APPCOR10060

• Permit No: C1981048
• IBM Index Class Name: Application Correspondence
• Doc Name: TECHNOLOGY OF AUGER MINING
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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One of the prevalent techniques used by the auger
operators to evaluate adequacy of pillars is to see if the coal
in the pillars of the adjacent levels begin to crack or spall
under the weight of the highwall. If this situation c~~urs, they
then increase the pillar width between t-he next hole by a few
inches and see if this pillar remains intact. There are two problems
with this approach. First, haphazard adjusting of pillar design is
no substitute for an adequate init~.al pillar design. Second, to
determine if the pillars betwdCn previous-mined auger holes are
spalling, one must be at the right place at the right time, i.e.,
in front of several pillars that have resulted from previous mining,
all the time. Detection can be considered to be exceedingly limited.
Some operators improve their chances of detecting highwall movement
by placing a small wooden prop in the mouth of several of these
holes at spaced intervals to Give an early warning. Although this
method improves chances of detection, it is not a reliable method
of insuring the safety of the auger crew and equipment.
Hazardous Bntrv into Old Underground Workincrs
There have been several occasions where an auger has
broken into abandoned underground workings which have contained
hazardous quantities of water or gas. Care must be exercised in
the drilling of auger holes to ascertain the limits of previous
underground workings. Failure to accomplish this can result in
the destruction of life and machinery from flooding or explosion.
In the absence of accurate maps, angering into seams in regions
where underground mining has taken place many years previously,
can be most hazardous. A possible method of attacking seams with
the auger in this case would be to design a sensing device that
would be in front of the auger cutting head. This device would
stop the forward thrust and prevent a major destruction of machine
or possible injury. The small leak could then be sealed by the in-
sertion of a plug placed in the hole by utilizing an attachment
placed in the front of the auger head.
Auger Machinery Hazards
The auger has certain hazards associated with moving
parts. It has a potential for accidents since each of the two
or three operators must constantly see and know what the others
are doing. There is a need for a fail-safe system that would
shut down the auger due to machine failure or auger crew members
doing something wrong. This system would enhance the safety of
operators and crew.
Compactness of Operation
Auger operations generally lend to have several pieces
of equipment operating in a confined area. This is especially true
in the cases where an auger operates From a narrow bench. Because
several pieces of equipment such as front-end leaders ~„d haul
trucks, operate in such a congested situation, visibility is ob-
scured and the potential for collision is greater than for more