MECHANISED COAL
process consistently with minimal human
assistance. The benefits of automating the
longwall process are improved production cycle
times, equipment availability and less down time.”
The more autonomous the operation, the
greater these benefits are, hence why all Komatsu
longwall equipment is ‘automation-ready’ from the
off.
With most of the big coal markets like Australia,
China, Russia and the US already having
automation strategies, according to Sudworth, it’s
worth asking the question: what are the manual
elements of the longwall operation still in need of
an autonomous upgrade?
“Exception management is the remaining
element,” he said of that elusive 2% still requiring
manual intervention. This includes “shearer inseam
positioning, face creep management, cavity
management, boot end alignment, and steering,
bretby management (cable and hose handling),
etc.”
There is no set timeframe for all these elements
being addressed in terms of automation, yet, for
the time being, the ability to operate the longwall
remotely from surface is catching the market’s
attention.
It was Australia, again, that started to trial
remote operations from surface, with Anglo’s
Grosvenor mine, also in Queensland, one of the
first to test out Komatsu Mining’s own longwall
Surface Control platform, back in 2018. Sudworth
expanded on this innovation: “Basically an
operator can control the longwall from a
connected device (PC, mobile device, etc), with a
web browser, connected to the mine’s network.”
Having overcome network security concerns
with a web-based protocol and one-time password
system at Moranbah, Surface Control is now in
commercial operation at the mine, providing
numerous benefits.
This includes reducing the number of operators
on the face away from the hazardous areas,
increasing productivity, reducing downtime, and
cutting waste, according to Sudworth.
Such is the success of the Surface Control
feature, it is now being marketed by Komatsu
Mining more broadly across Australia, the US and
China.
Command and conveyors
It is the US where some of Caterpillar’s newest
longwall elements are being tested.
With a long history in the coal market, Cat’s
current longwall offering includes roof supports,
shearers, automated plow systems, and armoured
face conveyors with intelligent drive technology –
all, Cat says, controlled and monitored by
advanced longwall automation.
Command for longwall, a Cat MineStar
technology that helps automate some of these
features, comes in three different levels starting
Eickhoff Australia’s recently opened Life Cycle Management Centre (LCMC) in New South Wales has
gone down well in the Australia longwall marketplace, according to Dr Johannes Krings.
“It’s a heavy investment for a family-owned business, but we are very proud of it,” he said.
“We can now see that it was absolutely right to enlarge our footprint in Australia: our order books
are full of new machines, overhauls and repairs, even in the COVID-19 period. We are fully loaded and
booked out in terms of capacity for the rest of the year.”
The facility is “world class”, he said, meeting customer requirements for the best quality, speed and
accuracy of machine testing, overhaul and repairs.
Opened in March 2019, it is equipped with a 120 t lifting capacity – enough to move a fullyequipped
longwall shearer – a 1 MW load test facility and a 65 m test track for full factory acceptance
testing.
John Smallwood expanded on these capabilities: “Within the centre, the 65 m test track allows us
to run a machine through snakes, over humps etc, testing every one of the technologies on board to
best replicate the underground environment.
“I don’t know anywhere else in the world where such testing is available. You can really put new
and overhauled equipment through its paces to be confident that what you deliver out of the factory is
fit for purpose.”
Krings added: “Other market players have multi-purpose buildings; ours is purpose built for
shearers.”
This is one of the biggest and by far the most modern setup Eickhoff has globally, according to
Krings.
“Having said that, we have been upgrading on an annual basis all of our global subsidiaries, of
which we have eight in the major mining regions,” he said. “They have been getting the latest
technologies for measurements, welding, inspection, cleaning, spraying booths, etc.
“This is one of our major pillars of quality and reputation: to be able to react at very short notice to
customer requests for spare parts, deliveries and other services.”
In parallel with the LCMC in New South Wales, the company also has a facility based in Mackay,
Queensland, where the machines operating in the state are supported with service and spares.
And, in recent years, it has done the same in Workuta, Russia, updated its setup in South Africa and
doubled its capacity in Poland with a new service centre.
“We want to complement all of the sophisticated automation technologies in our portfolio with
availability of spare parts, services and skilled personnel near to all the major markets,” Krings said.
with standard machine control via a radio remote
system, and basic monitoring and visualisation of
the main shearer components and functions.
On the more advanced side, the company is
aiding further automation of the longwall with its
next generation roof support control PMC-R 2.0.
“The new roof support control unit is designed
to meet the automation needs of modern, high-
Cat’s current longwall offering includes roof supports, shearers, automated plow systems, and
armoured face conveyors with intelligent drive technology
84 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2020