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Current issue 6/2022

Andreas-Peter Sitte
(Chief Editor Mining Report Glückauf)

Editorial

Munich played host to this year’s bauma trade fair in the final week of October. In spite of ongoing difficulties in the form of supply chain problems, skills shortages, price increases and inflation this globally significant event, which is a key date in the calendar of the construction, building materials and mining sectors, exceeded all expectations both in terms of exhibitor numbers and visitor turnout. For the 13th time the bauma Innovation Award was also awarded in a ceremony held immediately before the fair opened, with three of the five top awards being given for developments in the mining and tunnelling sector: namely, a hydrogen-powered excavator, a new type of continuous heading system for the mechanised excavation of high-capacity underground infrastructure and the process of Deep Sea Sampling.

This latest issue of Mining Report Glückauf focuses on the theme of “dust control”. The mechanisation of working procedures in the deep mining industry and in the mineral processing sector has meant that dust generation levels have risen steadily, driven by performance increases. While the successful deployment of modern dust control methods has seen a significant decline in silicosis in Europe, nevertheless this occupational disease continues to be a global issue. The relevant articles in this area include topics such as dust control in mechanised shaft sinking, roadway drivage operations with boom-type roadheaders, the relationship between auxiliary ventilation and dust-intensive workplaces and the monitoring of dust-exposure levels in high-dust environments.

This edition’s ISSA Mining section focuses on two EU-funded projects that deal with innovative drives for overhead monorails for the hard coal industry.

The post-mining section looks at the role that Germany’s comprehensive body of acquired expertise could play in helping to remediate and restore former mining areas in response to the new global challenges facing the raw materials industry. The mining industry also has a crucial role to play as our economy makes the transition to climate neutrality. There is not an economic system on the planet that can manage without natural resources. The current geopolitical events have now shed new light on issues such as security of supply and international supply chains and there is now a growing debate about whether Germany’s timetable for a transition to renewable energies is in fact still achievable in the form proposed. The third post-mining article deals quite specifically about the efforts undertaken to secure an air shaft, taking into account an overburdened mine water level.

With my best regards

Dipl.-Ing. Andreas-Peter Sitte
Chief Editor Mining Report Glückauf, Essen