COAL MINING METHODS

1.0 INTRODUCTION
What is Coal?

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black

sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon
and hydrocarbons.

Coal is a burnable carbonaceous rock that

contains large amounts of carbon

Cont.
Fossil fuels:
COAL, OIL and GAS are called " fossil fuels "
i.e. substances that contain the remains of
plants and animals and that can be burned
to release energy.

Cont.
COAL

contains elements such as Carbon,

hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; has
various amounts of minerals; and is itself
considered to be a mineral of organic
origin.

Cont.
Abundance:
COAL

is the most abundant fossil fuel in the

world. World reserves -1100 billion tons.

COAL

is a non-renewable energy source

because it takes millions of years to create

Cont.

Contribution of fossil fuels to energy

95%

of the world's total energy demands

(heating, transport, electricity and other
uses).

66%

of the world's electrical power

production

Cont.
Cont.

Drawbacks of utilization of
fossil fuels;
Pollution:
Burning

fossil fuel produces carbon dioxide,

which contributes to the "greenhouse
effect", warming the Earth. Coal produces
more CO than gas and petroleum

Cont.
The greenhouse effect
The rise in temperature that the Earth
experiences because certain gases in the
atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide, and methane, for example)
trap energy
Burning

coal also produces Sulphur dioxide,

that contributes to acid rain.

Cont.
1.1 How Was Coal Formed?

Scientists believe that during the Carboniferous

period (280 to 345 million years ago) large
amounts of plant life and other organic matter
grew in the swampy areas and lagoons that
covered much of the earth. As the plants and
other life forms died, they drifted down to the
bottom of the swamps, slowly decomposed,
and formed peata soggy, sponge like
material.

Cont.

The peat became buried and compressed

under the earth's surfaces over a long
period of time. Over millions of years and
through the forces of heat and pressure,
the compressed peat became coal. The
greater the heat and pressure, the
harder the coal that was formed.

cont.
.

(Figure 1)
Every year some trees died. These
rotted down and more trees grew

(Figure 2)
As the surface of earth settled and
changed shape, some of these forests
became covered with water.

Cont.
This

water brought mud and sand, which

covered the dead trees and leaves. the
environment underneath these sediments
was oxygen deficient- hence no oxidation
process would occur to completion.

The

layers of sand and mud pressed the

dead trees underneath

cont.
(Figure 3)
The heat and pressure from the top layers
helped the plant remains turn into what we
today call coal
The sand and mud changed into layers of
rock which we now call strata .
The

dead forests changed into layers of

coal. which we now call seams

Cont.
Transformation of plant tissue (C6H10O5) n into
coal
.When dead forests are buried by sediments of mud
and sand the environment underneath these
sediments is of oxygen deficiency,
the layer of the dead forests is also under pressure
and high temperature

In such an environment the organic matter does not

decay by oxidation but by slow destructive
distillation, freeing molecules of CO2 and H2O.

Cont.

This is essentially what happens when wood

is artificially transformed into charcoal.

Destructive distillation is a process in

which wood is heated to form charcoal and
methanol

Cont.
The components of coal are:
Fixed Carbon.(C) uncombined carbon
Volatile mater,(V.M) mainly hydrocarbons
Ash, ( A) and mainly inorganic matter
Moisture (M).- water vapour

1.2 TYPES OF COAL

What are the four major categories of Coal?
Coal is classified into four categories, or ranks,
based on how it responded to increasing heat
and pressure over long periods of time and how
much carbon and moisture it contains:

Lignite (Brown Coal )

(soft), colour- light brown to nearly black.
High moisture and ash .Has the lowest carbon
content (bellow 55%,) and Calorific value, Has
Volatile matter above 45% . used mainly at
electricity-generating plants.

Cont.
Sub bituminous
(medium-soft): Dull black coal, less moisture
than lignite. Generally used to produce steam
for electricity generation.

Bituminous (medium-hard): This type of coal,

which contains very little moisture, has high
heat value. It is used to generate electricity and
to produce coke, a coal residue used in the
steel industry.

Cont.

Anthracite (hard): This type of coal has the

highest carbon content(above 92%) and
the lowest moisture and ash content, has
les than 8% Volatile matter. Anthracite
burns slowly and makes a good heating fuel
for homes. Anthracite coal is regarded as a
metamorphic rock.

TERMINOLOGY USED IN COAL

ANALYSIS

Ultimate analysis: The analysis of coal in

terms of the percentage by weight of the
elements present in coal : C, H, O, N and S.

Proximate analysis: The analysis of coal in

terms of the percentage by weight of M,
Ash, S, VM, FC, and the CV. (coal quality
parameters)

Coal quality parameters.

Moisture content:
a) Free Moisture; the weight % lost when the
naturally moist finely ground coal is allowed to
reach Equilibrium with the atmosphere (airdried).

b) Fixed or inherent moisture: The % of

moisture by weight present in the air-dried coal.

cont.

Ash content: The % of residue by weight

obtained when coal is burned in air at 8000C
under standard conditions. the lower the ash
content the better the coal.

Volatile matter content: The % by weight of

products evolved when coal is heated in a
covered crucible to a temperature of 9250C
under standard conditions.

Cont
Fixed

Carbon: 100% minus the sum of the

% of ash, moisture and volatile matter.

Calorific

Value: The gross calorific value of

the coal as determined in a bomb
calorimeter.

1.6 USES OF COAL:

As a low cost fuel: in coal fired boilers, in

cement factories, domestic stoves, brick
burning, house heating, locomotives etc.
The Sulphur content of coal is a very
important parameter in power plants.

Cont.

In metallurgical extraction of iron: As a

reducing agent when in form of coke, (Coke
= Coal volatile matter).

Production of Hydrocarbon fuel:

Hydrocarbon fuels are now produced as byproducts in coke making plants

Calorific Value of various fuels

1.6 GASES IN COAL MINES:

three most frequently found gases in

underground coalmines;
Methane, (CH4)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)and
Carbon monoxide, (CO)

Cont.

Carbon dioxide: is a suffocating gas produced

by rotting timber or mine fires in the
underground mines. Its allowable concentration
in the mine is 0.5%

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced

in goaves (mined out areas) due to spontaneous
combustion of coal a (natural reaction of oxygen
and coal). The maximum allowable concentration
in the air return roadways in mines is 0.01% (100
ppm.); ppm = parts per million.

Cont.

Methane is found in the coal seam trapped. It

is formed in the process of coal formation. As
mining proceeds, methane is released from
the exposed coalfaces. Methane gas explosion
may occur if the % of the gas in the air is in
the range of( 5-15) %. Methane explosion is
the cause of many of coal dust explosions.
The gas is released from the strata when the
Barometric pressure in the mine is less than
that of methane in the seam.

2.0 COAL MINING METHODS

Crude

oil (called "petroleum") is easier to

get out of the ground than coal, as it can
flow along pipes. This also makes it cheaper
to transport but mining of coal can be
difficult and dangerous.

2.1 NATURE OF COAL DEPOSITS:

Normally coal deposits have small thickness compared to their

area extend

Cont.

Normally coal deposits have small thickness

compared to their area extend

Coal deposit under a water

body

Coal deposit under built

area

Cont.
Depending on whether the coal deposit is
near the surface or deep under the
ground surface coal deposits may be
mined by either
Surface mining methods for deposits at
shallow depth

Underground mining methods -for deposits

at deep level

2.2 Surface Coal mining:

Coal deposits may be mined by either surface

mining methods or by Underground mining
methods depending on whether the deposit is near
the surface or deep under the ground surface.

Surface mining of coal is called open cast

mining or strip mining. In this method
Surface mining of coal extends for several
Kilometers at a relatively shallow depth,
filling the mined out area with overburden
material (back casting)

Open Cast or Strip Mining

Cont.

Open pit mining mainly refers to the

metal mines, which are rarely above a
few hundred meters radius in areal
extend but proceed downwards leaving a
large empty excavation (hole) which is
open to the surface for the duration of the
mine's life.

Open Pit Mining

STRIP RATIO

(S)

The strip ratio (S)is the ratio of the number

of units of waste that must be moved for
one unit of ore to be mined. The units can be
tonnes of waste/tonne of coal or cm of waste
/tonne of coal or cm waste /cm of coal.

From pit design we can determine the tonnes of

waste and coal that the pit contains.

The ratio of waste and ore for the design will

give the average strip ratio for that pit.

Cont.

Cont.

Overall Stripping Ratio

volume of waste removed
S=
_______________________________
Volume of ore recovered

Break even stripping Ratio or

Cut-off stripping ratio

The Cut-off stripping ratio is that S.R at which the costs of

mining the ore and waste are matched by the revenue for
that block of ore.

Refers only to the last increment mined along the pit wall. It is
calculated for the point at which break even occurs and the
necessary stripping is paid for by the net value of the ore
removed. The calculation for the breakeven strip ratio (BESR)
is:
BESR = (A - B)/C
where:
A = revenue per tonne of ore
B = production cost per tonne of ore (including all costs to
the point of sale, excluding stripping)
C = stripping cost per tonne of waste

Cont.
In certain cases a minimum profit
requirement is included in the formula.
BESR = [A - (B + D)]/C
where:
D = minimum profit per tonne of ore.
.

Economic Cut - off Limit for open pit

mining method.

When the minerals/coal extend deep in the ground,

the removal of the waste rock becomes too cumbersome
and expensive and the mine must be converted to
underground operations where economics allow;
or abandoned.

As open pit mining continue downwards a point is

reached where surface mining operations become
UNECONOMIC and a change to underground
methods is necessary This point is called an economic
CUT OFF LIMIT .

Basic production cost equation for

surface mining and the economic
stripping ratio.

Cont.

OPEN PIT TERMS

cont

Bench: a ledge that form a single level of operation

above which waste material or mineral are mined.

Bench height: A vertical distance between the

highest point of the bench (crest) and thethe lowest
point of the bench (toe).

Bench slope: The angle in degrees between the
horizontal and an imaginary line joining the crest
and the toe of the bench.

cont

Pit limits: The vertical and lateral extend

to which the open pit mining may be
economically conducted. The cost of
removing overburden versus the value of
the coal mined is the main factor controlling
the limits of the pit.

Overburden: Is the layer of waste rock

over a coal seam or mineral.

Cont.

Angle of repose or angle of rest: is the

maximum slope at which a hip or loose
material will stand without sliding.

Surface mining economics

The Choice of a surface mining method

must be based on the overall mining
economics, determined by a feasibility
study.

Factors affecting the choice are:

-Relative thickness of overburden and
the coal seam. ( stripping ratio)

-Size of the seam. (reserves and life of

mine),

Cont.
-Relative cost of mining by surface mining
and the applicable underground mining
method.
-Climate, (e.g. rain, etc.)
-Topography (accessibility, safety,
environmental impact)
-Availability of skilled labour
-Capital available.

Advantages of surface mining

methods over U/G
Higher productivity,-( tons/manshift) as a
result of high mechanization
Higher output, and better recovery. (Tons, R)large machines used and no pillars left
and less limitation on mining height
Lower capital and operating cost per ton
mined,
( Tshs/t,or $/t)- as a result of using high
production output machines

cont
Greater geological certainty and easier
exploration as a result of the mine
being open to the atmosphere
Less limitation on size and weight of
machines. ( Draglines, power shovels,etc)no equipment height limitation as a
result of the mine being open
Simplified engineering and planning.
Greater safety.- as a result of the mine
being open to the atmosphere