What is ADDCAR highwall mining?
Highwall mining is a hybrid of surface and underground mining technologies that is used to recover coal that is otherwise uneconomical due to: Increasing open – cut strip ratios. Reaching pit limits with available coal in the barrier pillars. Protected surface features (e.g. rivers, streams, archaeology)
What is highwall mining?
Highwall mining is a remotely controlled mining method which extracts coal from the base of an exposed highwall. The method has the advantage of low capital cost and less lead time compared with a full underground mine, while being capable of producing in excess of 1 million tonnes per system per year.
How does highwall mining work?
Highwall mining is an adaptation of auger mining. Instead of an auger hole, an entry into the coal seam is made by a continuous miner, remotely operated from a cabin at the surface. The cut coal is transported by conveyors behind the miner to the…
Where is highwall mining used?
A high-powered auger machine, for use in seam dips of up to 23°, was developed and introduced at a coal mine in Australia (Matsui et al. 2003). Highwall mining systems have been used extensively in the US and Australia due to their safe and economical mining method (Robertson et al.
What do you call the equipment used in highwall mining?
The highwall mining machine stands on the pit floor or on a bench, directly in front of the exposed seam and makes long parallel rectangular drives into the coal seam. The self-contained Cat highwall mining system offers an innovative method for extracting coal from outcropping seams in a multitude of applications.
What are the 3 types of surface mining?
surface mining, method of extracting minerals near the surface of the Earth. The three most common types of surface mining are open-pit mining, strip mining, and quarrying.
Is subsurface mining better for the environment?
Subsurface mines produce large amounts of environmentally hazardous acid mine drainage. The groundwater from the mines is more acidic than surface waters and disrupts ecosystems by changing the pH conditions of soil and water sources.
