Coal Age

JUL 2015

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At the beginning of February, India's biggest lignite miner, Neyveli Lignite Corp. (NLC), took delivery of two new Tenova Takraf bucketwheel excavators (BWEs). Ordered in 2012, the two machines were erected and supplied by Takraf India Ltd., based in Chennai (formerly Madras) in collaboration with its parent company in Germany. Not only was it the first time in NLC's nearly 60-year history that two excavators of this size were delivered simultaneously, but the work was completed five months ahead of schedule, Takraf reported. Built with state-of-the-art technology, they replace two BWEs that were supplied by another German manufacturer more than 30 years ago. Traces of lignite were discovered by chance in the Neyveli district of the state of Tamil Nadu in the 1930s. The deposits were confirmed in the late 1940s, with explo- ration during the 1950s revealing their extent. India's lignite resources are now estimated at some 42 billion metric tons (mt), of which around 80% lie within Tamil Nadu. Today, the company, in which the state still has a 90% holding, operates three mines at Neyveli, with a combined capacity of 28.5 million mtpy. It also has a 2.1-million-mtpy lignite-mining operation at Barsingsar in the northwest Indian state of Rajasthan; both mining centers are linked to power- generation stations that have a total capaci- ty of 2,740 megawatts (MW). The Neyveli operations consist of Mine I, with a capacity of 10.5 million mtpy of lig- nite, Mine 1A (3.5 million mt) and Mine II, which has recently been expanded from 10.5 million to 15 million mtpy. Production in the financial year to the end of March 2014 — the last for which figures are pub- licly available — totaled a little more than 25 million mt (27.6 million tons), involving the stripping of 161.6 million m 3 (211 million yd 3 ) of overburden. India's Lignite Center NLC was established as a state-owned company in 1956 with the specific aim of working these deposits, which lie around 200 km (125 miles) south of Chennai. Mining began in 1957 using conventional equipment, with continuous mining sys- tems — BWEs, conveyors and spreaders — being introduced in stages between 1958 and 1961. Early BWEs had bucket capaci- ties of 350 and 700 liters (12 and 25 ft 3 ). The initial mine, based on an area holding some 200 million mt (220 million tons) of lignite, was designed for a production rate of 3.5 million mtpy (3.9 million tons), with the main seam running between 10 and 25 m (33-82 ft) thick beneath 50-80 m (165- 260 ft) of overburden. The operation was soon in trouble. After six years, the 3.5-million-mt pro- duction target had still not been achieved, the principal cause being the hardness and abrasiveness of the sand- 46 www.coalage.com July 2015 i n d i a n l i g n i t e Neyveli Updates Its Excavator Fleet B Y S I M O N W A L K E R , E U R O P E A N E D I T O R Indian miner relies on bucketwheel excavators to mine lignite Neyveli Lignite recently purchased and erected two new bucketwheel excavators from Tenova Takraf.

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