UNIT 4: LONGWALL MINING

INTRODUCTION
 This is a form of underground coal mining where a long wall of coal is mined
in a single slice (typically 0.6–1.0 m thick).
 The Longwallpanel (the block of coal that is being mined) is typically 3–4 km
long and 250–400 m wide.
 As a cut or slice is taken along the length of the wall, the supports are
collapsed, advanced closer to the face, and re-engaged, allowing roof to cave
behind.

Applicability conditions
1. Seams up to 5.5m thicknesses (maximum up to 6m) can be worked in one
slice.
2. Seams dipping between 0 to 90 degree can be worked. However flat and
moderately inclined seams are favorable for face mechanization.
3. Coal of medium hardness. Very friable and soft coals are less suitable as also
very hard coal.
4. Seams having immediate roof not too strong or very weak.
5. Suitable for uniformly thick seams.
6. Seams having strong floors are suitable softer and heaving floors as
undulating floor are not suitable.
7. Seams having less geological disturbances.
8. Seams free from hard dirt bands.
9. Seams lying at great depths.
10. Seams liable to spontaneous heating as the face advance rate is very
high.
11. Multiple seams mining.
During designing longwall panel the following factors are to be
considered which are broadly divided into two categories.
• FIXED PARAMETERS
 • VARIABEL PARAMETERS

FIXED PARAMETERS:-
1) Thickness of seam
2) Depth of seam
3) General and proximate geology
4) Presence of gas.
5) Presence of water bearing strata.
6) Surface subsidence.
7) Old working and their position
8) Spontaneous heating
9) Temperature

VARIABLE PARAMETERS:-
1. Width and length of panel
2. Extraction thickness
3. Method of working
4. Interaction of working
5. Number and sequence of working of the coal
6. Direction of extraction
7. Shape and dimension of roadway type of roadway Support method and rate of
development

LENTH OF LONGWALL FACE

Depend upon the following parameters.

1) Seams thickness
2) NATURE OF ROOF
3) Nature of floor
4) Method of coal winning (AD/RE)
5) Tectonic disturbance
6) Inclination of seams
7) Emission of firedamp
 8) Production of dust
9) Production time at face
10) Safety of workers
11) Degree of Supervision
12) Rate of gate side packing
13) Type of goaf treatment (Stowing/caving)
14) Targeted production
15) Average rate of development And Support
16) Height of extraction
17) Entry system (single/double/multiple entry)
18) Panel length
19) Barrier pillar width
20) Machine design parameters
21) Environmental efficiency factor
22) Machine available time
23) Cost

In India the average length of highly mechanized longwall face is

150 m

GATE ROAD WIDTH:-

GATE ROAD WIDTH DEPENDS UPON

1) DEPTH OF SEAM
2) SEAM THICKNESS
3) LOCAL GEOLOGY
4) LOCATION OF HEAD AND TAIL GATE ROAD
5) ENTRY SEAM
6) ACCESS COST,SUPORTTING COST

PANEL LENGTH:-

THE LENGTH OF THE PANEL DEPENDS UPON THE FOLLOWING FACTORS.

 1) GEOLOGICAL CONDITION
2) INCUBATION PERIOD
3) DEPTH
4) GEOTECHNICAL PARAMETERS
5) SEAMTHICKNESS,HEIGHT OF EXTRACTION METHOD OF
WORKING
6) WORKING ENVIRONMENT
7) RATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF GATE ROADS
8) TYPE OF FACE MECHANISATION
9) MIANTENCE COST OF THE GATEROADS

BARRIER PILLAR
1) GEO-TECHNICAL PARAMETER OF ROOF AND FLOOR
2) OVER BURDON DEPTH PANEL LENGTH AND WIDTH
3)COAL STRENGTH

Advancing Longwalls

 In this method, the face start point is close to the main headings, usually
leaving a barrier pillar to protect them.
 Once the face equipment is installed, extraction commences working away
from the main headings towards the block limit.
 Obviously the main and tailgates do not exist prior to the start of extraction
and have to be formed at each end of the face as mining progresses.
 The gate roads are effectively in the goaf and a false rib has to be installed on
one side, usually by constructing a small pillar, sometimes using stone cut
from the roof in thin seams or using some type of cementitious material
brought into the mine.
 Such gate roads tend to require a very heavy support system (yielding steel
arches have often been used).

Retreating Longwalls
 In this method, the gate roads are first driven from the main headings to the
block limits and then connected with a roadway to install the face equipment.
 The gate roads may be connected to another set of roadways at that point for
ventilation/gas control purposes.
 Once the face equipment is installed, production commences with the face
retreating from the limit back towards the main headings, usually to finish at
a position so that a barrier pillar is left to protect the latter headings.
 Because the gate roads are long, it is normally necessary to drive at least two
(sometimes more) at each side of the block.
 That set of roadways which will be used for access onto the longwall and for
coal clearance off the longwall are typically called the "main gate roadways"
whilst the other roadway or set of roadways is typically referred to as the
"tailgate roadways".
 The latter are used for primary access on occasions, but this is not generally
the case.
 As the face retreats, the roadways forming the face ends are destroyed and
become part of the is common practice for one of the remaining roads at the
main gate end (usually only one in any case) to become the tailgate of the
next block.
 The gate
road first
working pillars
then become
the chain
pillars between
the blocks.
Comparison of Advancing and Retreating Longwalls

1) Gate road formation is remote from face operations (less congestion at face
ends, less supplies into longwall face area, face not held up waiting for gate
road preparation or vice versa, no problems of dust production from gate road
workings affecting longwall personnel).
2) No gate or roadway side packs required, so less supplies overall
3) Longwall block is surrounded by roadways before the longwall starts so
knowledge of strata conditions is much better
4) Gas drainage of adjacent blocks can be carried out starting during
development; with longwall advancing the drilling can only be done behind
the face after longwall extraction, allowing less drainage time before the next
block commences production
5) With retreat longwall mining, additional gate roads or bleeder roadways
behind the goaf area can be developed for ventilation by the development
unit if required. 000000Such additional roadways are much more difficult to
mine with an advancing longwall
6) There are more options for ventilation/gas control using additional roadways
at the limit of the block
7) Advancing longwall gate roads typically require extensive maintenance to
maintain the roadway cross-section (roof and floor brushing) during the life
of the longwall block, whereas retreat longwall gate roads are allowed to
collapse behind the retreating face
8) The only real advantages of advancing longwalls are:
9) Production can begin earlier as the mine does not have to wait for the gate
roads to be developed before longwall production can commence (provided
 development rates are adequate this should only apply for the first longwall
in a mine)
10) It provides an opportunity for disposal of stone which has to be
excavated into gate side packs (this benefit is probably more than offset by
the costs

OPERATIONS IN LONGWALL METHOD

The different operations of workings in the longwall method as grouped as
operations.:
(1) Cyclic operation
(2) Non cyclic operation.

1. CYCLIC OPERATION:-
The cyclic operations are those which are repeated in the particular order. The
major operations in the longwall working are:
(1) Cutting of longwall face and loading the cutting of longwall CCM on
the conveyor
(2) Drilling the two rows of holes in the longwall face.
(3) Charging of holes with P1 or P3 explosive and
(4) Blasting of longwall face (4) (a) Resetting of fallen props and
(b)loading of broken coal on face conveyor
(5) Advancing of supports by erection of new row of props, or new rows of
props for the support of the face.
(6) (a)building of pack walls and (b) and supporting the roadways by arches
(7) Withdrawal of support and allow the roof to cave .In case of stowing
(8) (a) withdrawing the old barricading (b) withdrawing of 50% of support
of the row or 2 rows (c) connecting the light steel pipe line to stowing pipe
range upto the area to be filled (d) erection of two barricading and boxing
area dip point (e)starting of stowing of boxing area dip point (f)
withdrawing the half-filled support (g) reducing the length of pipe and
shifting the pipe line to rise side
(9) Shifting the coal- cutting machine to the starting end of longwall face.
(10) Dismantling small endless haulage. Reoelting of endless haulage close
to face. Fixing CCM on the rope.
(11) Dismantle the face conveyor and reset the face conveyor.

In some cases all above operations are carried one by one. But this being system
most wasteful of man power more than one operation is carried simultaneously.
The grouping of operation are made such that they do not obstruct the working of
other operation .The cycle that may practice in case of sand stowing.
The first shift is mainly used for preparation of coal. The second shift is mainly for
production of coal. And the third shift is maintenance shift. The part of the
operations of one shift remained be completed, will be completed in the next shift
without affecting the above main operations of each shift.
–

NON - CYCLIC OPERATION:

1. When the particular order of working is not followed it is in non-cyclic

operations. In places of using the conventional coal cutting machines the
continued mines and loaders are used.
2. This machines can cut the coal face, break the coal in small pieces, and the
broken coal fallen off the face is loaded by the same machine.
3. These machines have also the cycle of working if the advance of face is more
than 1m cut. But some continuous miner and shearer cut a very small web of
coal per cut.
4. The advance percent is 0.3 m to 0.45 m.
5. These continues miners or continues shearers are used with armoured chain
conveyor and prop free front face with this convention, cutting and load, and
part shifting of conveyor and part loading of face on bars.
6. This operations are carried minimum 2to 5 times so that other operations to
fallow.

In this case employment is not regularized because of delay in the operations due to
non- cyclic method.
Single unit face:

Double unit face:

Equipment for Longwall Mining:-

➢ POWERED FACE SUPPORTS:-

➢ SHEARER:-
➢ ARMOURED FACE CONVEYOR:-
➢ CONYEYOR SYSTEM:-

Conveyor
Belts

SHEARER DRUM
• Longwall Top coal Caving (LTCC) is a method of extraction for underground mining of thick seams.

• It uses a longwall set-up and natural forces to aid in the winning of coal.

Problems Associated With Thick Seam Extraction

• Underground Coal loss.

• Heavy cost of supporting working places in productive faces.

• Spontaneous combustion.

• Difficult strata control.

Geotechnical issues for LTCC

• Coal seam cavability / fragmentation

• Effect of massive strata units

• Effect of high horizontal stress ratios.

LTCC with vibrator
The vibrator destroys the arch structure formed during the top coal caving process, which results in the smooth
top coal caving process, and in this way the top coal recovery ratio is increased.

• If the site conditions are feasible for LTCC, will always have more
production.