Underground Priorities
The underground research requirements for 2011 cover two sustainability areas –
welfare of community and employees, and profitability. This research targets the
investigation of the following key issues inclusive of management practices, legislative
best practice alternatives and risk management.
IMPROVED HEALTH AND SAFETY
- Investigation of key health and safety issues and management practices, including
legislative best practice alternatives and risk management as well as tools/approaches
(this applies also to the exploration, coal preparation and open cut areas).
- Detection/Prediction of spontaneous combustion, ignitions (including by lightning
strikes), explosions, outbursts and strata control.
- Improving equipment operator interfaces and collision avoidance, improved automation
and remote control.
- Management of fatigue via reduced exposure to vibration and heat.
- Better controls for airborne contaminants (eg dust and diesel emissions) and noise
exposure by attenuation.
- Equipment/operator interfaces to address musculoskeletal disorders with improved
ergonomics, less repetitive heavy manual handling and more use of lightweight materials.
- Adequacy and effectiveness of emergency response measures.
IMPROVED GEOLOGICAL DEFINITION AND GEOTECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF COAL DEPOSITS
- Practical methods for increasing confidence in estimation and classification of
resources and reserves.
- Improved coal quality and yield estimates through the quantification of impacts
of pre-treatment on laboratory results. and remote control.
- Improved processes for the derivation of additional value from downhole geophysical
surveys, specifically in the areas of:
- Identification and evaluation of discontinuities.
- Improved rock mass characterisation.
- Derivation of credible coal quality estimates from geophysical logs.
- Establishment of ‘best practice’ work practices.
- Improved efficiency and effectiveness in detecting anomalies and discontinuities
ahead of mining, using innovative methods of drilling, exploration and geophysical
methods.
- Practical techniques and improved methods for the integration of multiple exploration
data sets and reconciliation of exploration data with ‘real time’ operational information.
- Development of techniques and procedures to improve the effectiveness of ground
control systems using monitoring systems, integrated real time models, industry
wide analysis and improved design.
- Innovative approaches to address the specific issues associated with exploration
and resource evaluation to support very deep mining (1,000m plus)
- Options for the standardisation and improved management of exploration data.
HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY MINING
- Improvements in roadway development systems and equipment.
- Application of remote control and automation processes to increase productivity
and reduce operator exposure to hazards.
- Improved reliability of longwall systems, and further development of non-traditional
longwall methods (eg top coal caving, thin seam mining).
- Continuous improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of gas drainage practices
is required to support high productivity mining in gassy seams; better techniques
to understand and test insitu gas conditions are required.
EQUIPMENT AND MINING SYSTEMS RELIABILITY
- Improvements in the design and uses of equipment to maximise safety, operability,
maintainability and energy efficiency.
- Increase the uptime of mining and services processes; in particular, improvements
to the design of conveyor systems are encouraged to improve system reliability,
safety and maintenance.
- Improving equipment operator interfaces associated with collision avoidance.
- Improved automation and remote control.
Back