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alpha academy continued A specially designed head drive allows mine rescue teams to practice fighting underground fires. ous miner with proximity detection, a roof bolter, a refuge chamber, a cascading oxygen system and a feeder along with a conveyor drive. Variable speed fans allow the trainers to recreate any ventilation scenario. The air courses are separated with Kennedy stoppings and lifelines hang from the top. The Oxygen Cascading System allows miners to recharge the tanks on their selfcontained breathing apparatus (SCBA) without removing the gear. Using quick couplings and whips, five miners could recharge tanks at the same time in 45 to 90 seconds without breaking the seal on their masks. The module the trainers were using was set up for 16 apparatuses and it could charge 30 tanks from 0 to 4,500 psi. Alpha has implemented oxygen cascading systems at two mines (Cucumber and Hunter Peerless) and another is currently being installed in a third mine. Draeger manufactures one system (ChargeAir) and MineLifeline makes another (ModAir). They have a ChargeAir system installed at the Cucumber mine and a ModAir system at the Hunter Peerless mine. Alpha also demonstrated its new technology for airflow monitoring. It uses three sensors to monitor air flow velocity and direction, methane and carbon monoxide (CO) continuously from a surface location. The units will be placed in every intake, return and neutral air course at each of the company's active underground sections. July 2013 "There was nothing on the market so we developed an airflow monitor, which consists of two thermal sensors with a heat resistor between them," said Terry Theys, director of safety engineering. "The air flow across them creates a temperature change, and the difference is monitored and fed to the data collection system." The CO sensor is an electrochemical device developed by Matrix that has been available for about a year. The methane monitor uses a highly accurate infrared sensor. The system reports wirelessly to a central control room. "We have developed a gateway to convert the information for Alpha's atmospheric monitoring system," Theys said. "Otherwise we would have had to develop four different AMS systems." During a demo, Theys showed how the system noticed that ventilation had reversed from 700 cubic feet per minute (cfm) to -300 cfm. The operator at the central control room receives an alarm immediately. He can alert personnel. "Until now, that situation would never have been identified unless a mine examiner had recently passed through that immediate area," Theys said. Alpha was expecting approval on the entire system from MSHA's ACC group soon. They are currently manufacturing the componentry. "We will start installing them in August," Theys said. "We will have them in every active production split before December. This is the next generation in mine monitoring systems." The underground mine lab has a refuge station for training purposes. At another similar looking station, Alpha had a fresh air base from Australia on display. Although it appeared to be a refuge chamber, it was not. The unit simply allows miners wearing an SCSR to rest during their journey in a positive displacement atmosphere. Miners wearing an SCSR cannot remove their mouth piece. This unit allows them a chance to cool off, get a drink of water, and get their bearings. It will hold 30 miners comfortably. The simulated mine has a Joy 14CM15 continuous miner with Joy-Matrix proximity detection. They selected this unit because it most closely resembles what Alpha is using in the field, 75% of the company's 184 continuous miners. The miner operator wears a locator and it forces him to stand in a place of safety, explained Mike Fletcher, captain of Chapmanville mine rescue team. As the operator approaches the continuous miner, a warning signal activates with an audible and visual tone. The continuous miner will still function. "When he gets too close, the signal turns red with a solid audible tone," Fletcher said. "It will deenergize the tram and stop the swing on the boom, so that the continuous miner cannot harm the operator. In his place of safety, he hears no audible tone and he sees a green light. Speaking as a former www.coalage.com 33