LIGHTING ARRANGEMENT IN UNDERGROUND & OPENCAST WORKINGS

INTRODUCTION BEREKET

• Lighting is a crucial aspect of mining operations, whether in underground or opencast

workings. Proper lighting arrangements are essential for ensuring the safety and productivity
of workers in these environments. In underground mining, where natural light is limited or
nonexistent, artificial lighting systems are used to provide illumination.
• Opencast mining typically has ample natural light, but lighting may still be necessary for
night-time operations or in areas where there are shadows or obstructions.
• In this introduction, we will provide a brief overview of the different types of lighting
arrangements commonly used in underground and opencast workings, as well as the factors
that must be considered when designing effective lighting systems for mining operations.
LIGHTING ARRANGEMENT IN UNDERGROUND &
OPENCAST WORKINGS
• Working in a mine, whether it is an underground mine or an opencast mine, requires a lot of lighting.
When working after dark, opencast mining requires an effective lighting system.
• When operating below throughout the day, an extremely effective lighting system is necessary for
underground mining. Any lighting system utilized must follow the mining standards and regulations,
use the least amount of power possible, produce the most light, and have the fewest maintenance
issues possible.
• So, a replacement to conventional methods(which consume a lot of power and have significant
maintenance issues) is required for establishing an appropriate lighting system which can overcome
all the flaws and improvements required in the current conventional lighting system.
• In working mines a good lighting installation is one, which provides optimal illuminance level,
distribution of light (i.e. uniformity) and avoids glare
SOME CRITICAL AREAS TO BE ILLUMINATED IN SURFACE MINES

• Material to be loaded and filling level in the bucket or bowl.

• Illumination of haul roads.
• Spotting dumpers for loading and unloading at dump yards, stackyards
etc.
• Viewing the edge of the dump and along walkways.
• Inside the cabins of machinery and along walkways.
• Below the shovels, under the carriage to identify any leakages and for
handling of trailing cables ring relocation maneuvers.
• Over the deck of shovels and draglines for routine maintenance and
inspection.
AVAILABLE LAMPS IN MARKET FOR LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS
BERNABAS

• A) Incandescent lamps: Tungsten filament lamp is the most common type used in
interior lighting of buildings in surface mine projects. It produces light with a continuous
spectrum.
• These lamps have a limited life and efficacy (22). Lamp efficacy varies directly with
filament temperature, due to its high operating temperature, the tungsten filament
evaporates leading to blackening of the lamp and finally to failure of the lamp.
• Due to their low efficacy and rather limited life, they are not recommended for load
lighting purpose.
B) Fluorescent lamps: The cathodes in these lamps are preheated to generate electrons
that will let the arc strike at a lower voltage.
Fluorescent particles are placed on the tube's inner surface and the fluorescent powders
absorb the UV (ultraviolet) radiation and radiate in the visible range.
By varying the composition of the fluorescent powders, lamp types with different color
appearance and color rendering properties can be made.
Fluorescent lamps are commonly available in the range of about 100 lm to 10,000 lm
corresponding to 4W to 110W for the given lamp length of a is the tube.
C)HIGH PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOUR (HPMV) LAMPS

• It consists of two operating electrodes with an

electron- emission coating, a gas. Starting electrode,
some liquid mercury, argon gas. The arc tube is where
the light is produced.
• Collisions between electrons and mercury atoms in the
arc ionize the mercury atoms to produce the
characteristics spectral lines of mercury.
• This occurs when the outer electrons of mercury
atoms return to their normal state and release radiant
energy in the transition.
• D) Metal Halide (MH) lamp: The Metal Halide (MH) lamps are similar in construction to the HPMV lamps. The difference
being that the discharge tube of the former contains one or more metals in addition to mercury. The iodides of sodium,
indium, and thallium make up a common combination of halides. These halides boost the intensity in the blue, green, and
yellow-red spectral bands.
• The ultimate product is a 400W lamp with an effectiveness of more than 80 lm/w and reasonable color rendering. The
floodlighting of wide regions is its primary use. The lifespan of metal halide lamps is less than that of other discharge lamps
with comparable energy. Therefore, these lamps do not provide a cost-effective option for lighting roads.
•

• E) Low pressure sodium (LPS) lamps: This lamp consists of a borate coated sodium resistant U- shaped tube contained
inside a cylindrical glass envelope. A U-shaped tube containing a small amount of sodium is heated to a temperature of
around 235 degrees Celsius.
• The lamp first appears red when turned on because of neon discharge, but this gradually fades to the distinctive yellow
when the sodium is vaporized. It may take the lamp 15 minutes to attain its maximum brightness and 1 to 2 minutes to
resume after a power outage. Low-pressure sodium lamps are available in a light output range of around 2000 to 3500 lm,
or 18 to 180 W. Low pressure sodium vapor lamp have not become popular for mine lighting.
 F) HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM VAPOUR (HPSV) LAMPS
• The arc tube in a high pressure sodium vapour (HPSV) lamp is composed
of a translucent high-transmissivity, polycrystalline-alumina ceramic and is
smaller in diameter than the arc tube of a mercury vapour lamp.
• The efficacy of an HPSV lamp is nearly double that of an HPMV lamp. The
higher efficacy of sodium lamps is due to sodium's ability to emit a higher
proportion of light at visible wavelengths, where the eye is most sensitive.
• The creation of a transparent ceramic arc tube and a method for sealing
electrodes inside the tube to withstand high temperatures and the
corrosive effects of heated sodium vapours allowed for the creation of the
lamp.
• HPSV lamps are available in the range 3000 to 130000 lm corresponding
to 50 to 1000 W.
 G) LED LIGHTING

• They are frequently used as “pilot” lights in electronic appliances

to indicate whether the circuit is closed or not.
• The two wires extending below the LED epoxy enclosure or the
“bulb” indicate how the LED should be connected into a circuit.
The negative side of an LED lead is indicated in two ways:
• by the flat side of the bulb, and
• by the shorter of the two wires extending from the LED.
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR UNDERGROUND LIGHTING
EYOB

PLACE Minimum average illumination level in (lux)

Pit bottom 15-30

Main junctions 12.5
Roadways 4
Haulage engines, control gear and haulage 15
drum

Recommended Standard of illumination at certain places

Place/ Area Minimum Orientation

1 At the bottom of a sinking shaft 10 Lux Vertical

2 At the mechanized quarry face 15 Lux Horizontal
3 At the coal depot 10 Lux Vertical
4 where wagons are 3 Lux Horizontal
5 At fully mechanized longwall face 10 Lux Vertical
LIGHTING STANDARDS RECOMMENDED FOR OPENCAST MINES

• An opencast mine's general lighting setup is typically wired into a single

power source. An electrical breakdown might happen at any time, it may
leave the entire region in complete darkness and increasing the risk of an
accident.
• Therefore, in addition to the main lighting setup in the opencast mines,
individual lights may be provided to certain workers. Draglines and other
heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) create benches that can reach
heights of up to 45 metres, and maintaining sufficient lighting for these
benches is particularly challenging.
•
THE MINIMUM STANDARD RECOMMENDED FOR OPEN CAST MINES

Place/Area to be illuminated Manner in which it is to be Minimum standard Plane level

illuminated of illumination (lux)
1 General working area as determined by Any 0.2 At the level of surface
the manager
2 Work place of heavy machinery So as to cover the depth and height through 5 Horizontal
which machine works
3 Area where drilling rig works So as to illuminate the full height of the rig 10 Vertical
4 Area where bulldozer or other tractor mounted Any 10 At all levels
machines work
5 Places where manual work is done To be provided at level of the surface on which 10 Both Horizontal and Vertical
work is done planes
6 Place where loading or unloading or transfer, of Any 3 Horizontal
dumpers, trucks or trains is carried out

7 Operators cabin of machines or mechanism To be provided up to a height of 0.8m from floor 30 Horizontal
level
8 At hand picking points along conveyor belt To be provided up to a distance of not less than 50 On the surface of conveyor
1.5m from picker belt
9 Truck hauling roads To be provided at the level of the roads 3 Horizontal
10 Rail haulage track in the pit To be provided at the level of the rail heads 0.5 Horizontal
11 Roadways and footpaths from bench to bench Any 3 Horizontal

12 Permanent paths for use of person employed Any 1 horizontal

 STANDARD VOLTAGE LIMITS IN MINES BENIYAM

• In a mine the maximum allowable energy that can be transmitted in 11000 volts and maximum
limit for using power is 6600 Volts. Provided that:
• For hand-held apparatuses, the voltage should be less than 125 volts.
• For the use of electricity: –
• For underground mines, the lighting system should be properly grounded with a neutral wire
and voltage should not exceed 125 volts.
• For open cast mining projects, maximum limit of 250 volts is allowed over a condition that the
neutral wire shall be properly grounded and between the phase’s voltage should be less than
250 volts.
• Maximum 30 volts power supply can be used for portable hand-held apparatus.
• For the use of remote controlled and electric interlocking of any apparatus, the circuit voltage
should be less than 30 volts.
 SAFETY CRITERION

• The lighting fixtures that will be employed inside the mine should largely meet two requirements:
• •intrinsically safe: a device is safe to use in hazardous areas that may contain fuel in the atmosphere, such
as flammable gasses or vapors, or combustible dust. An intrinsically safe device is therefore incapable of
releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy to ignite the fuel and cause fire or explosion.
• • flame-proof: It should be resistant to catch fire. That is, under the conditions of any explosion or fire, it
should not act as a self-fuel and should not assist the fire.
Future Technology in lights
• LED luminaires can be designed to achieve maximum illumination in mines. LEDs are solid state
source which reduces the danger of accidental fires normally observed in other sources. Before
actually manufacturing any model, it can be designed in Light Tools or similar software and checked
for output values.
• LED technology has been around for a long time and ignored perhaps because it was not cost
effective enough to produce despite it’s efficiency and lower energy consumption.