply with:

1. Single cut operation;

2. Whenever heatings are identified cladding of the high wall must be performed;
3. 10 m * 12 m must be the inter-burden drilling between burden and spacing;
4. There must be a hot hole in place;
5. Between the dragline and the coaling operation, the coal left must be less than a
week old;
6. The space of cladding over the overburden must be 350 mm;
7. The responsibility of plugging all the venting holes is of the drilling crew;
8. For each section, there is a team that is formed to plan and measure performances
regarding spontaneous combustion;
9. Throughout the mine there is a raised awareness about spontaneous combustion
[2].

17
7. Conclusion
Buffer blasting is the simplest form of wall control blasting technique that is effective and is used
worldwide to prevent and control spontaneous combustion. The design of the buffer blasting design
must be carefully planned because it must suit the strata in the area. There are other methods like
bord collapse and buttress design technique that may be used apart from buffer blasting in order to
prevent or control spontaneous combustion. Spontaneous combustion pose a real threat to the health
and safety of the employees most particularly the dragline and truck operators.

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 8. References

[1] L. Workman, wall control, Mandan, ND.

[2] COALTECH, PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION, 2011.

[3] C. M. Dr. Nehar Eroglu, Develop methods to prevent and control spontaneous combustion,
2003.

[4] G. Stenzel, “The Effects of Spontaneous Combustion on Safety, Health and the Environment at
New Vaal Colliery,” 2000.

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