ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
Australian Roadway Development
Improvement Project
ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT OPERATORS’
WORKSHOPS
March 2009
SAFETY ASPECTS OF VENUE
 As advised by venue
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OBJECTIVE AND FORMAT
Provide a forum for roadway development operators to:
 Learn of emerging best practice and roadway
development initiatives
 Learn of developments in equipment and technology
 Network with peers, and share their experience and
learnings (and not just their successes)
 Identify areas for targeted research
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FORMAT

Series of presentations not only outlining advances in roadway
development research, technology and practice, but also challenging
the way that we currently think about roadway development

Researchers giving us an update on roadway development related R&D

Operators detailing current and emerging operational practices and
technologies

International OEM challenging our current roadway development
practices

Presentations typically comprise a 20-30 minute presentation with a
10-15 minute open forum for discussion and sharing of experiences
and learnings

Conclude with a review to capture key findings, identify opportunities
to improve the workshop process, and to identify presentations for
future workshops

Workshop report with copies of presentations to be provided to all
participants
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PREREQUISITES FOR ATTENDANCE
 A passion for roadway development, and
 A willingness to participate in discussions and share
experiences
 $150 ......
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ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
Australian Roadway Development
Improvement Project
CM2010 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
March 2009
Jim Sandford, Xstrata Coal
Bob Miller, Centennial Coal
Guy Mitchell, BMA Coal
ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE
• Significant improvements in longwall production and productivity are
continuing to be made, with production doubling every 10 years or
thereabouts
• Improvements in roadway development are generally failing to keep
abreast of longwall improvements
• Higher capacity, new generation mines are being planned – 15 Mtpa
• Older mines are struggling to survive and it is becoming more difficult
to find solutions and successfully apply them
• Unlikely that continuing increases in longwall production will be
sustainable if current roadway development practices and trends
remain unchanged
• Longwall sustainability!
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ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT TASK GROUP

Previous attempts at ‘one off ‘ Company initiatives largely failed:

poor problem scope, planning and organisation

lack of mine involvement and commitment

loss of project champions

poor execution and patience

lack of critical mass to gain OEM support

ACARP considered it an industry wide problem requiring an industry
wide approach to fund and resource the necessary improvements

RDTG formed in 2005 to develop and direct a roadmap for targeted
R&D to improve roadway development

Member companies now include Anglo, Austar, BHPB, BMA,
Centennial, Peabody, Rio Tinto, Vale, and Xstrata.
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KEY ELEMENTS - CM2010 R&D STRATEGY

The RDTG developed a Roadway Development R&D strategy based
on input from participants at the March 2007 round of Workshops:

Key enabling technologies underpinned by organisational and technical
competencies

Project management of R&D and engagement of the corporate sector is
essential to bring the CM2010 R&D strategy to fruition
Remotely
Supervised
Continuous
Miner
Automated
Installation
of Roof and
Rib Support
Continuous
Haulage
Integrated
Panel
Services
Key enabling technologies
Improved Engineering Availability
Project
Management
of R&D
Projects
Engagement
of Corporate
Sector,
OEMs, and
Mines
High Capacity
Roadway
Development
System
People Behaviours and Skills
Organisational and technical competencies
Planning, Organisation and Process Control
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CM2010 R&D STRATEGY
The RDTG continued to refine the CM2010 R&D strategy to embrace a
new generation high capacity roadway development system:
Vision

An integrated, remotely supervised high capacity roadway development
mining system that enables 15 Mtpa longwall mines to be established and
sustained with a single mining unit

The system will also enable mining to be safely undertaken under adverse or
extreme mining conditions, or reserves previously considered unmineable
Measures

A sustained performance rate of 10 metres per operating hour (MPOH) for 20
hours per day, based on installing primary support of 6 roof and 2 rib bolts
per metre advance together with roof and rib confinement measures (mesh)

Improved health and safety through reduced exposure to hazards in the
immediate face area
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KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES – CM2010

“Self-steering” technologies and systems to enable mining equipment to
maintain both azimuth, horizon and grade control within a variable seam
horizon, and the total automation of the cutting and loading cycle (including
mining breakaways).

Automated installation of conventional resin anchored bolts and self drilling
bolts, and the feeding of bolts and mesh to the installation hardware without
direct operator involvement.

Alternative skin reinforcement and confinement technologies and systems
that eliminates the installation of roof and rib mesh and provides an
enhanced roof and skin reinforcement medium.

Adaption and refinement of continuous haulage technologies, and their
integration into an integrated, remotely supervised high capacity mining
system.

Technologies and systems that enables face services to be extended within
the 3 minute cut, load support cycle without direct operator involvement.
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INTEGRATION OF KEY TECHNOLOGIES

The roadway development system is built on a number of independent
subsystems that remain largely unchanged since their inception some
40 years ago
 With few exceptions, new technologies have been adapted to existing machine
designs rather than result in any fundamental review of machine design

The integration of emerging enabling technologies into an integrated,
remotely supervised high capacity mining system is expected to pose a
significant challenge to researchers and OEMs
 Adoption of an industry standard communications protocol will be a prerequisite
to system integration (as in Longwall automation)
 Applied research and design simulation will be necessary to integrate the
emerging technologies and subsystems, similar to that achieved with TBMs in the
tunnelling sector

CSIRO and UOW are developing a collaborative framework to enable
their core expertise to be applied to the task, together with participating
OEMs and other key researchers
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PROJECT ESTIMATE - CM2010
 The level of funding required to successfully develop and
demonstrate all elements of the strategy over the next 3 -5 years is
expected to be of the order of $31M, comprising some:


$8.5M for fundamental, ACARP funded research

$22.5M for capital purchases and operational expenditure associated with
the purchase of equipment and conduct of “new technology” trials and
demonstrations at mines, funded directly by mines
The RDTG proposes that the fundamental research component be
funded by ACARP outside routine funding processes, similar to that
adopted for the Longwall Automation Project ($5M)
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ACARP FUNDING 2007- 08
Throughout 2007- 08 a number of roadway development related R&D
projects have been funded by ACARP, including development of:

The technology and systems required develop a self steering continuous
miner

An automated system for installing SDB and mesh, including an integrated
logistics and materials handling system from the supplier to the face

A polymer based alternative skin reinforcement and confinement system

A simulation model to enable the limitations of current development
processes to be understood

A Roadway Development Handbook to capture the industry’s current “body of
knowledge” of roadway development practice
In addition, the RDTG is providing ongoing support for:

The development of self drilling bolts and installation systems

Continuation of the Roadway Development Operators’ Workshops and
Benchmarking Study.
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2009 AND BEYOND

Given the scope of the CM2010 project and the level of Industry support
required to successfully develop and demonstrate the emerging
technologies, the RDTG proposes to pursue major project status for
Roadway Development within ACARP, similar to the Longwall Landmark
Project recently completed.

The RDTG also proposes to support mine based initiatives to develop
and demonstrate other key enabling technologies, including continuous
haulage systems, remotely operated shuttle cars, services management
systems

Strategies are also being developed to engage OEMs in the
development and integration of the enabling technologies, both at a
demonstration level and in full commercialisation.

The RDTG is also expected to review the industry’s approach to and the
development of the organisational and technical competencies required
to underpin the successful implementation of the enabling technologies
now under development.
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IN CONCLUSION
 A number of presentations in today’s Workshop will outline progress
in development of the key enabling technologies referred to earlier.
 Clearly, most projects have many challenges to address in order to
bring them to a successful conclusion, however, after today I hope
you will agree that we are beginning to kick butt in roadway
development R&D!
 Please enjoy the Workshop. We trust you get a good insight into
current developments with roadway development research,
technology and practice.
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ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
CONTINUOUS MINER AUTOMATION
– REMOTE SENSING AND SELF
STEERING
David Reid, CSIRO Queensland Centre for
Advanced Technologies (QCAT)
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
CONTINUOUS MINER AUTOMATION
– AUTOMATED BOLTING AND
MESHING
Stephen Van Duin, University of
Wollongong
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
MORNING TEA
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
TUNNEL BORING MACHINES AND THEIR
APPLICATION IN ROADWAY
DEVELOPMENT
Charles Howarth and Christian Frenzel,
Herrenknecht
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
TOUGH SKIN
– A SPRAY ON POLYMERIC
REPLACEMENT FOR ROOF AND RIB
MESH
Chris Lukey, University of Wollongong
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
undergroundcoal.com.au
- THE AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND
COAL MINING WEB-SITE
Ernest Baafi, University of Wollongong
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
SELF DRILLING BOLT UPDATE
Gary Gibson, ACARP
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
ADVANCES IN STONEDUSTING
Matt Ryan, Mining Attachments (Qld)
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
LUNCH
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
INTRODUCTION OF SCROLLING HEADS
AND PLOUGH SHOVELS ON CONTINUOUS
MINERS FOR IMPROVED STRATA
CONTROL
Kyle Eager, Alan Ninness and Matt Reh,
Dendrobium Mine
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
THE AQUILA CONTINUOUS HAULAGE
EXPERIENCE AND APPLICATION OF CHS
IN GATEROAD DEVELOPMENT
Larry Cook, Bounty
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
INTRODUCTION OF CONTINUOUS MINER
MONITORING AT CLARENCE
Bernard Vanderventer and Brian Nicholls,
Clarence Colliery
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
AFTERNOON TEA
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
UNDERSTANDING THE ROADWAY
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
- FURTHER LEARNINGS FROM THE
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ROADWAY
DEVELOPMENT
Richard Porteous, Xstrata NSW
ACARP
Australian Coal Association Research Program
UNDERSTANDING THE ROADWAY
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
ROADSIM - GATEROAD DEVELOPMENT
SIMULATION
Geoff Gray, Simulation Modelling Services
Ernest Baafi, University of Wollongong
WORKSHOP CRITIQUE
 What improvements could we make to the
structure and format of the Workshop:
 Suitability of location, venue and facilities?
 Timing (eg; day of week, and actual times)
 What issues should be the subject of future
workshops?
 Any volunteer presenters?
 Anything else?
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END OF WORKSHOP
Thank you!
Please join us for some for
refreshments and further
networking!
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