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Valuable South Wales anthracite mined at Rhigos

Journal Article · · World Coal; (United States)
OSTI ID:6599350
Shand Mining Limited employs two Ruston Bucyrus 195-B face shovels, each with a 9.2-cubic-meter (12-cubic-yard) capacity dipper, a Poclain 1000 CK hydraulic face shovel with a 10-cubic-meter (13-cubic-yard) backhoe, a Lima 2400 dragline with a 5.4-cubic-meter (7-cubic-yard) bucket, and a 71 RB dragline with a 3.1-cubic-meter (4-cubic-yard) bucket to expose the coal seams. The overburden is comprised of mudstone, shale, and silty sandstone, and a total volume of 130,000 bank cubic meters (170,000 cubic yards) of spoil have to be removed per 100-hour week. Overburden ratio can be as high as 21 to 1. In order to improve production at the mine, Poclain modified their basic 1000 CK backhoe excavator (with a 7.5-cubic-meter bucket) by fitting it with a 10-cubic-meter backhoe, an 8-meter (26.25-foot) boom, and a 4-meter (13.1-foot) stick, giving it a maximum reach of 15.2 meters (50 feet), a digging depth of 7 meters (23 feet), and a dump height of 6.5 meters (21.3 feet). The 1000 CK is used mainly for removing overburden, but loads coal as well. At the same time Shand replaced some of its fleet of 50-ton-capacity Terex dump trucks with 70-ton models. There are now eleven 50-ton and thirteen 70-ton capacity trucks operating at the mine.
OSTI ID:
6599350
Journal Information:
World Coal; (United States), Journal Name: World Coal; (United States) Vol. 4:9; ISSN WOCOD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English