Enhancement of Production and Productivity with Pony Conveyor A

Case Study
Inumula Satyanarayana
Deputy Director of Mines Safety, DGMS, Dhanbad

Keywords: demand, production, productivity, opencast mining, underground mining, pony conveyor, plan,
haulage, tubs, coal, availability and utilization
ABSTRACT: Coal is the natural choice as primary energy source in India. India is the third-largest coalproducing country after China and USA. Indias domestic consumption is expected to increase multi-fold within
the next five to 10 years, due to the completion of ongoing power projects, and demand from steel mills, cement producers and other industries. India imports coal to meet this demand. Non-coking coal reserves make
up about 85 percent while coking coal reserves are the remaining 15 percent. Since oil shocks of seventies,
coal is the single most important energy source for India. India needs to sustain an 8% to 10% economic
growth rate, over the next 25 years. Coal provides 52% of primary energy for India against 27% Globally.
65% of power generation in India depends on coal against 41% internationally and the trend is likely to continue in the foreseeable future1. Integrated Energy Policy envisages a coal demand of 2.04 Bt. in 2031-32 with
8 % GDP growth & 2.34 Bt. with 9 % GDP growth in the TY of XV Plan2. India has the fourth-largest reserves of coal in the world after USA, Russia, China. So, there is utmost need for enhancement of production
and productivity in India which needs revolution in economic reforms, technological upgradation, intensive
mechanization, detailed exploration and opening up new projects. This paper deals with the means for improvement of production and productivity with pony conveyor from underground coal mines with case studies
from Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
1 INTRODUCTION
Coal is the second most important primary energy
source behind oil. There are recoverable reserves in
around 70 countries, with the biggest reserves being
in the US, Russia, China and India. Other important
coal producing countries include Australia, South
Africa, and Russia3.
Global coal production increased 6.3% (219 MToe)
with China (+9%) again accounting for two-thirds of
global growth. Coal production grew robustly in the
US and Asia but fell in the European Union4.
The five major coal consumer countries which are
China, USA, India, Japan and Russia account for
72% of global coal use. Asia is the biggest market of
coal contributing more than half of global coal consumption. Coal plays important role in electricity
generation, steel and cement manufacturing worldwide. Currently 39 % of global electricity is produced by coal-fired power plants and about 70% of
world steel production depends on coal feedstock5.
According to all available estimates, Coal is slated to
be the mainstay for fuelling the growth of power
sector for the next 40 to 50 years. Predictably, the
demand for coal has been soaring but the limited
domestic reserves and the associated quality issues

have rendered acquiring coal linkages as one of the

most difficult tasks for developers6.
India is the 3rd largest Coal Producing Country after
China and USA. Coal is the predominant source of
energy in India and it has significant contribution in
the rapid industrialization of the important source of
energy for electricity generation and industries such
as steel, cement, fertilizers and chemicals are major
coal consumers7.
The World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund confirms the likely continued high growth trajectory of Asia. Along with China, India is likely to be an important part of this
economic growth.
The total coal resources assessed are about 285.86
billion tonnes of which 114 billion tonnes or about
40% are proved reserves which is about 7.5% of the
total world coal reserves (860.938 BT). With the
present level of production (5.8% of the total world
production-7.27 BT), these reserves would be adequate to sustain for more than 100 years. However,
exploration is a continuous process and new resources get added year on year. The latest proven reserves represent a 3.6 percent increase over the previous years 110 billion tons.

Coal deposits here occur mostly in thick seams and

at shallow depths. Indian coal has high ash content
(15-45%) and low calorific value. The use of beneficiated coal has gained acceptance in steel plants and
power plants located at a distance from the pithead.
The energy derived from coal in India is about twice
that of energy derived from oil, as opposed to the
rest of the world, where energy derived from coal is
about 30 percent lower than energy derived from oil.
The demand of coal in the country is increasing year
by year as energy sources from different industries
and the projected coal demand during the period
2011-12 is about 731 MT against the projected production of 629.91 MT. Despite all this, the Indian
coal ministry projects a coal supply shortfall of up to
142 million tons in 2012. With the increasing demand of coal, more mechanized opencast mines are
coming up. Presently, this technology dominates the
coal industry contributing more than 88% of countrys coal production. The share of underground coal
production in the country has been declined from
73% in 1974-75 to 12% in 2010-20117.
However, at present only 38% of Indian coal reserves is mineable by opencast mining within economic limit whereas the remaining 62% is to be exploited by underground mining. There is a need for
bulk production from underground mines mechanization.
The Board and pillar method has been predominantly adopted in SCCL and in India for the extraction of
coal seams due to shallow depth and good roof conditions.
The manual mining (Hand section) in SCCL has become obsolete as there is no improvement in production & productivity and involves human drudgery.
Increase in wages resulting in huge wage cost component (70 80%) in the cost of production in manual mining.
In order to keep away with the arduous labor of
loading coal manually, to avoid exposure of persons
at face and improve productivity efforts are made to
introduce intermediate technology. As a result, in
India SDLs & LHDs have taken foot forward in intermediate technology. Although every effort is
made to introduce LW method of mining, it is not
likely to replace the entire board and pillar method.
Almost all the underground mines with SDL technology are running under loss. The average cost of
Underground production with SDLs during XI plan
period is around Rs 3100 per tonne where as the average sales realization is only Rs.1406 per tonne.
In view of the large scale introduction of SDLs at
UG mines, a study was conducted where SDLs were

introduced along with pony conveyors, to enhance

the production and productivity from SDLs8.
2

METHOD OF WORKING

The benefit of an open pit operation largely depends

on The method of development and depillaring with
LHDs/SDLs was similar to Conventional development of forming rectangular OR square pillars as per
Regulation 99 of Coal Mines Regulations, 1957 and
subsequent extraction of pillars by splitting and judiciously reducing it.
Cycle of Operations
Drilling
Blasting
Supporting
Coal loading (SDLs & LHDs),

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SYSTEM

PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY

On SDL-based system study, some sensitive factors

are identified which have substantial influence on
the overall production and productivity. The factors
are as follows
o Pillar dimension
o Number of headings in the district
o Face dimensions
o Gradient
o Transport equipment lay-out and its periodical
shifting
o Number of drill machines
o SDL fleet and its deployment pattern
o Operational interference
o Available shift hours
o Multiple operating gangs for other face operations
o Machine speed
o Lead distance
o Some other important factors (namely, work culture, operating skills/training of the operators, standard of maintenance, such as back up support, telecommunications, discipline and supervision).
4

OPERATING PROBLEMS

The following are the issues for less production and

productivity.
o Non-availability of machine
o Poor utilization of machine
o Lack of Coal preparation

District Hauler & Track line

o Delay in supporting

Tramming Levels

Pony Belt Conveyors

o Delay in machine tramming

o Delay in tub supply or backup transport services
(crusher, belts, bunkers etc.,)
o Idle time due to shift change hours
o Lack of on-hand trained crew
o Lack of midlife overhaul of machinery
o Lack of maintenance of machinery
SDL

o Poor working environment

Dip

Strike

o Timely not positioning of supervisors

Fig 1: Principle of working with Pony Conveyor

o Poor placement of orders

o Unsatisfactory incentive schemes

5.1 Height of the gallery from floor

o Untrained mechanized district crew right from

supervisor to workmen.

The minimum required height for tub loading and

belt loading is given below

o Lack of spares availability

5 PONY
CONVEYOR
TRANSPORT

FOR

All units are in mm

i Height of Sleeper with Rail
200
ii Tub height
1095
iii Clearance between tub top and bottom 100
of the SDL bucket
iv Height of the bucket
850
v Clearance between top of the bucket to 100
roof
Total gallery height
2345

FACE

Light duty chain conveyor (LDCC) is the best

choice for transport of coal. But the disadvantage is
heavy wear and tear of the chain conveyor which
needs frequent replacement and heavy maintenance.
Alternately belt conveyors of small length or pony
conveyors are very useful and highly productive as
the lead remains constant unlike tub loading. Special
low height, easy to install and dismantle pony conveyors have now been developed.
Two or three transport level galleries with pony
conveyors can be used to feed the district hauler or
belt conveyor.
As the drilling and blasting operations were carried
out by conventional hand held electric coal drills
with 1.8m depth shot hole, the size of lumps produced, unlike in Blasting Gallery method, are of reasonable size for easy transportation by a belt conveyor. Therefore, the coal carried by SDL from the
face was discharged on to the pony belt conveyor,
which was maintained as near to the face as possible, even though SDL can cope with about 90m lead.
The minimum lead will also help smooth and safe
cable reeling operations preventing undue strains on
the cable. If tub loading is inevitable, 67.5 cft tubs
shall be used to reduce the tub movement and save
time wherever height permits. The following diagram depicts the principle of working (Fig. 1).

SDL-Tub Loading

SDL Belt Loading

All units are in mm

i Minimum height of the belt from Floor
600
ii Height of the hopper on belt
300
iii Clearance between hopper and SDL 100
bucket
iv Height of the SDL bucket
850
v Clearance between bucket and roof
100
Total gallery height
1950
5.2 Case Study: Observations at RK-6 and RK-8
Inclines

RK-6 Incline

RK-6 Incline is a working mine with eight SDLs and

4 hand section drills with a projected target of 5.40
LTPA for 2012-13. This mine consists of 6 workable
seams viz; No1A, 1,2A, 2, 4 and 5 seams in descending order. The expected remaining life of the
mine is 8 years. The details of seams are given below.
3

Seam Details

Seam
Thickness(m)

1A

2B

2A

3.60-5.8 2.8-3.2 0.6-1.2 1.4-1.6 4.2-4.7 0.9-1.2 1.6-1.8 1.6-2.0

Parting(m)

18

Gradient

1 in 4

Overall quality

Gassiness

I degree

40

11

25

35

12

11

Extractable Reserves: 4.00 MT

The pony conveyors are erected in two depillaring

districts of low height seams (2A and 4). The coal is
exploited by drilling and blasted coal. The face as
well as advance supporting is being done with the
help of roof bolters. The blasted coal from the face is
transported and unloaded onto the hopper of pony
conveyor. The pony conveyors are installed in each
working level at the rate of one per SDL. One more
conveyor is installed in upper level in advance without stopping production and productivity of the SDL
for erection of pony conveyor. It is economical to
erect pony conveyors in alternate levels unless there
are site-specific problems as shown in the diagram.
Three SDLs of 1.1 m3 bucket capacity are working
in 4S/2 Panel whereas two extra low height SDLs of
0.7 m3 bucket capacity are working in 2AS/2 Panel.
The pony conveyors are must to work low height
seams with SDLs (1.40 to 2.1m thick). Three more
SDLs working in IA seam are unloading coal over
the tubs instead of pony conveyors. salient features
of the three depillaring districts are given below
(Table 1).
Depillaring District

2AS/2

Seam Height(m)
Technology

1.4-1.6
2 extra low heght
SDLs (No reeling)
Unloading onto
Pony Conveyor (3
Nos)
Avg.
Productivity 70T
/SDL/Day
Scope
for 100T
improvement
Methods
for Cable
reeling,
improvement
inculcating
team
culture & technical
skills
Scope for reducing Providing conveyors
number
of in alternate levels
conveyors
instead of each level
( 2 Nos is sufficient)
Hauler Cost (Rs. 20 x 1 = 20
Lakhs)
Conveyor cost (Rs. 14 x 3 = 42
Lakhs)
Total
Cost
(Rs. 62
Lakhs)

4S/2

1AS/2

1.6-1.8
3 SDLs

2.80
3 SDLs

This mine exploited successfully some depillaring

districts in 4 and 5 seams with pony conveyors. As
per the mine authorities, the performance is better
than tub loading. They suggested for conveyor loading rather than tub loading. At present, two pony
conveyors are erected in development district of 2
Seam. The levels have a gradient of 1 in 30 to 1 in
40 because of swing of floor contours. The coal is
exploited by drilling and blasted coal. The face as
well as advance supporting is being done with the
help of roof bolters. The blasted coal from the face is
transported and unloaded onto the hopper of pony
conveyor. The pony conveyors are installed in each
working level at the rate of one per SDL. One more
conveyor is installed in upper level in advance without stopping production and productivity of the SDL
for erection of pony conveyor. It is economical to
erect pony conveyors in alternate levels unless there
are site-specific problems as shown in the diagram.
Three SDLs of 1.1 m3 bucket capacity are working
in this district. Two SDLs are unloading coal onto
pony conveyor. Another SDL is unloading in tubs
which are hauled by endless hauler.
Minimum width required for preparing tramming
levels for tub loading is 4.8m whereas it is only
3.6m in case of using pony conveyors. It is especially important for stability of pillars in case of steep
seams where rhombus shaped pillars are formed.
The development district with pony conveyors is
shown in the following figure (Fig. 2).

Pony Conveyor (4 Tubs

Nos)
110T
140T
130T

160T

inculcating
team inculcating
team
culture & technical culture & technical
skills
skills,
providing
pony conveyors
Providing conveyors
in alternate levels
instead of each level
( 3 Nos is sufficient)
20 x 1 = 20
20 x 3 = 60

Pony
Conveyors

14 x 3 = 42
62

60

Tramming
Levels

Table 1: Salient Features of Depillaring Districts of RK-6 Inc.

RK-8 Incline
RK-8 Incline is a working mine with five SDLs with
a projected target of 2.25 LTPA for 2012-13. This
mine consists of 3 workable seams viz; No.2, 4 and
5 seams in descending order. The expected remaining life of the mine is around 9 years.

SDL

Seam Details

Seam
Thickness(m)

Parting(m)

2.1
48

Gradient

1 in 4

Overall quality

Gassiness

2.5 1.8

Fig. 2: development district with pony conveyors

I degree

Extractable Reserves: 1.40 MT

6 COMPARISON STATEMENT BETWEEN

PONY CONVEYORS AND TUBS

round with pony conveyors is 108 min only against

145 min in case of haulage.

The following table clearly indicates the improvement productivity and production in depillaring as
well as development district in thin seams by replacing tubs with pony conveyors (Table 2). The productivity was increased from 1.34 to 1.64 and from 1.17
to 1.47 in depillaring and development districts respectively by replacement of tubs with pony conveyors.
a.

Sl.
No.
1
2
3

Thin seams

Parameter
Seam Height(m)
Technology
Avg. Productivity/SDL/Day
No. of District Haulers
Manshifts for Hauler erection
No. of District belts
Manshifts for Belt erection
Total Manpower
Saving in manshifts
District Manpower
District OMS
Saving in wages (Rs.Lakhs)
Hauler Cost (Rs. Lakhs)
Conveyor cost (Rs. Lakhs)
Total cost (Rs. Lakhs)

Depillaring District
Pony
Conveyors
Tubs
1.4-1.8
1.4-1.8
3 SDLs
3 SDLs
130
110
1
3
330
3
480
810
390
176
1.64
61.80
20x1=20
14x3=42
62

1200
0
0
1200
185
1.34
20x3=60
60

A
4
5
B
6
7
8

Development District
Pony
Conveyors
Tubs
1.4-1.8
1.4-1.8
3 SDLs
3 SDLs
120
100
1
3
330
3
480
810
390
176
1.47
61.80
20x1=20
14x3=42
62

1200
0
0
1200
185
1.17
20x3=60

Parameter
Cycle time per round (min)
Drilling & Blasting
Supporting
Loading
a
pushing of loaded tubs -100m-8 tubs
b
pushing of empty tubs -100m-8 tubs
c
Travel of SDL over 10m to load 8 tubs
positioning of 8 tubs under discharge
d
drum
e
Travel time over lead distance of 30m
Total Cycle Time per round (min)
No. of Blasts per shift
Shift change over
Total Cycle Time per shift (min)
SDL productivity (TPD)
No. of holes drilled
No. of Roof bolts erected

Pony
Conveyor

Haulage

45
25

45
25
15
15
15

8
30
108
4
45
477
130
48
16

30
145
3
45
480
110
36
12

Table 4: Cycle time Pony Conveyor Vs Haulage

From the above table, it is clear that one additional

blast (total blasts -4 Nos) can be made by replacing
district haulers with pony conveyors.
8

60

PROVISION OF CONVEYOR BELTS IN

TRUNKS UPTO ENDLESS HAULAGE

Table 2: Improvement in productivity in thin seams

The belt conveyor including a small strata bunker

The following table clearly indicates the improvement productivity and production in depillaring as
well as development district in Normal seams by replacing tubs with pony conveyors (Table 3). The
productivity was increased from 1.71 to 2.04 and
from 1.44 to 1.75 in depillaring and development
districts respectively by replacement of tubs with
pony conveyors.
a.

Seam Height(m)
Technology
Avg. Productivity /SDL/Day
No. of District Haulers
Manshifts for Hauler erection
No. of District belts
Manshifts for Belt erection
Total Manpower
Saving in manshifts
District Manpower
District OMS
Saving in wages (Rs.Lakhs)
Hauler Cost (Rs. Lakhs)
Conveyor cost (Rs. Lakhs)
Total cost (Rs. Lakhs)

haulage (max. length-750m) where coal is loaded into tubs which improve the economics and performance of SDLs. There will be increase in production
of around 12-15 T per day by making one more blast
in a day utilizing time saved due to elimination of

Normal Seams

Parameter

(50T capacity) can be erected in trunks upto endless

Depillaring District
With pony
Conveyors
Tubs
2.5-3.0
2.5-3.0
3 SDLs
3 SDLs
160
140
1
3
330
990
3
0
360
0
690
990
300
176
185
2.04
1.71
60.00
20x1=20
20x3=60
14x3=42
62
60

Development District
With pony
Conveyors
Tubs
2.5-3.0
2.5-3.0
3 SDLs
3 SDLs
140
120
1
3
330
990
3
0
360
0
690
990
300
176
185
1.75
1.44
60.00
20x1=20
20x3=60
14x3=42
62
60

Table 3: Improvement in productivity in Normal seams

7 CYCLE TIME WITH ONE FACE - PONY

CONVEYORS VS HAULAGE.
The following table depicts the cycle time for pony
conveyors and haulage (Table 4). The cycle time per

tub pushing (around 1 hour per day). The pony conveyors within the district unload the coal directly on
trunk conveyor instead of unloading into tubs. This
also improves safety by eliminating haulage accidents. There is saving of district manpower (per
shift) -8 Nos (tub pushers (4) + Hauler Operator (1)
+Trammers (3)) by providing two conveyor operators for additional two belt conveyors (2x125 KW).
Though, the capital cost of belt conveyor (around
Rs. 2.5 Cr.) is more compared to hauler (around Rs.
50 Lakhs) but operating & maintenance cost is less.
Further, the capital cost of conveyors can be reduced
by providing Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs).
5

9 REASONS FOR PROVIDING PONY

CONVEYORS

The following are the reasons for providing pony

conveyors.
o Exploitation of Low height seams,
o Elimination of Bottom stone blasting for track lay
ing, muck lifting and track laying and the coresponding wage component
o More safety
o Lead and push can be minimized, there by reducing drudgery of tub pushers,
o Frequent shifting of SDLs from level to level can
be minimized
o No derailment of tubs
o Minimum maintenance
o Smooth and Constant production
o Saving in erection manshifts for district.
o Improvement in OMS

10 IMPROVEMENT OF AVAILABILITY AND

UTILIZATION OF MACHINERY

Idle time due to shift change hours can be reduced by implementing overlapping 4 shifts.
Proper maintenance of machinery i.e., strict
scheduled maintenance should be followed.

By making availability of coal at max. no of

working faces.

Reducing flitting distance of machine.

Timely availability of spares by regular follow up with firms and placement of RC &
departmental contracts.

By introducing sufficient number of mechanized roof bolting machines with rated power
pack/ air compressors.

Deployment of trained efficient supporting

crew, technicians and operating personnel.

Separate drill machines are provided for coal

cutters and supportman. Drill machine is
provided in each face.
Operators are working upto / beyond the shift
timings if coal is available at the face.
Regular maintenance is being done every
day.
HMR shall be in operation.
Mining sirdars should take running charge
within the district.
If the gradient is steep (> 1 in 4), all the projections are made in apparent dip (gradient 1

in 5) for facilitating maneuverability of

SDLs.
Improve the pull of each blast, Try for a 3540 Tonne-face blast with improved drilling
and blasting technology.
Positioning of supervisors in time.
By improving good environmental conditions
such are ventilation, supporting, drainage and
house keeping.
Keep availability of material for supporting,
ducting and spares.
Efficient back up services like pumping,
work-shops, coal evacuation system, bunkers
etc.,
Proper incentive schemes including treating
people with due regard.
Elimination of curves particularly in depillaring district.
Increased capacity utilisation of SDLs
Better tub circulation factor.
Minimum number of Gate End Box shiftings
there by increase of avg working hours of
SDL
Frequent marching of SDLs avoided.
Advance planning of Gate End Box shifting
for reducing the idle time.
Categorisation of Spares & ensuring availability of fast moving parts in underground
stores. Some of the fast moving spares are
kept near to the district like Hydraulic hoses,
seals, track motor, CRD motor, Fan motor
and spare trailing cable with plugs connected
for each district to reduce the breakdown
time
Hydraulic oil tank cover should be modified
to adopt bolt and nut for fixing cover instead
of body threads Easy reparability.
Introduction of anti friction bearing in place
of journal bearing on track idler wheel Extended component life.
Repair of axial piston motor at pit head with
available facilities Spare cost reduction
Imported critical items which come under
slow moving items such as planetary gear
box, Track pads, etc., shall be kept available
for emergency use at centralised place.
Procurement of Spare GEB for each district.
Enhancement of financial powers at unit level
for mechanised mines
Good communication system at all levels.
Intensive monitoring at all levels.
Increasing length of cable by reducing diameter of cable or increasing drum diameter.
Mechanization of face drilling.

 Introduction of multi job concept like operator cum mechanic

Introduction of equipment maintenance by
OEM.
Design of suitable training module.
Out sourcing of non-core activities
Adjusting general shift man power in production and retaining only in statutory requirement.
Explore the workings at suitable gradient.
Avoiding water and slurry condition by proper maintenance of drainage system
Selection of educated and young persons as
operation crew.
Smooth and uniform discharge by SDL on
the belt conveyor
Preshift extention/retreating and maintenance
of conveyor belts
Providing appropriate tools for technicians

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPY

1.

Indo-US Coal Working Group, 2011

2.

3rd Coal Summit, 2010

3.

www.iea.org

4.

BP statistical review of world energy,2011.

5.

www.worldcoal.org

6.

http://www.infraline.com/industries/Coal.htm

7.

Working group on Coal and Lignite, 2011.

8.

Study Report on Enhancing Production and Productivity from

SDLs, SCCL

11 CONCLUSION
Replacing District Haulers with Pony Conveyors as pony conveyors are economical,
productive and safer.
Availability of coal faces & more yield per
blast
Maintain less lead (30m)
Continuous Loading
Extensions/Retreats & Pre-shift maintenance
etc
Increase machine utilization
Better working conditions
Good discipline, higher morale and well
planned actions
Training of personnel in maintenance and operation of the machinery

12 RECOMMENDATIONS
As the pony conveyors are economical, productive
and safer, it is recommended to replace the haulers
with pony conveyors not only in case of low height
and steep seams but also in other seams wherever
feasible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are obliged to Director General of
Mines Safety, DGMS for their permission to present
this paper. The authors are indebted to the SCCL
management for providing the necessary data required for this manuscript.