SurfaceMiner-WordPress.com.docVIP

NEW TECHNOLOGY IN SURFACE MINING S.K. Bag Krupp Industries India Detlev L. Schroeder Krupp Foedertechnik, Germany ABSTRACT The open cast method used for mining hard coal and rocks requires drilling and blasting of strata which causes considerable investments and also creates adverse impact on environment safety. These disadvantages demand introduction of improved technology for blasting free, safe, ecofriendly and economic mining. By continuous research and also experience gained from the rock cutting technology with the application of roadheader etc. it has become possible to do mining without blasting by continuous surface miner for hard coal and rocks. Krupp F?dertechnik, Germany has developed Krupp Surface Miner (KSM 2000) which can work in medium hard and hard coal and also in overburden very efficiently upto 40 MPa and in special cases like small lenses and/or thin layers upto 120 MPa of compressive strength. The article has been written with special focus to Krupp Surface Miner (KSM 2000). PRESENT MINING Scenario IN INDIA India ranks third in terms of coal production in the World today coming after China USA. While coal production is declining in western countries, in India, it is on an increasing trend. From a level of around 30 million tonne per annum at the time of independence of the country, the all India coal production has already reached a level of 290 million tonne in 1998. The trend is likely to continue in future also. By 2001-02 annual coal demand has been estimated as 400 million tonne in India. Such a flamboyant growth in the coal production can only be met through large sized opencast mines in future. Out of the two broad modes of mining i.e. opencast and underground, the emphasis is given mainly on opencast due to its favorable economics, safety, large coal recovery, better output per manshift (O.M.S) and also lower gestation period. Till now modernization of opencast mines are done mainly by upgradation of sizes for conventional equipme