Coal Age

MAR 2013

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VDMA Underground Mining Technology: Centuries of History Form the Foundation for Today's Sophisticated Systems Specialization in designing and producing highly efficient underground mining equipment is nothing new to Germany's engineering companies. Look underground at some of the machinery at the historic Rammelsberg silver mine near Goslar, and the ingenuity shown by the miners of the Middle Ages is nothing short of staggering. Move forward in time, and the coal deposits of the Ruhr and the Saar basins provided a fertile foundation for the development of world-leading coal-mining machinery, made by companies with reputations for investing in innovation time and time again. Rammelsberg may have closed, and the German hard coal industry is but a shadow of its former size, but the legacy of high-quality, reliable mining machinery remains as strong as ever. Consolidation amongst manufacturers has led to the formation of modern companies that can compete effectively in international markets, with a growing trend toward the transfer of technologies that have already been proved in the coal sector into applications in hard rock mining as well. And, of course, there is a continuing groundswell of new, often small companies emerging that provide niche and highly specialized systems and services that more than complement those from the country's established manufacturing base. Take, for instance, GTA Maschinensysteme GmbH, which joined the VDMA mining branch during 2012. Based in Hammelkeln, the company specializes in producing machines for roadway support systems in both mining and tunnelling. Its concepts are largely based on using the upper space in a development heading, with drills, support manipulators and work platforms that are either track-mounted or are operated from monorails suspended from the heading roof. Or DAT Bergbautechnik GmbH, featured in the last edition of Best of Germany, which both produces and renovates longwall face equipment, as well as custom-building pump stations and other machinery. The company recently introduced a new conveyor-belt cleaner, replacing a drum with a spiral-surfaced frame that strips dirt from the drive side of the belt and removes it from the belt line. Record-breaking Coal Mining Technology For this edition of Best of Germany, Caterpillar's longwall product group, based in Lünen, has chosen to highlight the company's EL3000 longwall shearer, as well as taking a look at its plough systems that are designed for use on medium- and thin-seam faces. In addition, Caterpillar is focusing on its personal proximity detection system, designed to enhance the safety of miners underground—details can be found on p.48. The EL3000 shearer is designed to produce coal from seams of between 2.5 and 5.5 m (98-217 in.) in height. The total installed power of more than 2,295 kW (3,680 hp) includes two 860 kW cutting motors and two 150 kW haulage motors, which together give the machine an output capacity of more than 5,000 mt/h, Caterpillar says. Major features of the EL3000 include a state-of-the-art distributed automation system for controlling, monitoring and protecting the shearer. The system can be configured to meet individual control VDMA 8 Caterpillar's coal ploughs have set several world records during the past year. needs, from basic monitoring and protection to advanced automation and data transmission. Meanwhile, the use of the PMC® Evo-S control system means a significant reduction in wiring and increased flexibility, with much faster commissioning, maintenance, upgrades and troubleshooting. The company points out that the use of a distributed network approach leads to a drastic reduction of cabling. In addition, the widespread use of intrinsically safe CIOS units allows fault diagnosis under power, requiring less time-consuming opening of flameproof housings. The shearer can also be fitted with the VibraGuard® conditionmonitoring system for online vibration monitoring, which collects data and transfers it to a surface control centre, enabling trained personnel to predict machine component wear and avoid unplanned downtime. Turning to plough technology, Caterpillar claimed two world records last year. In February 2012, the Bogdanka mine in Poland smashed the existing record for daily production from a ploughequipped longwall, with an output of 24,400 mt of coal from a single face. Then in August, the former record-holder—the Pinnacle mine in West Virginia—reclaimed the top spot with an output of 29,420 mt in a 24-hour period from a 294 m (965 ft.)-long face in a 1.42 m (56 in.)-thick seam. Both mines use Cat Gleithobel GH1600 automated plough systems. Not to be out-done, the Stepnaya mine in Ukraine established its own production benchmark in the month of April 2012, winning 100,500 mt from a seam only 1 m (39.4 in.) thick. The first plough in the western Donbass coalfield, the GH 800 was commissioned just five months earlier, Cat reports, and has been designed to handle the difficult geological conditions at the mine. Loading and Hauling with Innovative Drives Together with Hazemag (crushers) and allmineral (processing equipment) in Germany, and Mine Master in Poland, GHH Fahrzeuge GmbH is part of the Schmidt, Kranz holding group. Since it began making LHDs and mine trucks in 1964, the company has sold more than 3,600 units worldwide, while extending its product range to include VDMA MINING SUPPLEMENT • 2013

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