MECHANISED COAL & SOFT ROCK
Seam shearers
All five of Anglo American’ s steelmaking coal operations in the Bowen Basin of Australia have operated simultaneously from Remote Operation Centres
workforce through a collaborative approach, our steelmaking coal mines in Australia have emerged as leaders in the industry, reshaping the future of underground coal mining on a global scale.”
A hub of innovation, the mechanised coal mining sector continues to up the automation stakes, Dan Gleeson says
“ At Anglo American, we have re-imagined mines where our people can remotely manage operations from a safe distance, using real-time data to make informed decisions,” Anglo American Australia Automation Superintendent, Matthew Wakeford, said.
The company achieved a significant milestone in regard to this vision recently, with all its five steelmaking coal operations in the Bowen Basin of Australia operating simultaneously from Remote Operation Centres( ROCs).
While the well-documented problems at the Grosvenor and Moranbah mines have overshadowed this milestone, it’ s still worth highlighting that these operations have notched up more than 10,000 longwall mining shears from those ROCs.
“ Since transitioning to remote operations, we have reduced exposure risk to hazardous areas by 22,500 hours across our Bowen Basin mine sites,” Wakeford said.
Before Anglo American’ s Australian operations began its focus on autonomous mining in the 2010s, only one known mine globally had achieved sustainable remote operations – San Juan Mine in the US. The number of mines to have achieved this are now in double figures and are continuing to rise.
Anglo American Australia Head of Operations, Matt Cooper, said:“ By developing state-of-the-art technologies and prioritising the well-being of our
Eickhoff eyes new market opportunities
The latest generation of Eickhoff’ s SL 750 longwall shearer continues to make inroads into the mid-seam coal market, with the family-led global organisation reporting that it has a constantly growing fleet of machines of this type operating in the field.
This shearer, which combines the slim machine body of the SL 300 and the power of the SL 500, is fully equipped with advanced automation capabilities. It has proven itself in exceptionally high production operations in Australia, China and the USA, the company reports. Later this year, the first SL750 is scheduled to be delivered to India, too.
Eickhoff told IM that the company was recently awarded a major contract in the USA for a fleet of SL 750 shearers to one of the largest hard coal miners in the country. The first machine is already cutting coal, only seven months after order, and just produced the first 1 Mt in August 2025. The remaining units are in build status, with the entire fleet set to be delivered in 20 months – a record delivery timeframe – the company told IM in mid-July.
“ This is a major milestone in Eickhoff’ s re-entry into the United States as part of our vision to be the‘ Last Man Serving’,” the company said, adding that the SL 750 series
Eickhoff says it has a constantly growing fleet of SL 750 longwall shearers operating in the field
48 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2025