The new year opened with some important changes at Mining Report Glückauf. So we have decided to alter the content structure of the magazine in that we integrated the staff news in the “News” section and post-mining activities will no longer be the focal theme of one issue each year but rather will feature more generally in each of the six annual editions. In doing this we highlight the special significance of the work that is being done to manage the legacy of the mining industry. In this context the current issue discusses the employment drive under way in Germany’s former coalfield regions, reports on how know-how is being transferred from the Research Center of Post-Mining … Read more
With my best regards // Mit freundlichem Glückauf
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas-Peter Sitte
Chief Editor Mining Report Glückauf, Essen
ISSUE 01/2021
Employment Stimulus for Post-Coal Mining Regions
Employment stimuli. Photo: THGA/Volker Wiciok
he decision to phase out coal in Germany – and not only there –with the corresponding loss of added value and jobs in coal production and use raises the question of how sufficient new employment stimuli can be created for the regions of the coal industry in the post-coal-mining era. The federal government’s answer is the billions set aside by the law for structural support for coal regions, which was passed parallel to the energy policy realisation found in the Coal Exit Law and provides around 40 bn € in financial aid from the government until 2038. Primary focus of the act is on government infrastructure measures. It is less mindful of the need for direct incentives …
Authors: Prof. Dr. Kai van de Loo, Julia Tiganj, B. A., Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany
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German Post-Mining as a Role Model for Developments in China
FThe life cycle model for the Chinese mining industry (after (4) and (7)).
ue to the recent announcement by the Chinese President Xi Jinping to become carbon neutral by 2060, China is facing a major upheaval. Because in China, power generation is the largest consumer of coal and remains a major future source of energy. In the upcoming age of renewable energies and climate protection, the transition to a more sustainable energy supply system has already begun. Therefore, the coal mining industry in China has currently reached a phase of stagnation. This implies an accelerated role of post-mining and includes the integrated understanding of the mine cycle, and the effects considered. Main challenges are …
Authors: Dr. Katharina Schätzler, Dr. Judith Bremer, Prof. Dr. Eva Schill und Prof. Dr. Thomas Kohl, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe, Prof. Dr. Michael Kühn, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Olaf Kolditz, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung, Leipzig, Prof. Dr. Ingo Sass, Technische Universität (TU) Darmstadt, Darmstadt/Germany
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Backfilling and Securing of Abandoned Small-Scale Coal Mines with Coal Combustion By-Products (CCBs) Generated at Power Plant Sites and with Domestic CCB’s Generated at Ger District Sites
CCB Samples. Photo: GMIT
ongolia is heavily dependent on coal due to its energy sector. During the last decades in the power plants and the households of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, coal has been burned from the mines of the subbituminous coal deposits of Nalaikh, Baganuur and Shivee-Ovoo. The calorific value of this subbituminous coal is comparatively low, it contains huge amounts of different ash types, the so-called coal combustion by-products (CCB’s). Mongolian power plants generate more than 800.000 t/a of CCB’s. CCB’s are mainly fly ash, bottom ash and boiler slag. CCB’s are generated by thermal power plants and …
Authors: Dr.-Ing. Peter Vossen, EUROQUARZ GmbH, Dorsten/Germany, Temuulen Purevdorj B. Sc., Baasandorj Myagmarsuren B.Sc. and Khangai Gerelsukh B.Sc., German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology (GMIT), Ulaanbataar/Mongolia
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Trackless Loading and Transport Technology for Underground Mining
LH518 B battery-powered loader with a payload capacity of 18 t. Photo: Sandvik
nderground ore mining, as currently practised around the world, would be unthinkable without trackless vehicles. This technology was first introduced into the mining industry on a trial basis some 60 years ago and its market potential has continued to grow in the intervening years. This can be attributed to the growing international demand for raw materials and also to the gradual transition from large-scale open-pit extraction to underground mining. This organisational structuring has created mines whose production rates are now comparable with that of the big opencast sites. These underground mines have been driving the innovation development …
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Wennmohs, M & R Consulting, Witten/Germany
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Alternative Transfer Chute System
First prototype of the transfer device (2).
n practice bulk material transfer chutes for belt conveyors often cause problems. Depending on the bulk material to be conveyed, the chutes are often subject to severe wear, which minimizes the durability of the chutes and expensive wear protection material is often replaced at very short intervals. The wear also relates to the belt conveyor downstream of the chute. If the bulk material is strongly braked when it hits the belt, the kinetic energy of the bulk material is converted into particles and belt wear. Eccentric belt loading processes caused by transfer chutes can also often be observed.
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Dr. mont. Michael Prenner, Lehrstuhl für Bergbaukunde, Bergtechnik und Bergwirtschaft – Arbeitsgruppe Fördertechnik und Konstruktionslehre, Montanuniversität Leoben, Leoben/Österreich
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Mining in the Heat
Unloading haul trucks in an open pit mine.
Photo: Petro-Canada Lubricants
ffective lubrication can help mining operators achieve greater efficiency and lower running costs. But in the sector’s notoriously tough, hot conditions, there are several environmental challenges to consider and overcome when choosing and administering a grease. From equipment variations, to high loads, searing temperatures and possible contamination, there is a lot to think through before seasons are considered. How far should an operator think about the seasonality of their operation? And what are the optimum timings for doing so? This article will find out.
Author: Gord Susinski, Senior Technical Adviser, Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc., Mississauga, Ontario/Canada
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The Use of Numerical Simulations in Longwall Coal Mining
a) Geology of the detailed model and position of the face start-up road; b) support pressure indicated by arrows, the layers are subdivided by bedding planes (black lines). Source: Itasca
umerical simulations provide a cost-effective way to plan and optimize a longwall. In this study numerical simulations are used to identify the necessary support pressure and the maximum distance between shield support and coal face in a target coal seam. The stress state, as well as the subsidence and the excavation damage zone in the hanging wall of a longwall panel are determined. Based on the excavation damage zone, the groundwater barrier of the target seam is analyzed.
Authors: Benedikt Wöhrl M. Sc., Ivan Akinshin M. Eng. and Dr. Lothar te Kamp, ITASCA Consultants GmbH, Gelsenkirchen/Germany, Dr. Yewgeni Yakunchikov, SUEK JSC, Moscow/Russia
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