COAL AND SOFT-ROCK MINING
A cut below
Komatsu’ s Soft Radio software interface helps operators stay focused on remote surface management, reduces workflow interruptions and preserves the ability to support exceptionbased control when needed, according to Colten Leviere
With the themes of energy and mineral security rearing their heads more recently, developments in the coal and soft-rock mining sector are being watched with increased scrutiny, with some nations seriously looking at revitalising some of their legacy deposits.
The elements these markets have going for them are the ability for producers to leverage increasingly mature automation technologies that are geared towards improving safety, productivity and efficiency – prerequisites for any modern underground mining.
IM touched base with some of the major players for updates on their technology developments.
A cornerstone customer approach
Having gone through a significant growth spurt between 2018 and 2023, leading to well-needed consolidation in the years following, family-owned company Eickhoff is now ready to take advantage of further opportunities to increase its market share in
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Shearers, continuous miners, bolter miners, roadheaders and more; Dan Gleeson gets the latest
the coal and soft-rock space.
That was the assessment of Stephen Douglas, Managing Director of Eickhoff Australia and President of Eickhoff USA, and Ian van den Brink, Vice President, Continuous Miner, when speaking to IM in early July, with the pair noting a number of growth opportunities across coal-rich regions of Australia, India, South Africa and the US.
Douglas and van den Brink have confidence in the company’ s ability to make the most of these opportunities, explaining that recent product developments, an ability to respond quickly to customer requests, a“ standout” level of product transparency, plus a strong support network, put the Germany-headquartered company in line for some major wins.
In terms of recent product developments, van den Brink had most to share.
The CM2E continuous miner that IM has reported on in this feature for the last two years – one that leverages the latest generation high power electric drives and state-of-the-art control system – has now arrived at a mine in South Africa owned by a“ Tier One” miner, he said.
“ In the room and pillar space, most of the continuous miners on the market are very similar from a technical perspective,” he said.“ So the differentiators tend to be the machine and component reliability, alongside the maintainability and OEM support.
“ When we get to the top end of the market these factors tend to outweigh the upfront cost.”
As the company looks to make further inroads into the room and pillar markets on a global scale, offering reduced life cycle costs is a major advantage.
And still on the continuous miner front, van den Brink reported on another new machine development: the CM3E.
“ This 120-130-t-class machine incorporates all the advancments and refinements made across our portfolio, with the plan to deploy it in very hard cutting conditions in very hard minerals,” he said, clarifying that this included potash, polyhalite and salt applications, on top of hard coal.
This latest generation continuous miner leverages some of the digital advances previously applied to Eickhoff’ s shearing portfolio.
International Mining | AUGUST 2026