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Productivity Improvement In Underground Coal Mines

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 PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT IN UNDERGROUND
COAL MINES

H Wadhwani1, R D Lokhande2, S K Jena3

1
Amlohri Project, Northern Coalfields Limited, Singrauli
2
Assistant Professor, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur
3
General Manager, MCL, Sambhalpur, Odisha

Abstract
Improvement of productivity has become an important goal for today’s coal industry in the race to increase
price competitiveness. The challenge now lying ahead for the coal industry is to identify areas of waste, meet
the market price and maintain a healthy profit. The only way to achieve this is to reduce production costs by
improving productivity, efficiency and the effectiveness of the equipment. Conventional underground coal
mining relies upon the use of continuous miners in order to extract coal reserves from underground coal seams.
In combination with the continuous miners- shuttle cars are used to transport the extracted coal from the face to
a transfer point From there the coal is typically tipped onto the underground conveyor system, which transports
the coal to the surface in order to be distributed to customers. Effective management of the cutting, loading and
tipping cycles utilised will serve as a possible area for productivity improvement. This paper aims to identify the
various factors and problems affecting the productivity of underground coal mines.

Keywords: productivity improvement; lean manufacturing; underground coal mine continuous miner; shuttle
cars; break down; production; productivity

I. INTRODUCTION
India has emerged as the third largest coal producer in the world after China and USA
with a 9% share of the total global coal production. While the coal production from under-
ground mining in countries like China, USA and Australia are about 95, 33 and 20%
respectively, India produces only about 15% of coal from underground mines. Of the total
output of coal from underground mines, more than 90% of coal is obtained by the bord and
pillar method, the predominant method of mining followed in India, and the rest is mined by
the longwall mining method. The Indian coal mining industry has witnessed a persistent
decline in under-ground coal production over the years with more emphasis on opencast
mining. The phenomenal growth of the Indian coal mining Industry was entirely due to
opencast mining, which proved to be more productive and economical to cope with growing
demand of coal. With economic liberalization and consequent reduction of import duty on
coal, India can no longer rely on opencast mining alone. Introduction of broad scale
mechanization in underground coal sector, the production from which otherwise remained
stagnant has become imperative with an aim to improve the overall quantity of coal bridge
the ever increasing demand-supply gap of coal. At present, there is a need to introduce
technology in Indian coal mines to boost the production from underground with due regard to
the cost of production, productivity, profitability and safety. With the increase in coal demand
and growing awareness towards sustainable development, the coal industry has drawn a
consensus over the need for increased production from underground coal mines.

The gloomy scenario of coal production along with the likely exhaustion of shallow
depth coal reserves and problems faced regarding surface land acquisition for opencast
mining have warranted a quantum jump in coal production and productivity from
 underground mines in India. Moreover while opencast mining has seen major advancements,
underground mining has remained sluggish for the past five years with an output per manshift
(OMS) hovering in the range of 0.70–0.77 tonne. Such a low OMS compared to other
countries indicates that the norms of equipment productivity adapted and attained in India are
themselves low (Kulshreshtha, Parikh 2001). Technology is a critical and long-run factor
which influences the productivity of mines. While technical progress seems to have been the
major driving factor behind productivity growth in opencast mining, efficiency growth has
been the most important factor in the growth of underground mine productivity
(Kulshreshtha, Parikh, 2002). This suggests that underground mining must make use of
technological advancements and utilize innovative mining techniques that suit the country’s
specific geo-mining conditions.

The measurement of productivity relies on concepts of production theory and may be

expressed as the ratio of output(s) to the input(s) used for the related production. More output
with minimum input results in an increase in productivity. Therefore, this measure is used as
an indicator of the performance of an economic unit as compared to its past performance or
compared to other economic units (Hannah, 1981). Generally, three major parameters affect
the productivity of a mine, viz. cycle of operations, machine efficiency and manpower
management.

The different mining operations in an underground coal mine include, dewatering,

dressing and supporting of face, drilling of blast holes at the coal face, charging, stemming
and blasting explosives at face, fume clearance after blasting, loading of coal at the face using
loaders and conveying coal to the bunker by conveyor belts etc. Productivity improvement
through lean manufacturing approach is recently being adopted by many industries, which is
based on the optimization and co-ordination of input resources to minimize the wastes and
produce products that meet customer expectations.

The productivity of a mine can be improved by increasing the level of mechanization,

the introduction of state-of-the-art machines and ensuring their optimal utilization as per
international standards, proper inventory management, reduction in cost due to accidents
through improved health and safety standards, improved work culture and discipline through
efficient management.

II. MINING SCENARIO

A. Introduction
Coal seams can be mined both by underground methods and surface mining methods
depending on certain conditions like:
 Thickness of seam

 Dip of seam
 Depth of occurrence
 The ratio of overburden to coal (stripping ratio)
There are two basic methods of underground coal mining methods. They are:
 Bord and Pillar method
  Longwall method
Although the basic principles remain the same, there could be many variants of these
two methods.
In India, about 98% of underground output of coal is obtained by Bord and Pillar method
and barely about 2% by longwall methods. The other countries where Bord and Pillar method
predominates are Australia, USA and South Africa.
B. Bord and Pillar Method
Fundamentally, the bord and pillar method of mining coal seams involves the driving
of a series of narrow headings in the seam parallel to each other and connected by cross
headings so as to form pillars for subsequent extraction, either partial or complete, as
geological conditions or necessity for supporting the surface, may permit. Ideally, the pillars
should be square but they are sometimes rectangular or of rhombus shape and the galleries
surrounding the pillars are invariably of square cross-section.
The bord and pillar method of mining is suited to work flat coal seams of average
thickness and at shallow depths. Coal seams of 1.8 to 3 m thickness are best suited for this
method, though the method has been successful in thinner seams also down to a thickness of
1.2 m and in thicker seams up to 4.8 m in thickness. In seams with gradients of more than 1
in 4 difficulties are encountered in maneuvering machines. Most of the bord and pillar
method of coal mining has been done in depth range less than 300 m as at greater depths
pillars experience crush. However, in India in some cases the depth of mining for bord and
pillar method has been around 600 m, though mining at such depths is beset with the
problems of strata control (Anon, 2008). Sometimes, low strength of coal limits the depth to
which bord and pillar mining can be done.
C. Longwall Method of Mining
The high productivity and production associated with Longwall method of mining has
made this method the most popular method of mining. The current trend is towards adopting
this method of mining.
The Longwall method of mining coal involves the extraction of the panel of coal to be
worked by advancing the face forward (in the case of advancing Longwall) on a wide front
leaving behind the roadways serving it which are supported by packs of stone or other
pickings in the area of extraction. The face is retreated on the roadways driven before
opening out the face and as the face is retreated backwards, the goaf is allowed to cave in or it
is filled and the gate roadway is lost in the goaf. This method can be employed almost in all
geological conditions, though it is eminently suited for working thinner seams, i.e., seams
less than 1.8 m thick. On the lower side, seams of up to 0.3-0.35 m thickness have been
worked by this method. Coal from a Longwall especially in a thin seam is the cheapest coal a
mine can produce. It is also desirable that thick seams (more than 4.8 m) be worked by this
method in slices of 2 to 3 m. It can be practiced in seams at depth and also in gassy seams or
seams prone to spontaneous heating.
D. Productivity
Traditionally, the output per man shift measured in terms of tonnes in coal mines in
India, has been low when compared to other major coal producing nations. Though the
opencast mines have recorded a consistent increase in productivity over the years, the
underground OMS is hovering around 0.7 t (Anon, 2010). The geo-mining and socio
economic conditions in some of the developed countries are much different than ours. Targets
 for the productivity should be based on the prevailing conditions, optimum level of
mechanization, automation, cost considerations, constraints or continued availability for
imported items, etc. There is a need for benchmarking productivity targets for mining
operations.

III. METHODOLOGY

A. Overall Working of Bord and Pillar Method of Mining Using Continuous Miner
The Bord and pillar method of mining is the older and traditional method of
underground coal mining. This method is sometimes called room-and-pillar mining. Coal is
removed from the working faces as the rooms are advanced. Cross-cuts, connecting the
rooms are also mined leaving pillars of coal for support. The rooms and cross-cuts are
typically about 20 feet wide and of a height consistent with that of the seam. Prior to the
development of continuous mining technology, the conventional room and pillar method was
composed of undercutting the coal, drilling, blasting, and loading (Lind.G H, 2002).
B. Development
In case of Bord and Pillar, two sets of galleries, one normally perpendicular to the
other, are driven forming pillars between them of size that currently depends on depth and
size (width) of the gallery. The ultimate method of pillar extraction presently does not
influence shape and size of pillar. However, the ultimate method of pillar extraction should
also be taken into consideration while forming these pillars. This is one of the important
factors for deciding the size and shape of the pillar. In the present scene of underground mine
development by Bord and Pillar system, mostly square pillars are being formed of size
dictated only by depth and width of galleries under the Coal Mine Regulations.
C. Support System During Development
Considering that roof falls causes the largest number of mine accidents, it was decided
a few years ago to support a 9 m length of a gallery immediately out bye of the working face
(Anon, 1990). These supports may be temporary or permanent in nature. If temporary, they
can be replaced by permanent supports, if the roof conditions so dictate or can be taken out
completely, if the roof stratum is found to be self supporting. However, the current trend is to
consider that practically no strata is self- supporting for the size of development galleries
normally driven. Now, mine managements have to necessarily prepare support plans for the
mine as a whole. The above stipulation and the past experience have encouraged installation
of roof bolts in Indian Coal mines. Roof bolting as the sole system of support has been
accepted by Directorate of Mines Safety for mine development galleries. Roof bolting, now,
is beginning to be accepted as the sole system of support in depillaring areas and for certain
geo-mining and operating conditions. Conventional supports in depillaring areas can be
reduced if roof bolts are also used. Shiftable hydraulic roof bolting machines are being
popular.
D. Pillar Extraction
After pillars have been formed on the Bord and Pillar system, consideration has to be
given to the extraction of coal pillars; the operation is known as pillar extraction. It is also
referred to as depillaring. In a method of depillaring, known as the caving method, the coal of
pillars is extracted and the roof is allowed to break and collapse into the voids or the de
coaled area, known as goaf. As the roof strata about the coal seam break, the ground surface
develops cracks and subsides, the extent of damage depending upon depth, thickness of the
seam extracted, the nature of strata, thickness of the subsoil and effect of drag by faults.
Depillaring with stowing is a method of pillar extraction in which the goaf is completely
packed with incombustible material and generally plasticized where it is necessary to keep
the surface and strata above the seam intact after extraction of coal. The following
circumstances would require adoption of depillaring with stowing:
 Presence of water bearing strata above the coal seam being extracted. Enormous
quantities of water beyond the economic pumping capacity may enter the mine through
cracks in the strata.
 Railways, rivers, roads, etc. situated on the surface, which cannot be diverted.
 Presence of fire in a seam above the seam to be extracted.
 Existence of one or more seams of marketable quality extractable in the near future.
 Restrictions imposed by local or Government authorities for the protection of the
surface.
 Extraction of the full thickness of a seam thicker than 6 m, as thicker seams cannot be
extracted fully by caving method.
 Extraction of seams very prone to spontaneous heating, of very gassy nature or liable to
pumps.
 Surface buildings which cannot be evacuated.
 Tanks, reservoirs, etc. which cannot be emptied.
E. Principles of Pillar Extraction Techniques
The principles of designing pillar extraction techniques are given below:
 Roof exposure at one time should be minimal. In the Indian coalfields, where caving is
practiced, 60-90 m2 exposure is normally allowed. But in stowing districts the exposure
may be increases up to 90-100 m2 (Anon, 1992).
 The size of the panel should be such as depillaring can be completed within the
incubation period. This period commonly varies between 6-9 months. But there are
some seams in which fire has not occurred even thought depillaring has been going on
for more than two years and yet there are some seams in which spontaneous heating has
been reported within three to four months of the commencement of depillaring. In a
lignite mine spontaneous heating took place within a few weeks only.
 The extraction line should be so arranged as to facilitate roof control. In practice o
diagonal line, or step diagonal line of face is common. In special cases a steep diagonal
line of face or even straight line of face has been selected. Diagonal or step diagonal
line of face provides protection as the working places are supported by solid pillars and
also when the roof caves, there is less risk of goaf flushing into the working faces. It is
also claimed that diagonal line of extraction helps in the caving of the roof. In the panel
worked in conjunction with hydraulic sand stowing-diagonal line of face is prepared as
it facilitates water drainage without flooding the working faces in the lower level.
  The single lift extraction is limited to height of 4.8 m or less. If the thickness of the
seam is more than 4.8 m, the extraction is done in multi-lifts and in that case hydraulic
sand stowing is insisted upon. Seams up to 4.8 m thick can be mined by caving in one
pass (Anon, 1990).
 Whatever the method of extraction, the working area is systematically supported by
cogs and props.
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F. Factors Affecting Production Capacity of the System
The continuous miner system has got enormous capacity if deployment is done at
suitable place. However following factors which influence the production capacity of the
mining system are as below:
1) Seam Thickness: Seam thickness determines the availability of coal per meter of cut
by continuous miner .low thickness seam yields lesser amount of coal per meter in
comparison to thicker seam .hence ,the low height seams requires more frequent change of
place of continuous miner and ultimately appreciable loss of productive time of continuous
miner .thus ,the productive capacity of the system reduces with reduction in seam thickness .
2) Gallery Width: This is another important factors which determines the success or
failure of the continuous miner technology .continuous miner and shuttle cars combination
can maneuver the gallery width of 4.8 m , but with a great difficulty .the equipments of this
technology can work more efficiently and higher operational safety ,if the gallery width is
more than 5 m, say up to 6.0 m ,or 6.6 m depending up on the condition of strata (Sheorey P
R, 1992).with increase in the gallery width ,the continuous miner can cut more amount of
coal from a place during the same time period thereby improving the capacity.
3) Roof Condition: Prevailing condition of roof dictates the requirement of support .the
weaker roof requires high support density in comparison to good roof. Not only this, in case
of weaker roof the cut out distance will also be much less than that of good roof, thereby
increasing in unproductive place changing time and ultimately affecting the production
performance of the technology as we know the continuous miner advancement is dependent
up on the cycle –time for supporting the freshly exposed cut out area by roof bolts, this is also
one of the important factor for determining the production capacity of this system.
4) Pillar Size: The size of the pillars, barring the operational parameters of the
equipments, predominately affects the cycle time which in turn adversely affect the
production performance of the technology. The tramming distance increases with the increase
of pillar size. Bigger pillar may poise more problems during the time of final extraction than
the small pillars.
5) Cut out Distance: The cut out distance determines the availability of amount of coal at
one place, higher the amount of coal at one place better will be the utilization of continuous
miner by avoiding the unproductive shifting time to the other face. Higher the cut out
distance lesser number of faces requires to be cut for an optimum production.
 Besides production capacity is also affected by some mine dependent factors which can be
summarized as under
 Roof support system
 Travelling time
 Awaiting shuttle car
 Machine breakdowns and insufficient maintenance
 Out-bye coal clearance
 Power unavailability
 Pick changing
 Poor roof/floor condition etc.
IV. IMPROVEMENT OF EQUIPMENT UTILIZATION

The production performance of mining equipment depends on its availability and

utilization. Hence it is necessary to determine the percentage availability and utilization of
machinery with an aim to improve the same. Different mines are following different terms
and maintaining different information. There is a need to develop proper feedback and to
define terms, factors and indices relating to mining equipment. These would serve as
management’s tool in improving performance. These can also be used for inter-firm
comparisons. To sum up, there is a necessity to lay down on systematic basic, well defined
terms, factors and indices required for control and management of mining equipment. For
assessment and analysis of the performance of equipment one must keep proper and up- to-
date records regarding the following operational parameters.

A.Total Shift Hours (TSH)

This means the total number of hours during the period of observation. It is equal to
26*24*3=1872 hours in a quarter. This can be further divided into Total Shift Hours,
Scheduled Shift Hours, Machine Available Hours and Machine Working Hours in a shift.
Machine available hours are further breakup into machine worked hours and machine idle
hours.

B. Scheduled Shift Hours (SSH)

This means number of hours, the mine employing the machinery is supposed to work in a
year. This is a management’s decision after giving due consideration to the production target,
geo-mining conditions, the technical parameters, capital investment involved, market
conditions, labour conditions etc. The higher the capital investment, the higher should be the
figure for scheduled- shift – hours. In advanced countries equipment work very long shift
hours round the clock. In India, the general tendency is to work effectively for 18 hours a day
and six days a week. The mines under consideration, the equipment are planned to work for
three shifts of eight hours each. Two hours per shift are for travel time and preparation time.
So the scheduled shift hours are 18 hours per day (Singh R D,1997).
C.Machine Available Hours (MAH)
This means the number of hours, out of schedule shift hours; a machine is available for
work at a face. The maintenance program dictates it. Technical department’s expertise and
 availability of spares have bearings on this. This also indicates how earnest and agile the
management is to get maintenance and spare supply departments.
D. Machine Worked Hours (MWH)
This information is very important as it reflects the efficiency of coordination of various
operations of production departments. Lack of coordination may result in machine being idle
for want of blasted coal or matching equipment etc. Difference between machine available
hours and actual hours of use measures the lapse of operating department. Machine worked
hours include idle hours which are due to various delays.

V. INFLUENCING FACTORS AND INDICES

From the basic information collected, as above availability and utilization factors both on
schedule-shit-hours basis and on machine-available – hours basis, production efficiency and
overall efficiency can be determined. In the following paragraphs these factors and indices
have been defined and their importance exaggerated.

A. Percentage Availability (PA)

A machine is considered available when it is fit to be put to perform its work, that is in
working condition. The availability is determined by dividing the hours the machine is
available and is used plus the hours it is available but not used due to various reasons over a
period of time. It is normally expressed in percentages. Number of scheduled-shift-hours in a
period of time for equipment operation is taken as total shift hours. Overtime hours of work if
any are added to the total shift hours. Stoppage of less than 15 minutes is ignored and the
machine is taken as having been used during that period.
Percentage availability helps in judging and comparing the efficiency of the
maintenance departments of different units. This can also assist the management in knowing
how the availability of machine would change by changing the scheduled shift hours of work.
Percentage availability of machine would change by changing the scheduled shift hours of
work.
B. Percentage Utilization (PU)
This is defined as the ratio of the time in hours the machine is actually used in duration to
the total hours. Here the denominator, i.e. Total Shift hours can be either total duration of
Scheduled–Shift–Hours (SSH) or total Machine Available Hours (MAH) in duration and
depending upon that the value of PU will change. As MAH is always less than SSH, PU,
based on MAH will be higher than PU based on SSH. Similarly MWH is also always less
than MAH and SSH, thus PU based on MWH is definitely higher than PU based on MAH
and SSH.

C. Production Efficiency (Pe)

Figure of output may be for an hour or shift or a year. As a matter of fact it is the product
of equipment operating efficiency and the job management efficiency. Here it is necessary to
mention something about equipment operating efficiency and the job management efficiency.
Equipment operating efficiency is determined by the capacity at which it is operating as
compared to its rated capacity. Influencing factors are within the equipment-sluggish
behavior of various systems and sub-systems, etc. Job management efficiency is influenced
 by external and environment factors, - working environment, human skill, etc. their values
are only empirical ones.

VI.RECOMMENDATIONS
The productivity of an underground coal mine is affected by several factors. There is
always scope for improvement regarding productivity and overall effective use of resources.
This paper throws lights on the parameters affecting the machine efficiency, productivity of
mines and manpower management. The following measures required to be adopted to
enhance the performance.
 Effective working hours to be increased in a shift to increase machine available hours
and working hours. From the analysis, if overlapping shift operation is adopted, then
availability increases by 25%, from present 57.32% to 82.32%. Likewise machine
utilization can be increase to 72.43% (Nayak R C, 2010).
 Timely start of the face operation, if necessary the shift timings of the machine crew
and coal preparation crew may be staggered to minimize machine idle hours.
 Scheduled maintenance of machine and adequate provisions of trained manpower
should be ensured to minimize machine breakdown.
 Where travel distance is excessive, introduction of suitable man-riding system based on
techno-economics should be explored.
 Compatibility and up-keep of out-by transport system is vital to achieve production
norms.
 Evaluation of geo-mining conditions before introduction of these machines especially
seam height in case of tub loading and nature of floor strata is must.
 Better organization of manpower and its management to infuse team effort.

The following are the recommendations for effective utilization of method are:
 Regular inspection has to be done to reduce unproductive time.
 Immediate action to be taken on major impacting problems.
 Belt conveyor idlers jamming have to be reduced.
 The availability of the face has to be provided in order to reduce idle time of the
machine. It is about 28%.
 Proper layout has to be prepared for shuttle car to minimize the waiting-time of
machine.

 Shifting of equipments should be done properly such that time can be reduced.
 Properly manage the time, for all the cycle operations
VII. CONCLUSION
The productivity of an underground coal mine is affected by several factors. There is
always scope for improvement regarding productivity and overall effective use of resources.
This paper throws lights on the parameters affecting the productivity of a mine; the cycle of
operations, machine efficiency and manpower management.
Continuous miner technology will drastically increase the production, productivity and
safety in the underground mining. It is convenient with both caving as well as non-caving
 method of mining.
Using continuous miner technology high production can be achieved. It can be utilized for
development as well as depillaring of developed pillars. It can give an average of 74-75% of
extraction.[12]
The machine has worked for an average of only 54.78 %.The machine can give good
production rates if we can increase the working hours. This technology promises greater
safety. The proper utilization of the equipments can give greater production rate
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