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 Self-advancing roof support system. *Coal Age, December 1961 equipped with self-advancing hydraulic roof-support units, had been installed at the Kopperston mine. During its first 10 months of operation, the Wesfaila Lunen unit produced some 325,000 tons and one panel with a 340-ft face and 3,000 ft deep had been mined out. "Comparing the cost of the planer section with that of a continuous miner shows that face cost on the planer is approximately 33% less while repair and maintenance runs about 25% less." While the greatest sav- ings was reported in timbering, produc- tion on a tons per shift basis more than doubled while tons per face man was approximately 60% greater than conven- tional operations. In the September 1963 issue, Albert Evans, mining consultant, wrote a long piece explaining the modern history of longwall production and discussed how it could be adapted to U.S. operations. A year later, D.B. Shupe, chief engineer, Eastern Associated, discussed the long- wall progress made at his company. "As a result of producing 2,750,000 tons from 29 faces in four mines in three seams, Eastern has achieved notable reductions in mining cost—33% in face labor and 25% in maintenance at one mine over continuous miners, and 45% in total sec- tion labor and materials over conven- tional mobile loading at another." In February 1965, Coal Age published a Longwall Mining operating guide, thor- oughly treating the possibilities of long- wall mining, the equipment needed and available, operations, roof action and ser- vicing techniques. Offering up the pro's and con's of the new technology, the edi- August 2012 tors repeated that longwall mining, once adapted, will have a rich future in the U.S. In the December 1966 issue, associate edi- tor Daniel Jackson Jr. reported on how a newly installed longwall unit at the Cannelton Coal Co. mine had helped make a marginal coal more profitable by reducing overall production costs. In 1966, "further experience in long- walling led to improved methods for moving equipment from one setup to another, cutting the cost of the moves, and brining them more in line with the costs of moving conventional sections. Operating experience at one mine demonstrated the value of limiting the length of the face and deepening the panel to provide an equivalent block of coal," wrote the editors in the February 1967 issue. For the May 1968 issue, the editors placed the record setting Barnes & Tucker longwall unit on the cover. "Mining 5,270 tons in 24 hr from a single longwall face may be a new record that Barnes & Tucker Co. can claim at its Lancashire No. 24 mine near Nicktown, Pa. Company officials believe that this is the highest production, in three consec- utive shifts, for any longwall operating in the U.S. (and possibly the world) to date. On Feb. 15, 1968, first shift got the ball rolling by completing 10 passes along the 460-ft face with the Joy/Eickhoff EW 130 single-drum shearer/loader. The second shift, not to be outdone, followed this with an impressive 14 passes. And the third shift sewed up the shooting match with a final 10 passes. Needless to say, management was thrilled." 100th Anniversary Special Issue www.coalage.com 121