Course Name: Advanced Underground Mining Methods

Course Code: MND 411

Longwall Mining
Introduction:

• Longwall method of mining consists of laying out long straight face either along the
dip-rise direction or along the strike direction of the coal seam from which all the
coal is removed in one working section in a series of operations maintaining a
continuous line of advance in one direction and leaving behind the void which may
be caved or stowed with sand.

• Longwall mining consists of formation of a large pillar by driving roadways called

gate roads.

• The face length may vary from 80m to 300m and panel length from few hundred
metres to 2km depending on the availability of area/reserves available for longwall
mining.
Introduction:

Typical Longwall Panel Layout

Introduction:

A typical panel layout of a longwall mining section

Applicability:
1. Reserve:

• A large coal reserve is needed to make the investment feasible.

2. Geology:

• Geology is the single most important factor in high production, high efficiency longwall mining.
• The geological factors affecting panel layout include seam characteristics, roof and floor strata, and
geological anomalies
Seam Characteristics

 Gradient of the seam

• Seams dipping up to 1 in 3 can be easily extracted by longwall method. For steeper gradient, special methods
like inclined slicing or horizontal slicing method can be used.
Applicability:
Seam Characteristics
 Seam thickness

• Coal seams having thickness range from 0.6 – 6.0m can be effectively worked in one section with
powered support and shearer/plough.

• Thicker seams (>6m) can be worked in slices of 2-3m thick, either in ascending or descending order.

• The thinnest seam that can be worked is about 0.4m only depending on the quality of coal.

• The thickness of the seam should be more uniform throughout the panel for effective mining by
longwall method.
Applicability:
Roof and Floor strata

Caving behaviour of strata

• Roof should be easily cavable. Consistently safer and productive operation of longwall
faces is very difficult in adversely caving strata condition unless proper planning and
reasonable solution are not readily available for timely management of the impending
problems.
Influence of floor strata
• Floor Heaving and Puncturing depend on the strength of the floor and the amount of
load transfer to the floor through face and roof characteristics
Applicability:
Geological Anomalies
• Geological conditions that affect production, and thus panel layout, include faults, folds,
sandstone channels, clay veins, and fractures (mountain seams or hill seams).
3. Cover depth

• Longwall method is the best method for underground exploitation of coal at depth more
than 200m from strata control as well as ventilation points of view.
4. Panel Dimension:

• The general concept is to design the panels to be as large as possible, mainly to reduce the
development work.
• Currently the average panel width in 2019 is about 360 m, and the maximum width is 482
m. The average panel length is about 3459 m, and the maximum length is 6860 m.
Applicability:

5. Strength of coal
• Now a day, with increase in available machine power, the strength of coal has little
importance. However, mechanized longwall with shearer or plough demand soft or
medium hard coal for better workability.

6. Gassiness of the seam

• Highly gassy coal seams can also be worked safely maintaining effective level of
ventilation which may not be possible in other methods. As the method of coal winning
is strictly based on mechanical cutting, hazards associated with use of explosive is not
there.
Advantages of Longwall Method:

• Potential of high production and productivity

• A longwall face can produce from 2000-10000t per day depending on seam thickness
and type of mechanization
• Better ventilation and lesser chance of fire and spontaneous heating
• High percentage of extraction, almost 100% within the panel
• Better supervision and control of operations due to concentrated working at one place
• Better roof control due to more systematic sequence and line of extraction
• High productivity and less cost of production
• Gassy seams and seams liable to spontaneous heating can be worked with least risk
• Wide application under different conditions with respect to thickness, gradient and depth
Disadvantages of Longwall Method:

• High capital investment

• High gestation period
• Can not be applied in geologically disturbed areas, therefore the investment decision is
subjected to high risk.
• High amount of subsidence observed at surface
• The method needs highly multi skilled manpower.
• The installed power requirement of a longwall panel is very high requiring dedicated
power distribution
Longwall Advancing Vs. Longwall Retreating

Longwall advancing

• In longwall advancing system, a longwall face (100-150m long) is advanced away

from the main transport route either in the dip direction or in the strike direction
simultaneously with the gate roads.
• In this system, gate roads are advanced simultaneously with the face advance. The gate
roads are kept 5m advanced from the face and duly supported as the face advances.
Longwall Advancing Vs. Longwall Retreating

Longwall retreating

• In longwall retreating system, gate roads are driven from the main transport route
upto the panel boundary and then, they are connected forming a longwall face,
which is retreated from the panel boundary towards the main transport route.
• In this system, the gate roads are supported by solid coal pillars and can be
abandoned as the face retreats.
Longwall Advancing Vs. Longwall Retreating

 Advantages of longwall advancing

• Fully productive operation of longwall mining can be started with little

development work.

• It does not require that the gate roads need to be driven first up to the panel
boundary as in case of retreat fashion. Thus, gestation period is less.

• No investment and separate organisation is necessary for the drivage of the

gate roads.
Longwall Advancing Vs. Longwall Retreating

 Disadvantages of longwall advancing

• The gate roads need to be maintained throughout the life of the panel in the extracted area
or through goaf. It requires heavy support which is difficult to maintain.

• A much rigid cycle of operation needs to be followed. The gate roads needs to be
simultaneously advanced along with the advance of the longwall face.

• The rate of face advance depends on the rate of advance of the gate roads, higher output
can not be expected.
Longwall Advancing Vs. Longwall Retreating

• Geology of the area can not be explored in advance as it can be known in retreating system.

• Drivage of gate roads are to be done with drilling and blasting. Fast heading machine like
road header or dint header can not be used.

• As the gate roads are driven along the face, more dust is carried onto the face.

• Ventilation of the face is poor compared to retreat mining as much air is leaked through the
goaf in advancing system
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Individual variants of longwall mining include:

• Length of the face

• Size of chain pillar

• Rate of advance

• Orientation of face, either along strike or along dip-rise

• Method of coal winning, drilling and blasting, cutting by shearer or plough

• Type of face support

• Method of roof control, caving or stowing

Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Length of longwall face

• The length of a longwall face is a problem of optimisation and it depends on lot of

factors.
• Variation in any of the factors affect the other.

• It is a common understanding that higher the length of longwall face, higher is the
production. But it is not always true because production from a longwall face depends
on many other factors while the geo-technical and rock-mechanics properties of the
locale governs the technical feasibility of longwall face length.
• The overall economics has a decisive role on the face length.
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Face length (m), W

Face length (m), W

b b

a
a
Face advance (m), L Face advance (m), L

Case1: a/b<1 Case 2: a/b>1

Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

The major factors which govern the choice of longwall face length are as follows:

• Strata control

• Capacity of longwall face equipment

• Strata characteristics

• Production and productivity

• Ventilation at the face

• Human factors

• Investment and cost of production

Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Strata control

• Higher the face length, higher is the support requirement as the exposed area
increases
• Depending on the roof condition, the stability of working will be limited.

• From the roof control point, the face length should be restricted to 150m or so.

• The pressure at the middle of the face increases as the face length increases.

• Unless otherwise restricted to geological disturbances like fault, dykes etc or

physical or statutory limitations due to fire or water bodies, the maximum length of
longwall face is not defined.
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Capacity of longwall face equipment

• Due to technical limitation of face conveyor design, face exceeding 300m length is
not feasible.
• Present instruments are capable of operating maximum up to the length of 150-
250m beyond which reliability of the machine goes down appreciably, requiring
very strict maintenance schedule.
• Longer conveyor needs high capacity motors which may not be feasible to install in
the restricted area of the longwall face.
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Strata characteristics

• When the immediate roof is unstable, or where the seam is liable to burst, the
face is prone to undergo spalling
• In all these conditions, fast rate of face advance is desirable. In such cases,
operating a smaller length of face is more advantageous to shorten the
duration of passing the disturbed area.
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

• Production and productivity

• Although it is well established that production and productivity increases with

face length, it has also a direct effect on capital investment and cost of
production
• Ventilation at the face

• Longwall face creates more dust, which in turn require more amount of air
for its acceptable dilution and clearance, which may not be practically
feasible in all cases.
Different Parameters of Longwall Mining

Human factors

• Longer face creates more fatigue

Investment and cost of production

• Higher the face length, higher is the production and the productivity, but higher is
the investment required for this purpose. Thus, an optimization has to be made
among face length, capital investment and cost of production.
Overburden Movements

• When a longwall panel of sufficient width and length is excavated, the overburden roof strata are disturbed in
order of severity from the immediate roof toward the surface.
Overburden Movements

Caving Zone

• The caved zone, which is the immediate roof before it caves, ranges in thickness from two to eight
times the height of extraction (or mining height).
• In this zone, the strata fall on the mine floor and, in the process, are broken into irregular but platy
shapes of various sizes. They are crowded in a random manner. Thus, the rock volume in its
broken state is considerably larger than that of the original intact strata.
• The volume ratio of broken strata to its original intact strata is called the expansion ratio or
bulking factor. Expansion ratio is a very important factor because it determines the height of the
caved zone.
Overburden Movements

Fractured Zone

• Above the caved zone is the fractured zone. In this zone, the strata are broken into blocks by
vertical and/or subvertical fractures and horizontal cracks due to bed separation.
• The adjacent blocks in each broken stratum still maintain contact either fully or partially across
the vertical or subvertical fractures. Thus, there is a horizontal force that is transmitted through
and remains in these strata.
• The thickness of the fractured zone ranges from 28 to 52 times the mining height. The combined
thickness of the caved and fractured zones ranges from 30 to 60 times the mining height.
Overburden Movements

Continuous Deformation Zone

• Between the fractured zone and the surface is the continuous deformation zone.
• In this zone, the strata deform gently without causing any major cracks that extend long enough
to cut through the thickness of the strata, as in the fractured zone. Therefore, the strata behave
essentially like a continuous or intact medium.
Caving Roofs:

Immediate Roof
• The phrase “immediate roof” has been used in this work for a layer just above the coal seam to be extracted.
• It is amenable to cave after advance of the support if it is weak and thin or sufficiently laminated.
• If it is strong and difficult to cave, it overhangs to a considerable length in the goaf and plays a vital role on
loading over the support at the face.

Main Roof

• The “main roof” lies just above the immediate roof.

• The failure of this layer in large span, conceptually, causes loading of support at the face resulting in face
convergence as well as high abutment stress during the periods of main fall and periodic caving of the
strata.
• The main roof may consist of either a single layer or a series of layers which may separate from each other
Roof Separation Index (RSI)

• Used to identify the prominent layers of roof separation in the caving zone which has been assumed to be
limited within maximum height of 15 times the extraction thickness.
• The roof layers above this height do not play any role in active caving and associated loading on the
supports with progressive advance of a longwall face.
• RSI is an index containing six parameters. A high rating indicates more stable rock mass.
• The rating distribution of first three parameters namely, Uni-axial compressive strength (UCS), RQD and
average core length (ACL) are similar to Bieniawski (1976) RMR as these parameters are common.
• The rating distribution of fourth parameter i.e. ground water is also considered from Bieniawski (1976)
RMR, but only two extreme cases of the classification have been considered.
• The rating distribution of last two parameters i.e. bed thickness and rock type are based on field
experience and engineering judgment.
Roof Separation Index (RSI)

• In order to identify the different layers in roof, different rock beds are identified as per lithology of the rock
formation above the coal seam.
• The RQD, average core length and strength values are assigned to these rock beds on the basis of detailed
logging results of the core samples and laboratory test.
• RSI of the rock beds are computed as an algebraic sum of the values assigned for the six different
parameters. If the value of RSI of a rock bed is ≤14, it is considered that it will behave as a layer of roof
separation in the series of rock beds lying above the coal seam.
• Once the roof separation layers in the overlying strata are identified using RSI, the mechanical properties of
different layers in roof existing within the zone of roof caving for a given geo-mining condition are assessed.
Roof Separation Index (RSI)
Sl. Parameter Unit/ Rating distribution
No.
Rating

1 Uni-axial MPa <5 5-25 25-50 >50

compressive
strength Rating 1 2 4 7

2 RQD % <25 25-50 50-75 75-90 >90

Rating 3 8 13 17 20
3 Average core cm <5 5-30 30-100 100-300
length
Rating 5 10 20 25
4 Ground water Condition Dry Watery formation
condition/wetness
of strata Rating 10 0

5 Bed thickness m <1.5 1.5-2.5 2.5-3.5 3.5-4.5 >=4.5

Rating -28 -16 -12 -5 0
6 Rock formation Rock type Sandstone Others (shale, coal, clay, shaly coal)
of bed
Rating 0 -25
Roof Separation Index (RSI), PVK Panel 21, SCCL
Roof Separation Index (RSI)
Roof Separation Index (RSI)

Thickness, Density, RQD, Comp strength, Tensile strength,

Layer m Kg/m3 % MPa MPa

Coal 3 1400 40 23.16 1.54

Immediate roof
layer 30.02 2045 80 10.02 0.97
Main roof layer 15.94 2050 66 12.46 1.07
Overburden 166.34 2050 76 12.46 1.07
Conversion of Intact to Rock Mass Properties
Estimation of Caving Span

Beam and Cantilever Model

• Applicable when one dimension of the panel is sufficiently larger than another, i.e.
b/a > 2

Main Fall Span (m)

Face Advance Direction

Face Advance Direction

Main Fall Span (m)
Local Fall Span (m) b

a
Local Fall Span (m)
b
a
Face Length (m) Face Length (m)
First local fall
Main Fall
Conceptual Sequence of Caving :
Conceptual Sequence of Caving :

• As the face advances, the span of unsupported roof in the goaf increases and the roof eventually caves in.
This localized caving of immediate roof is known as first local fall. The caving starts well away from the
face at about the middle of the exposed span.
• With the further face advance, the immediate roof continues to cave in inside the goaf and the caving line
moves closer to the goaf edge of the support.
• The height of caving at this stage depends on the strata sequence of the immediate roof. If this roof consists
of well stratified weak shales/sandstone, the height of caving may extend to the well defined bedding
planes. In case of excessively hard sandstone strata, the roof may continue to hang in this phase without
any sign of fracture or convergence.
• The immediate roof continues to cave in periodically without caving in of the main roof as the support
moves forward with progressive advance of the face.
Conceptual Sequence of Caving :

• When the face advances beyond a certain limit depending upon characteristics of the roof, the main roof

overlying the immediate roof in the face area fails.

• The failure and subsequent caving of the main roof is known as main fall. It is accompanied by a substantial

convergence of the roof in the face area.

• The front abutment stress at the face reaches the maximum value just before the occurrence of the main fall.

It is considered that failure of strata starts occurring ahead of the face at the moment of the main fall.

• The main fall is most often accompanied by significant support closure, increase in load and spalling of coal

from face. In some worst caving cases, air-blast, damage of supports and collapse of the face are also

experienced, if the supports are not designed to cope with the intensive loading at the face.
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
• The estimation of cavability of overlying roof rocks is the first step for estimating the requirement of
support resistance.
• Quantitatively, it is difficult to define cavability. But, a roof may be considered to be ideally cavable when
the roof rocks cave in and fill the goaf as soon as the supports are withdrawn.
• The Longwall & Shortwall Mining Division of CIMFR has developed its own method for assessing the
cavability of roof rocks.
• As has been observed, the caving behavior of different beds of overlying roof depends on the thickness,
strength and massiveness of the bed. The following empirical relationship expresses the relation between
caving index no. ‘I’ with different factors mentioned above:
Where sc = Compressive Strength, Kg/cm2
L = Average length of core, cm
t = Thickness of bed, m
n = Constant depending upon the RQD of the
Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation

Category Nature of Rage of Cavability Main fall Weighting

Caving Index span, Sm, m Dynamism
Category-I Easily cavable I < 2000 Sm < 35 ---
Moderately
Category-II 2000 ≤ I < 5000 35 ≤ Sm < 55 ---
cavable
Cavable with May/may
Category-III 5000 ≤ I < 10000 55 ≤ Sm < 80
difficulty not be
Cavable with
May/may
Category-IV substantial 10000 ≤ I < 14000 80 ≤ Sm < 95
not be
difficulty
Cavable with
Category-V extreme 14000 Sm  95 Dynamic
difficulty
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
Estimation of Support Resistance:

1. Caving properties of the strong bed, Imax

• This is indicated by ‘Caving Index Number’ ‘I’ of the strong bed. This index depends on the
thickness of strong beds, its strength properties and massiveness.
• Higher the index, larger is the span at which first weight (and also subsequent periodic
weights) occurs and more severe is the weighting and worse is the resultant roof conditions.
• Caving index number of all the beds occurring within twelve to fifteen times the height of
extraction would have to be analyzed to identify the bed, which will have predominant
influence in causing the weighting.
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
2. Thickness of cavable beds in between strong bed and the coal seams in terms of height of
extraction:
• If the thickness of cavable bed is adequate to fill the goaf completely, then a part of the
strain energy released during breakage of the strong bed would be absorbed by the caved
material in the goaf and severity of first weight and periodic weights would be lessened.
• But if the thickness of cavable bed is inadequate to fill the goaf then the first weight and
the periodic weights would be dynamic and sever in nature unless artificial means of
caving is practiced.
3. Resistance offered by the support system

• The increase in support resistance has a tendency to decrease the severity of first weight
and periodic weights improving the resulting strata control condition.
Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation

Where A = Constant depending upon the category of the roof

Cm = Maximum convergence during first weight & periodic weights, mm/m
P = Support resistance, t/m2 (MLD)
Imax = Cavability Index of strong bed,

K1 = A factor depending on the thickness ‘t’ of cavable bed in between

strong bed and the coal seam in terms of height of extraction.
he = height of extraction, m
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation

• A is an empirical constant, depending on category of roof (Refer Table 1); its value
is taken as 1440 for roof category I and II, 1700 for roof category III and IV, and
1900 for roof category V
• K1 is a factor depending on the ratio (r) of thickness of cavable bed in between the
coal seam and the strong bed to the height of extraction, its value is taken as 2 for r ≤
2, 3 for 2 < r≤ 4, 5 for 4 < r ≤ 8 and 10 for r < 8
• K is a constant, 0.025
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
• With the help of the suggested relationship, it is possible to project maximum
convergence at a proposed longwall face (i.e. under a particular strata condition) with
different values of mean load density.

• As the rates of convergence have already been correlated with degradation of roof on
the basis of measurements conducted over a few hundreds of cycles it is possible to
project likely roof condition with a particular value of mean load density.

• A value of mean load density would be chosen which would give safe roof condition
during the occasions of weighting.
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
Maximum Convergence Expected roof condition
Maximum convergence 60 mm/m Convergence within permissible limit

Above 60mm/m to 100mm/m Minor roof fracturing increasing with the value
of convergence.

Above 100 up to 160 mm/m Significant roof fracturing and roof

degradation. Seriousness increasing with
increase in convergence.

Above 160 mm/m Rock fall zone.

• For Indian geo-mining conditions as shown in the above table, for limited and acceptable
degradation of the roof a maximum convergence at the face is taken as 60 mm/m. Effective
Support Resistance for different height of extraction is calculated based on the above relationship
 Problem 2

Refer Excel Sheet

Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation

Rated support resistance

However the Rated Support Resistance should take into account the following deficiencies
during the actual operation –
I. Leakage in leg circuit: 10%
II. Setting load deficiencies: 10%
[Link] (deviation from normal span,
Premature bleeding of leg circuits, etc.) :10%
Hence the overall deficiency to be taken into account is 30% and thus, the Rated Support
Resistance is calculated from the Effective Support Resistance with a safety factor of 1.3.
Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation
SUPPORT CAPACITY ESTIMATION

Support Capacity (in T) = Pr Wc (Lc + Wd + 0.3)

where, Pr is the rated support resistance, T/m2

Wc is the width of the canopy, m

Lc is the length of the canopy, m

Wd is the web depth of shearer, m

Assume, Wc = 1.75m, Lc = 4.79m and Wd = 0.85 m
Problem 3:
 Assessment of Cavability and Support Resistance Estimation

• The approach also estimates the span of main fall (Sa) and periodic caving (Sp)

S a  0.72I 0.51

S p  3.05  0.25S a
Supporting Cycle
• After a shield is set against the roof and floor, its
load (or actually resistance to roof convergence
and/or floor heave) does not remain constant at
the setting load level. Rather it varies from period
to period as a result of interaction among roof
strata, shield, and floor strata.
Ground Control Considerations
Abutment Stress
Abutment and Confining Stress
Abutment Stress and Axial Strain
Abutment Stress and Axial Strain along Face Length
 Abutment Stress
• The redistribution pattern of front abutment stress is significant for quantification of
damage and instability along the length of a face during its progressive advance.
• The operational dynamics of longwall operation is a function of peak abutment stress,
which varies with the progressive mining cycle.
• The magnitude of the front abutment is the maximum in the central part of a face, and this
zone of peak abutment varies linearly with face length
• For longer face length, the area of the maximum abutment zone at the centre of the face
could be very high experiencing increased loading in comparison to the smaller face
length.
• The state of loading can be catastrophic in deeper longwall operations due to higher stress
environment.
• As the abutment zone also varies for different face length/cover-depth, supercritical
longwall faces experience higher abutment along the face compared to the critical and
sub-critical face operations.
Mechanics of Face Damage
Mechanics of Face Damage
Highly 14.00
damage
2-3m point 12.00
1-2m
10.00

σ1-σ3 (MPa)
3-4m
Damage 8.00
0-1m Initiation
4-5m 6.00
Initiation of failure
Damage Coalescence and

Un-stable Stable 4.00

damage damage
growth growth
2.00

0.00
-1.20 -1.00 -0.80 -0.60 -0.40 -0.20 0.00

Axial Strain (%) 0.10

Axial Strain (%)

0.00
-1.20 -1.00 -0.80 -0.60 -0.40 -0.20 0.00

Volumetric Strain (%)

-0.10

-0.20

-0.30
Damage Initiation
Threshold-0.40
Face Damage Threshold (EDZ)
(HDZ)
-0.50

68
68
Stress-Induced Face damage
Roof Weighting Mechanism
Roof Weighting Mechanism
 Face Convergence
Main gate Face length (m)
Face center
Region 2 Region 1

0.00
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
-5.00
Face convergence (mm/m)

-10.00

-15.00

-20.00

-25.00

-30.00 Normal condition

Peak stress condition
-35.00 Weighting condition
Support Loading on PRS
Face Spalling
Stress-Induced Face Damage to
Weighting-Driven Face Spalling
follow a Cyclic Process
 Face Spalling

Face Spalling Face Spalling

 Parameters affecting Face Spalling
Effect of Cover Depth

Mining Face Face Strength Strength Roof Spalled Volume of

condi– length height properties properties thick– Coal (SV, m3)
tion (m) (m) of strata of coal ness ratio
150 450 750

1 250 3 Soft Moderate 2 422 762 1007

2 90 3 Soft Moderate 2 106 191 252

3 250 4.5 Soft Moderate 2 833 1684 2225

4 250 3 Hard Moderate 2 # 801 1054

5 250 3 Soft Hard 2 372 672 889

6 250 3 Soft Moderate 0.5 332 599 792

 Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3 Condition 4 Condition 5
Condition 6
2500
2225
2000
Spalled Volume (m3)

1684
1500

1007 1054
1000 933 889
762 801 792
672599
500 422 372332
191 252
106
NA
0
150 450 750
Mining Depth (m)
Mining Condition 3
 Effect of Face Length

Mining Extraction Cover Strata Coal Thickness Spalled Volume of

Condition height (m) Depth strength strength Ratio Coal (SV, m3)
(m)
90 150 250

1 3 450 Soft Moderate 2 191 381 762

2 4.5 450 Soft Moderate 2 421 842 1684
3 3 750 Soft Moderate 2 252 504 1007
4 3 450 Hard Moderate 2 200 401 801
5 3 450 Soft Soft 2 247 493 986
6 3 450 Soft Moderate 0.5 150 300 599
 1800 1684
Condition 1 Condition 2
1600
Condition 3 Condition 4
Spalled Volume (m3) 1400 Condition 5 Condition 6
1200
1007 986
1000
842 801
800 762
599
600 504 493
421 381 401
400 300
191 252200247150
200
0
90 150 250
Face Length (m)
Mining Condition 2
 Effect of Extraction Height

Mining Extraction Cover Strata Coal Thickness Spalled Volume of

Condition height (m) Depth strength strength Ratio Coal (SV, m3)
(m) 2.5 3 4.5

1 250 450 Soft Moderate 2 533 762 1684

2 90 450 Soft Moderate 2 133 191 421
3 250 750 Soft Moderate 2 705 1007 2225
4 250 450 Hard Moderate 2 561 801 1770
5 250 450 Soft Soft 2 690 986 2179
6 250 450 Soft Moderate 0.5 419 599 1324
 2500
2225 2179
Condition 1 Condition 2
2000
Condition 3 Condition 4 1770
1684
Spalled Volume (m3)

1500 Condition 5 Condition 6

1324

1007 986
1000
762 801
705 690
533 561 599
500 419 421
133 191
0
2.5 3 4.5
Face Height (m)
Mining Condition 1
 Effect of the Strength of Coal

Mining Face Face Cover Strata Thick– Spalled Volume of Coal

Condi– length height depth strength ness (SV, m3)
tion (m) (m) (m) ratio
Soft Mod. Hard

1 250 3 450 Mod. 2 968 748 660

2 90 3 450 Mod. 2 242 187 165
3 250 4.5 450 Mod. 2 2283 1770 1558

4 250 3 750 Mod. 2 1276 986 870

5 250 3 450 Hard 2 1033 801 705

6 250 3 450 Mod. 0.5 761 588 519

Mod. – Moderate
 Condition 1
2500 Condition 2
2283
Condition 3
2000 Condition 4
1770
Spalled Volume (m3)

1558 Condition 5
1500 Condition 6
1276
968 1033 986
1000 801 870
761 748 705
588 660
519
500
242 187 165
0
Soft_Coal Moderate_Coal Hard_coal
Coal Strength
 Effect of Strata Thickness

Mining Face Extraction Cover Strata Coal Spalled volume

condi–tion length height (m) depth strength strength (SV, m3)
(m) (m)

0.5 1 2

1 250 3 450 Mod. Mod. 588 672 748

2 90 3 450 Mod. Mod. 147 168 187

3 250 4.5 450 Mod. Mod. 1299 1485 1653

4 250 3 750 Mod. Mod. 776 886 986
5 250 3 450 Hard Mod. 630 720 801
6 250 3 450 Mod. Soft 761 870 968
 Effect of the Strength and Deformation Modulus of Strata

Mining Face Extraction Cover Coal Thick- Spalled volume (SV, m3)
condi-tion length height depth(m) stren-gth ness ratio
(m) (m)
Soft Mod. Hard

1 250 3 450 Mod. 2 762 748 801

2 90 3 450 Mod. 2 191 187 200
3 250 4.5 450 Mod. 2 1684 1653 1770
4 250 3 750 Mod. 2 1007 986 1054
5 250 3 450 Soft 2 986 968 1033
6 250 3 450 Mod. 0.5 599 588 630
Mod.–Moderate
Summary on Face Spalling Observations

• The study showed that working deep coal seams with wider face length and higher extraction height
could create considerable potential for face instability due to the higher volume of face spalling.
• The study also showed that working under soft and hard strata formation could pose a significant strata
control challenge, where the amount of face spalling was higher than the moderate strata condition.
• working under a stronger roof with a larger face dimension could worsen the strata control issue
associated with higher intensity of strata weighting and face spalling. It was also revealed that the
increased thickness of the main roof could elevate the face spalling at the coal wall, which reduced the
thickness of the main roof.
Thick Seam Mining Methods
Slice Mining
Thick Seam Mining Methods

• Ascending Vs. Descending Slicing

• Thickness of Slices

• Disadvantages of too-thick slices

• Factors affecting the division of a seam into slices

Thick Seam Mining Methods
Main Slicing Methods

Inclined Slicing
• Applicability
• Inclined Slicing in Descending Order with Caving
• Inclined Slicing in Ascending Order with Stowing

Horizontal Slicing
• Applicability
• Horizontal Slicing in Ascending Order with Stowing
• Horizontal Slicing in Descending Order with Caving
Thick Seam Mining Methods
Inclined Slicing in Descending Order with Caving
Thick Seam Mining Methods
Inclined Slicing in Descending Order with Caving
Inclined Slicing in Descending Order with Caving
Inclined Slicing in Ascending Order with Stowing
Horizontal Slicing
Sub-Level Caving
LTCC