(PDF) The Origin and Classification of Coal mining

Coal mining 1
COAL MINING
by (Name)
Name of the class (course)
Professor (tutor)
Name of the school (university)
The city and state where it is located
Date

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Basic elements that a coal mine’s safety management system must provide
i. The management should provide the analysis of the potential hazards in the mines.
ii. The management should report and give recorded information regarding the safety and
health of the miners.
iii. The management should perform the risk assessment and identification
iv. The management should control and manage the hazards identified
Requirements of site senior executive (SSE) in relation to risk assessments
i. The risk assessment should have regards to the surrounding features that may be
hazardous if interfered with by the mining activity.
ii. The risk assessment should consider any other workings near or at the proposed mining
site
iii. Considerations about the stability of the pillar should be made.
iv. The make of the expected gas should be brought to attention.
v. The geological structure regarding to the proposed workings should be known during the
risk assessment.
vi. Considerations of the anticipated extraction method and sequence should be assessed.
vii. There should be an assessment of the ventilation method, the method used in spontaneous
combustion control, and support and strata methods.
viii. The risk management should cover the support methods responsible for the golf area
edges control in the mining site.

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ix. The management should also look on the plant fitness with its controls required at the
site.
Incidents that resulted in fatalities at the underground Moura coal mine
The Moura district has experienced three catastrophes that has led to the loss of 36 lives
(Mine Safety Institute of Australia, 2012). The first disaster took place in the year 1975 at
Kianga Mine claiming 13 lives. This was as a result of an explosion caused by the spontaneous
combustion. The second disaster was experienced at Moura No 4 Mine in the year 1986 claiming
12 lives (Thorpe, 2016). The explosion is said to have been caused by either a flame safety lamp
or a frictional ignition. The last disaster, the focus of my investigation, took place at Moura No 2
Mine in 1994 claiming 11 lives (Roberts, 2015).
At the Moura No 2 Mine, there was a first explosion where 10 men of the 21 who were
working underground managed to escape to the surface. Later a more violent explosion followed
resulting to the abandoning of the attempts made to recover and rescue the miners (Queensland
Government, 2014). The explosions are said to have begun from the 512 Panel, caused by the
failure to identify, and efficiently prevent, a heating coal. Methane, which accumulated in the
panel, was hence ignited causing a huge explosion.
In addition to the explosions, there were other factors that may have led to fatalities in the
mines. they include:
a) The failure to curb the spread of the heat. This may have been as a result of loose
coal left behind after mining. Also lack of supports of the roofs that resulted in
their falling down covering some loose coal hence preventing proper ventilation.
There could also be some areas in the goaf that may have insufficiently been
ventilated hence resulting to breeding of the heating (Weiss, 2006).

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b) The failure to recognize the existence of the heating itself. People in the mine had
inadequate knowledge on spontaneous combustion. Despite that, the little
knowledge they had was rarely applied. This involved the inability to use the
available equipment effectively for example the on-site gas chromatograph, which
provides information about the 512 panel just before the explosion, was never
used (Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. United Mine Workers
Division, Construction, Forestry and Mining Employees Union. United Mine
Workers Division, United Mineworkers Federation of Australia, Miners
Federation (Australia), 2007).
c) The failure to seal the accumulation of the methane in the panel thereby treating
the heating. There was accumulation of methane gas in the panels where coal
mining took place and it was mandatory for them to be sealed in case of a heating
to prevent explosion. This never happened since there was a leak in the panel
which led to an explosion.
d) The failure to communicate effectively, also evaluating and capturing most tell-
tale signs for a larger period of time. There was lack of maintenance of proper
reporting and communication channels thereby losing opportunities of response
by the ones responsible (Peetz, 2010). The key personnel never paid attention to
the relevant information and hence failed to act upon when need arose.
e) The inability to remove people from the mine site even when the threats were
foreseen (Brune, 2010). There was no decision made precisely citing whether or
not the workforce to remain at the site or evacuate.

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Prevention of the fatalities
I would build a strong management system that would be able to deal with the
spontaneous combustion risk. This would be achieved through repeated risk assessment of the
area. There would be clear definition of roles played by the individuals in the management in the
whole operation and this would help build a strong and effective communication system to
prevent accidents from happening. To achieve this there would be thorough auditing of the
system operation and integrity to improve attendance and efficiency of the operations (Yang,
2011).
There would be plans to adopt standards that would cater for the management, prevention
and risk control. The most common risks that would be looked into include spontaneous
combustion, ventilation, emergency evacuation, methane drainage, strata control and gas
management. I would create action plans to tackle identified risks. Adequate training for risk
identification and control will take place. Dependable procedures will also be in place with the
end goal of meeting quality assurance standards.
Education of the workforce on matters communication would be fundamental to curb the
instances like that in Moura No 2 (Smith, 2016). There would be training on how to identify
indicators relating to certain mine hazards and also familiarizing themselves with the risks in the
gases encountered.
I would develop guidelines that would initiate best technology for filter self-rescuers and
other alternatives. There would also be designated escape routes that would be used by both
those with the self-rescuers and those without. The escape routes would be oxygen based so as to
minimize the number of casualties in the event of an explosion or fire.

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There would be gas monitoring system protocols that would alert the miners in case of a
leak. The protocols involved include setting alarms which would detect any leakage of gas and
alert the workforce. It would also define the authorized personnel in setting the alarms and noting
down any changes that would have been made.
A spreadsheet showing the ore reserves (tonnages and grade)
The extent of copper deposit is determined by creating polygons at the sampling points that will
assist in calculating the area of influence of the ore. In the problem above, the area of the
polygons was given. Then the volume is determined by multiplication of the surface area with
the depth average depth of the holes. Tonnage is calculated by the multiplication of the volume
found above with the tonnage factor that was given. Finally, the value of the ore was calculated
by finding the average of all the grade values.
In the spreadsheet below, the following calculations aided in determining the tonnages and the
grade of the copper ores:
 Area = the given polygon area
 Volume = area × the average depth of the holes
 Tonnage = volume × tonnage factor
Tonnage factor was given as 0.443 m3/ton
The average depth was calculated using the depth ranges given.
The ore value was calculated and found to be 0.647162162%
The tonnage value was found to be 425386.0205 tons

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DRILL HOLE ID DEPTH (m) AV. DEPTH (m) GRADE (%) TONNAGE (ton)
DH1 25 - 30 27.5 0.8 13687.5 376406.25 0.433 162983.90625
30 - 35 32.5 0.61 13687.5 444843.75 0.433 192617.34375
35 - 40 37.5 0.85 13687.5 513281.25 0.433 222250.78125
40 - 42.5 41.25 0.61 13687.5 564609.375 0.433 244475.859375
DH2 27.5 - 30 28.75 0.45 13687.5 393515.625 0.433 170392.265625
30 - 35 32.5 0.59 13687.5 444843.75 0.433 192617.34375
35 - 40 37.5 0.68 13687.5 513281.25 0.433 222250.78125
40 - 45 42.5 0.44 13687.5 581718.75 0.433 251884.21875
45 - 60 52.5 0.84 13687.5 718593.75 0.433 311151.09375
60 - 67.5 63.75 0.65 13687.5 872578.125 0.433 377826.328125
67.5 - 72.5 70 0.46 13687.5 958125 0.433 414868.125
72.5 - 77.5 75 0.53 13687.5 1026562.5 0.433 444501.5625
77.5 - 80 78.5 0.84 13687.5 1074468.75 0.433 465244.96875
DH3 60 - 65 62.5 0.65 13687.5 855468.75 0.433 370417.96875
65 - 70 67.5 0.42 13687.5 923906.25 0.433 400051.40625
70 - 75 72.5 0.81 13687.5 992343.75 0.433 429684.84375
80 - 85 82.5 0.81 13687.5 1129218.75 0.433 488951.71875
90 - 95 92.5 0.43 13687.5 1266093.75 0.433 548218.59375
95 - 100 97.5 0.78 13687.5 1334531.25 0.433 577852.03125
DH4 85 - 90 87.5 0.58 13687.5 1197656.25 0.433 518585.15625
90 - 95 92.5 0.74 13687.5 1266093.75 0.433 548218.59375
95 - 100 97.5 0.53 12062.5 1176093.75 0.433 509248.59375
DH5 30 – 40 35 0.71 12062.5 422187.5 0.433 182807.1875
40 – 45 42.5 0.55 12062.5 512656.25 0.433 221980.15625
45 – 50 47.5 0.79 12062.5 572968.75 0.433 248095.46875
50 – 60 55 0.84 12062.5 663437.5 0.433 287268.4375
60 – 70 65 0.47 12062.5 784062.5 0.433 339499.0625
DH6 20 – 30 25 0.5 12062.5 301562.5 0.433 130576.5625
30 – 35 32.5 0.71 12062.5 392031.25 0.433 169749.53125
35 – 40 37.5 0.52 12062.5 452343.75 0.433 195864.84375
40 – 45 42.5 0.79 12062.5 512656.25 0.433 221980.15625
45 – 60 47.5 0.5 12062.5 572968.75 0.433 248095.46875
60 - 65 62.5 0.82 12062.5 753906.25 0.433 326441.40625
65 - 75 70 0.63 12062.5 844375 0.433 365614.375
75 - 80 77.5 0.8 12062.5 934843.75 0.433 404787.34375
DH7 60 – 65 62.5 0.77 12062.5 753906.25 0.433 326441.40625
65 – 70 67.5 0.7 12062.5 814218.75 0.433 352556.71875
70 – 75 72.5 0.44 12062.5 874531.25 0.433 378672.03125
80 – 85 82.5 0.82 12062.5 995156.25 0.433 430902.65625
85 – 100 92.5 0.58 12062.5 1115781.25 0.433 483133.28125
DH8 20 – 30 25 0.85 10187.5 254687.5 0.433 110279.6875
30 – 40 35 0.78 10187.5 356562.5 0.433 154391.5625
40 – 50 45 0.75 10187.5 458437.5 0.433 198503.4375
50 – 60 55 0.48 10187.5 560312.5 0.433 242615.3125
60 – 65 62.5 0.47 10187.5 636718.75 0.433 275699.21875
65 – 70 67.5 0.41 10187.5 687656.25 0.433 297755.15625
DH9 70 – 80 75 0.76 10187.5 764062.5 0.433 330839.0625
80 – 90 85 0.71 10187.5 865937.5 0.433 374950.9375
90 – 95 92.5 0.57 10187.5 942343.75 0.433 408034.84375
95 – 100 97.5 0.46 10187.5 993281.25 0.433 430090.78125
100 – 105 102.5 0.5 10187.5 1044218.75 0.433 452146.71875
105 - 110 107.5 0.62 10187.5 1095156.25 0.433 474202.65625
110 - 115 112.5 0.8 10187.5 1146093.75 0.433 496258.59375
115 - 120 117.5 0.48 10187.5 1197031.25 0.433 518314.53125
DH10 60 – 70 65 0.78 14375 934375 0.433 404584.375
70 – 75 72.5 0.59 14375 1042187.5 0.433 451267.1875
75 – 80 77.5 0.57 14375 1114062.5 0.433 482389.0625
80 – 85 82.5 0.79 14375 1185937.5 0.433 513510.9375
85 – 95 90 0.78 14375 1293750 0.433 560193.75
DH11 80 – 90 85 0.44 14375 1221875 0.433 529071.875
90 – 100 95 0.47 14375 1365625 0.433 591315.625
100 – 110 105 0.75 14375 1509375 0.433 653559.375
110 – 120 115 0.45 14375 1653125 0.433 715803.125
120 – 125 122.5 0.69 14375 1760937.5 0.433 762485.9375
125 - 130 127.5 0.74 14375 1832812.5 0.433 793607.8125
DH12 90 – 100 95 0.51 14375 1365625 0.433 591315.625
100 – 110 105 0.7 14375 1509375 0.433 653559.375
110 – 115 112.5 0.78 14375 1617187.5 0.433 700242.1875
115 – 120 117.5 0.7 14375 1689062.5 0.433 731364.0625
120 – 125 122.5 0.6 14375 1760937.5 0.433 762485.9375
125 – 130 127.5 0.83 14375 1832812.5 0.433 793607.8125
135 – 140 137.5 0.54 14375 1976562.5 0.433 855851.5625
DH13 135 -145 140 0.67 14375 2012500 0.433 871412.5
145 – 150 147.5 0.83 14375 2120312.5 0.433 918095.3125
AREA (m2) VOLUME (m3) TONNAGE FACTOR (m3/ton)

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References
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Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. United Mine Workers Division, Construction, Forestry
and Mining Employees Union. United Mine Workers Division, United Mineworkers Federation of
Australia, Miners Federation (Australia), 2007. Common Cause. Australia: Miners Federation of Australia.
Mine Safety Institute of Australia, 2012. Mine Safety Institute of Australia. [Online]
Available at: http://www.mineaccidents.com.au/mine-accident/26/kianga-no-1-mine-explosion-1975
[Accessed 19 May 2018].
Peetz, D. M. G., 2010. Women of the Coal Rushes. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Queensland Government, 2014. Report on an Accident at Moura NO 2 Underground Mine on Sunday, 7
August 1994, Australia: Queensland Government publications.
Roberts, A., 2015. Mining community still lives nightmare 21 years after explosion. [Online]
Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2015/07/08/4269518.htm
[Accessed 19 May 2018].
Smith, W. G., 2016. Management Obligations for Health and Safety. Florida: CRC Press.
Thorpe, A., 2016. Moura No. 4 mining disaster remembered. [Online]
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Weiss, S. E. C. L. K., 2006. Evaluation of Explosion-Resistant Seals, Stoppings, and Overcast for
Ventilation Control in Underground Coal Mining, Worcester: NOSH-Publications.

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Yang, B., 2011. Regulatory Governance and Risk Management: Occupational Health and Safety in the
Coal Mining Industry. Abingdon: Routledge.
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Howard.L.Hartman, Jan M. Mutmansky (2002), Introductory Mining Engineering