Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/82345
1960-1969 make possible recovery of 17,000 tpd of raw coal. River King wound up 1962 with a record day—17,730 tons—in a record month—340,000 tons—climaxing a record year of 2,910,905 tons. And the target for 1963 was 3 million tons. Perhaps the most famous of them all, however, was the massive Captain shovel at the new 1964 Southwestern Illinois Coal Corp. Captain mine in Percy, Ill. Reviewed and featured in the February 1965, February 1966, August 1966 and December 1967 issues, the huge machine became a veritable celebrity in and of itself. The Marion 6360 shovel, featuring a 180-cu yd dipper, a 215 ft boom length and 33,000 total horsepower, was expect- ed to remove 4.5 million cu yd of over- burden each month so as to sustain a loading rate of 20,000 tpd or 500,000 tons per month. A fleet of 240-ton Caterpillar diesel-electric coal haulers, powered at both ends and operated from one of two cabs, were deployed to keep up with the behemoth. But all the attention and publicity associated with the new dragline machines, coupled with an increase in stripping operations, accelerated an environmental backlash. Already a con- cern throughout the 1940s and 1950s, what to do with post-mined land became a serious concern throughout the decade—at times the debate overshad- owed the stripping operations them- selves. Prior to moving any dirt, a post-mine plan was becoming vital to an operation's success. In the September 1965 issue, the magazine reported that new TVA coal contracts would include and set reclamation requirements. By 1966, "land restoration became integrated more and more into overall mining plans as operators strove to meet the requirements of stricter reclamation and anti-pollution laws….most opera- tors used AN-FO to break overburden, either mixing the ingredients at the hole- site or buying pre-mixed products. However, minimizing noise and vibra- tion were of concern to companies oper- ating near populated areas," reported the magazine in the February 1967 issue. From 1966 through the end of the decade, the coal and power industry would wage a public relations campaign to convince the American public that strip mining was actually beneficial, in the long run, to both the landscape and human activities. In fact, once stripped, post-mined lands were incredibly mal- 120 www.coalage.com Self-advancing roof support system reduces manpower more than 50% and effectively controls the roof. *Coal Age, December 1961 leable and could be transformed into all sorts of recreational areas, fishing lakes, swimming holes, housing projects and cattle farms. In the April, May and December 1966 issues, the editors used hundreds of color images to illustrate the potential beauty of post-mined lands. Calling strip mining the "Total Benefit Industry" producers joined in with the magazine in advertising their best recla- mation jobs. All the greenery made for some impressive images, and, to be sure, millions of Americans then and now have enjoyed the benefits of recreated reclaimed lands. But, by the end of the decade, Congress and various state legis- latures were not so accepting. New recla- mation and environmental standards were being adopted, with the federal gov- ernment establishing minimum regula- tions that states could then improve upon. Various bills would be put forth, many of which were later wrapped up and bundled into sweeping surface mine legislation in the mid-1970s. The Longwall Miracle: Thanks to Hydraulics and the West Germans Beginning in December 1961, Coal Age published several features about new long- wall technology. After first profiling Eastern's experience, in the May 1962 issue, the magazine reported on how a British- made face unit and self-advancing roof support system were being employed for increased productivity and greater coal recovery at the Sunnyside, Utah, mines of the Kaiser Steel Co. "Providing a big part of the answer to difficult mining condi- tions…the unit has now marked up more than 5 mo of successful operation at the Sunnyside No. 3 mine…Productivity fig- ures already achieved are expected to be bettered significantly when the unit com- pletes the present 308-ft wall experimental section and goes into service on the 750-ft wall that will be standard for future work. The unit was equipped with an Anderton shearer-loader with 5-ft drum 2 ft 3 in. wide; a British Jeffrey-Diamond face con- veyer; and a Dowty Roofmaster support system. Horsepower of the shearer was 125, weight with the plow was 8 tons. Under average conditions, width of the cut is 2 ft. The best shift thus far had produced over 700 tons with the longwall." In August 1963, Coal Age returned to Eastern, where a second longwall planer, Roof support unit illustrates how variations in seam height are obtained. The jacks are designed to accept extensions for various seam heights. *Coal Age, December 1961 100th Anniversary Special Issue August 2012