Operational experiences with a miner/bolter in the Illinois basin

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:75439

Hess, J R ^[1]

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1. Freeman United Coal Mining Co., Waltonville, IL (United States)

At the Freeman United Coal Mining Company`s Orient No. 6 Mine, located in Jefferson County near Waltonville, Illinois, a different concept in continuous mining development for longwall panels is being used. Faced with a common problem in longwall operations, development of territory for the longwall mining system, Freeman instituted a miner/bolter development machine to enhance the mining rates in the longwall panels. At Orient No. 6, mining occurs in the Herrin (Illinois No. 6) Coal seam. The seam has a thickness of about five to six feet; the overburden is 700 to 800 feet. The immediate roof is formed by the dark gray shale and the medium gray shale facies of the Energy Shale Member. While the shale normally forms a stable roof, the historical mining experience indicates that bed separation along the laminations can cause problems at the mining face. In continuous mining sections, the separating layers will fall, or they must be cut down. The floor is formed by clay stone; it is normally stable, except when wet. Because of the roof instability, the enhanced roof control features of the miner/bolter operation became a powerful driving force for this acquisition. Rather than developing the normal 18 to 20 feet before roof control is installed, it is now possible to control the roof immediately. Resin impregnated conventional bolts are used as roof support; lengths of seven to eight feet are used, in concert with a fourteen foot plank or steel plate.

• OSTI ID: 75439
• Report Number(s): CONF-9409336--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL MINES
LONGWALL MINING
MINING EQUIPMENT
OPERATION
ROOF BOLTS
STRATA CONTROL
SUPPORTS
VENTILATION SYSTEMS