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 Födertechnik, 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 equipment like shovels, dumpers, drills etc. The
conventional mining shall continue with drilling and blasting, which is causing
serious threats to environment and safety. Blasting is the cause of vibration,
dust, noise and noxious Nitrous fumes. Besides, it also requires shifting and
rehabilitation of villages situated in and around the mine site. Many of the
opencast mines in India have come in close proximity of human habitats and
forestland and as such, DGMS has already imposed restrictions against heavy
blasting operation. Some of these locations in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL)
are indicated below:

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i) Lakhanpur OCP – On the West Side, workings have come to a standstill as
Ghanmal village has come within 150-m. of the opencast workings. About 1.5
million te of exposed coal is awaiting extraction. Total coal reserves calculated
upto 45-m. of the village boundary (which can be conveniently extracted by
surface miners) works out to be 2.2 million te.
ii) Lingaraj OCP - The eastern flank of the overburden face has come within 120-
m. of village Balugaon and further progress of the mine has been stopped. As
estimated, around 1.0 million te of coal can be further extracted within 45-m. of
the village boundary.
iii) Belpahar OCP - Daripali village on the north and Chharia village on the
south have come within 200-m. of opencast workings. Workings have been
severely restricted with about 0.3 million te of exposed coal awaiting
extraction.
iv) Jagannath OCP - Balanda village on the north has come within 150-m. and
Purnia village within 170-m. of the working face posing serious restrictions on
further progress of the mine.

The above are few examples out of many such present and future situations in
opencast mines in India. Shifting of villages in India is a big task. This directly
increases cost and gestation period of the projects. Sometimes, even after
having settlements & accordingly making huge investments for shifting &
rehabilitation of villages and also procurement of costly equipment, situation
ultimately compels reduction of the size of the mine for not really able to shift the
villages from the mining boundary. Mining operations are also interrupted
frequently by local villagers for the adverse effect in their houses due to blasting
operation in the mine. These factors affect the production heavily. On the
otherhand, cost of drilling and blasting are also on the continuous upward trend,
whereas quality of coal produced is on the downward trend due to the presence
of dirt bands in the coal. Over and above productivity of shovel - dumper is also
not upto the expectation due to human factors and also constrained mining
condition. It is also difficult to keep proper administrative control over huge no. of
operators and equipment also becomes extremely difficult. There may be many
more practical problems, which are inherent in today’s method of opencast
mining. The above scenario and also the future need to produce quality coal
(upto 34% ash) and with competitive price is compelling mining technologists to
think for continuous surface mining technology.

OVERVIEW OF SURFACE MINER TECHNOLOGY

Till now three types of surface miners have been developed as follows:

1) Milling type - Cutter picks are fitted on drums and having depth of cut upto
500-600 mm (max). Production capacity is very much less and can be
used mainly for selective mining.
2) Boom type - Cutting drum fitted with picks is mounted on a boom, like
roadheaders. Due to longer boom the cutting force of the machine is
limited.
3) Bucket wheel type - Cutter picks are fitted on various buckets on the cutting
drum, which is situated in the front of the machine. The machine can
exert huge force in cutting both hard coal and rock. This type of surface
miner is basically a mass production machine.

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Comparisons of technical parameters for various surface miners are enclosed
with this article (sheet 1 & 2) for ready reference of the readers.

Continuous mining by Bucket Wheel Excavators without drilling and blasting has
already been applied successfully in opencast for lignite and marl, which are
softer payminerals with compressive strength upto 15 MPa. For decades the
rock cutting technology has been applied in underground mining for rocks with a
compressive strength in the range of 20 to 120 MPa. However, the attained
capacities are considerably lower and the energy requirements are markedly
higher compared with opencast mines. Continuous efforts, trial, laboratory tests
and also experience gained from underground rock cutting technology have
made it possible to develop new type of excavation machine for opencast mines
which is able to attain its nominal capacity for compressive strength of 30 to 40
MPa and also can be operated upto 80 MPa with reduced capacity. It is possible
for the surface miner to meet the higher compressive strength for the application
of many cutting tools placed on it. By its cutting action the product size is
normally below 100 mm. The output and power changes in relation to the
compressive strength, brittleness, jointing, and abrasiveness of the pay minerals.
Due to design and technical features of these machines, the benches are
mined in layers from top to bottom and each layer in strips. Surface miner can
also do selective mining to remove interbands/dirt bands layers for improving the
quality of paymineral.

Krupp Fördertechnik, Germany has successfully developed its surface miner

known as Krupp Surface Miner (model KSM 2000R) which is presently in
operation at Taldinskij mine in Siberia. The result of performance test in the mine
(June 1996) showed that continuous production during mining of the test block
amounted to 1800 bm³/h or 4482 t/h, which was almost 30% more than
guaranteed. The mined block essentially consisted of Aleurolithes (siltstone) with
compressive strength of 20 to 30 MPa. The most remarkable event during the
performance test was that at the end of the mining block, a Siderite layer with an
approx. thickness of 0.75m with a compressive strength of 60 - 70 MPa was
passed through without any problem, whilst maintaining the nominal production
rate. The above mentioned results were confirmed by an inspection committee
appointed by the President of the company.

The various features of KSM 2000, its method of operation and its advantages in
opencast mining have been explained later in this article. In case of operation of
surface miner in combination with dumper trucks, the output of the machine is
reduced due to frequent stopping of machine for truck change over. The
percentage reduction depends on the payload of the truck and time for truck
change over. Better productivity of the machine can be achieved in combination
with conveyor transport. For higher production, longer haul length and greater
depth, conveyor transport can be far superior to dumper transport in all respects.
The additional savings for the application of surface miner are also achieved due
to elimination of crushing complex in the mining system and also for more
recovery of coal.

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MECHANISM OF ROCK EXCAVATION

The KSM 2000 operates according to the rock cutting technology. For ready
reference of the readers, the mechanism of rock excavation is briefly explained,
as below:
The mechanism of primary rock excavation with continuous surface miner is
basically penetration of a wedge of some shape into the material to be cut and
this action is performed by a heavy duty drum equipped with large number of
tungsten carbide tipped cutting tools. The process of digging is commonly
specified by the resistance to digging: KF = Pt/b * td (kgf/cm2).
Where,
• KF = Digging resistance, kgf/cm2
• Pt = Tangential resistance force of rock to digging, kgf.
• b = Width of excavated block, cm
• td = Depth of cut, cm
‘KF’ and ‘Pt’ depend on the compressive (σc), shearing (σsh), tensile (σt) strength
of rock, its density (γ) and also on jointing property of the massif that is
characterized by the co-efficient of structural weakening (λ) of rocks in the
direction of digging. The value of ‘λ‘ depends upon average size of elementary
joints and number of joints.
‘KF’ is reduced by multi- bucket excavators fitted with sharp cutting edge and also
by increasing the number of simultaneously cutting elements and decreasing the
spacing of cutting elements. ‘KF’ is also reduced for semi-free /free digging than
blocked digging.
Depth of cut is determined from the diameter of the cutting drum. Overall cross-
section of the cut depends upon size of cutting drum, power of the machine,
weight of the machine and also on the configuration, design and material of
cutting elements.

DESIGN FEATURES OF KRUPP SURFACE MINER (KSM 2000):

The KSM 2000 is a continuously operating mobile opencast mining machine,

which cuts consolidated soils and semi-solid rocks having compressive strength
upto 80 MPa, without drilling and blasting, in special cases like small lenses
and/or thin layers upto 120 MPa. The KSM 2000 attains its nominal capacity in
rock upto a compressive strength of 40 MPa. While cutting, the material is
precrushed to the size (-100 mm) which is very much suitable for belt conveying.
The excavated material is transferred to down stream means of transportation
either by dumpers or by conveyors.
The specialty of KSM 2000 is provision of parallel bucket wheels in front of the
machine that is attached to main frame without a boom. The cutters of bucket
wheels are equipped with point attack picks, which cut the mining face during the
continuous advance of two-crawler track assembly.

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For design reasons there is a space for the bucket wheel suspension between
the inner and outer bucket wheels. During mining, short ribs may be left over in
these gaps. Two ripper teeth operate in the gaps in order to break up and
remove the remaining rock ribs between the outer and inner bucket wheels. A
dozer blade is arranged behind the bucket wheels, which is constantly pressed
to the ground during the cutting operation. Thus the remaining rock ribs are
removed and the spillage of the bucket wheel discharge is returned to the bucket
wheel loading area. This ensures a smooth & level track for easy movement of
dumper trucks. The machine is built for high capacity digging upto 2.9-m cutting
depth and a block width of 7.1-m. KSM 2000 is primarily a production machine,
which can be compared with the present conventional mining system. The
design of KSM 2000 also permits the selective mining of changing coal/rock
layers of multi-layer deposits with small percentage of fines. In case of selective
mining the machine is able to maintain its nominal capacity upto a depth of cut of
800 mm by suitably increasing its advancing speed. However, the depth of cut
can be further reduced to a height of 500 mm for selective mining with somewhat
reduced capacity of the machine, beyond which selective mining may be un-
economic, since, production will be very much reduced. The output of KSM 2000
amounts to 1400 bm3/h in continuous cutting operation under normal conditions
upto a compressive strength of 40 MPa (400 kg/cm 2). The output changes in
relation to the compressive strength, brittleness, jointing and abrasiveness of the
rocks. KSM 2000 is able to mine at a maximum production rate of 125% of
nominal output in easily mineable materials. KSM 2000 is able to excavate pay
mineral of compressive strength upto 80 MPa (800 kg/cm2) with reduced output
and even small lenses with compressive strength upto 120 MPa (1200 kg/cm 2)
with very much reduced capacity.

Fig 1: KSM 2000 is cutting overburden at Taldinskij mine, Siberia

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FUNCTION AND METHOD OF OPERATION:

By turning the bucket wheels in front of the machine and continuously

advancing the crawlers, the face in front of the bucket wheels is mined by the
picks. The buckets pick up the cut material directly from the mining face and
discharge it at the rear side of the bucket wheels by gravity on to chain
conveyors. The conveying system of KSM 2000 consists of two short lead-in
chain conveyors, the main belt conveyor and the belt conveyor of discharge
boom. The discharge conveyor is provided with slewing (± 90°), luffing (high
12.6m at +25° & low 3.9m at -8°) arrangements for facilitating discharge either
onto dumpers or on conveyor systems.

In order to perform the necessary operating movements, the superstructure

is flexibly mounted onto the undercarriage. The undercarriage is having two-
crawler assembly. Each crawler is driven by individual DC motors with infinitely
variable speed. The position of the superstructure in relation to the undercarriage
is adjusted by means of two hydraulic cylinders moving around in pivot point for
ramping in and out of the cut and for the correction of cutting depth. The
arrangement also allows the superstructure to be transversely inclined and to cut
a transverse track level by the bucket wheels. Longitudinal inclination in normal
operation can be upto 6° and upto 8.5° when cutting ramps. The transverse
inclination in operation and also traveling can be upto 5°.

The benches are mined in layers from top to bottom and each layer in strips.
Depending on the initial state in the opencast, each layer is mined by terrace cut
or the KSM 2000 initially cuts a channel and subsequently removes the rest of
the layer with terrace cuts. The width of cut is 7.1m. The depth of cut may be
varied from 0.5m to 2.9m. The normal cut dimension is 7.1m by 2.4m. Cut height
and advance speed of KSM 2000 can be continuously adjusted. The machine
operator selects the preset values in accordance to mine condition. Travel speed
during cutting can be adjusted between 0.37 to 3.0m/min. Relocating speed in
level terrain may be varied between 1.36 to 31.9m/min. In normal operation KSM
2000 advances with 1.36m/min. The speed of bucket wheel is fixed at 6 r.p.m.
During scheduled operation, KSM 2000 moves straight ahead. For correcting the
advance direction, the machine can be steered in the cut. Steering movements
are carried out by controlling speed and direction of each crawler.

In channel cut operation, the machine is automatically guided along a plane

by means of its ‘cut control’ system. Deviations from the ideal line are only a few
centimeters. In terrace cut operation, the track level of channel cut is followed
and copied by means of the control unit. The control system can also be used for
the selective mining.

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 Fig 2: Method of operation of KSM 2000

FIELDS OF APPLICATION

KSM 2000 is suitable for mining of compacted soils and rocks upto a
compressive strength of approx. 70 - 80 MPa without drilling and blasting and
loading of the mine masses on downstream transport systems. The application
of the KSM 2000 offers advantages whenever the following conditions are met:

1. Mining of huge masses.

2. Selective mining of changing rock layers with thickness exceeding 0.5
m.
3. Selective mining with a high separation accuracy.
4. Production of lump sizes suitable for belt conveying with less fines.
5. Use of cost-beneficial belt conveyors.

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The spectrum of mineable materials ranges from soils with semi-solid
consistency such as compacted clay and loam to claystone, marl, siltstone, and
medium-solid sandstone. Pay minerals such as lignite and hard coal or
limestone can also be mined. In view of the applied mining technology, the KSM
is not suitable for the mining of soils with plastic consistency such as clay or
loam, whose natural water content exceeds the plastic limit. Material
characteristics to be investigated in order to determine the diggability and
application of a continuous mining machine are:

• Uniaxial / unconfined compressive strength UCS (MPa or psi).

• Tensile strength (MPa or psi).
• Ratio between compressive and tensile strength (ductility).
• Point load strength (MPa or psi).
• Fracture spacing (m or in).
• Rock quality designation RQD (%).

PRODUCTIVITY OF KSM 2000

Sample calculation has been given below showing production estimate in coal
with various dumpers. Annual production hours can be more, however, this has
been kept matching the norms usually followed in India. The calculation shows
that it is possible to achieve an annual production of 7.0 to 8.0 million tonne of
coal by one KSM 2000.

WORKING TIME
Shifts per day 3 (shifts/day)
Hours per shift 8 (hrs/shift)
Total available time per day 24 (hrs/day)
Working days per week 7 (days/week)
Working weeks per year 52 (weeks/a)
Holidays per Year 15 (days/a)
Total available days / year 350 (days/a)
Total available working time 8,400 (hrs/a)
Total available calendar time 8,760 (hrs/a)
EXPECTED LOSS TIME (during
available working time)
Scheduled maintenance weeks/annum 4.0 672 (hrs/a)

Weekly maintenance shifts/week 1.0 384 (hrs/a)

Daily maintenance hrs/shift 0.5 480 (hrs/a)
Shiftchange + teabreak hrs/shift 0.5 480 (hrs/a)
Bad weather days/a 12.0 288 (hrs/a)
Total 2,304 (hrs/a)
AVAILABLE WORKING TIME 6,096 (hrs/a)
Truck changing time/lack of min/h 10.0 1,016 (hrs/a)
trucks
(also maneuver of machine in
new block)
Unexpected loss time % 10.0 610 (hrs/a)
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(machine failures, geological
problems etc.)
EFFECTIVE LOADING TIME 4,470 (hrs/a)
Possible coal production/hour 1,670 tonne
with 85 Te dumper (considering
30 sec. for truck change over)
ANNUAL PROD. WITH 85 TE 7.465568 million
DUMPER tonne
Possible coal production/hour 1760 tonne
with 110 Te dumper (considering
30 sec. for truck change over)
ANNUAL PROD.WITH 110 TE 7.867904 million
DUMPER tonne

NOTE:
Possible coal production /hour has been calculated considering truck changing
time as indicated, job efficiency & operator efficiency. Variations are possible &
shall depend upon application data. Productivity shall increase with conveyor as
outby transport.

COST ECONOMICS:

KSM 2000 executes several operating steps in opencast mining e.g. cutting,
shoveling & primary crushing. Therefore all the operating steps must be
considered while comparing with shovel/dumper and in-pit crushing/conveyor
systems. It has been found that in case of a block height of 15m; KSM 2000
system attains a result, which is better than shovel/dumper system and very
close to in-pit crushing/conveyor system. But for lower block height of 2m, KSM
2000 is far superior to all other systems. Besides, due to quality improvement by
selective mining and also due to better exploitation of the deposits in comparison
with conventional mining by drilling/blasting, KSM 2000 system shall offer further
cost advantages. The estimated quantum of coal, which can further be
recovered as described in the previous chapter of this article, gives an indication
of such additional cost advantage for application of surface miners.
A comparative statement (sheet -3) is provided with this article, in respect of the
estimated operating & owning cost of the machine (in Rs/te for coal or Rs/bm 3 for
overburden) and the cost for drilling/blasting, shoveling and primary crushing of
coal needed in case of conventional mining. Operating & owning cost as shown
in sheet-3 is tentative but it will give an idea of cost for application of KSM 2000.

ADVANTAGES OF KSM 2000 IN OPENCAST MINING:

The KSM 2000 offers the following advantages over the conventional mining and
also other milling type of smaller surface miners.
1. Higher productivity and lower mining cost.
2. Elimination of drilling and blasting. It avoids the chance of dilution of
pay minerals and also offers more safety. It will also create the possibility of
mining the areas where administrative regulations are imposed against
blasting.
3. Saving of cost due to elimination of crushing system.
4. Higher yield of pay minerals.

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5. Flexibility of its operation with both dumpers and conveyors. For
higher production, longer haul distance & higher depth, conveyor transport
shall be more economic than dumper transport, which can be easily catered
by surface miner. In case of conventional mining, due to bigger output size
(more than 800-1000 mm) dumper transport is essential. Conventional mining
shall need additional in-pit crushing system to cope up with conveyor
transport. In dumper transport the ratio of service weight to payload is much
higher than conveyor transport, since, empty dumpers on return movement
do not carry any payload. Moreover, annual wear & spareparts cost on
account of tires etc. for dumper transport are also higher than conveyor
transport. Cost for setting up of workshop for maintenance of Heavy Earth
Moving Equipment is also huge and can be saved in case of surface
miner/conveyor system. Hence, combination of surface miner and conveyor
shall be more economic. Besides, it will be also easier to increase the
production of mine in future, if needed, with such combination.
6. Large-scale cutting area and low advancing speed of KSM 2000
makes it possible to load dumpers more conveniently. Dumpers shall remain
static at the time of loading by KSM 2000. Smaller surface miner moves at a
faster speed and hence dumpers shall also have to be moved suitably at the
time of loading. This is a special advantage of KSM 2000 over other surface
miners.
7. Since, discharge conveyor of surface miner load the dumpers evenly
from a suitable height, dumpers are subjected to better filling, which ensures
greater capacity utilization and also it reduces wear of dumpers compared
with loading by shovels.
8. The cutting drum of KSM 2000 is in the front. Its diameter is large
(4.8m) and speed is low (6 r.p.m). Hence the cutting elements of the drum
run at a slower speed and get more time to cool. This phenomenon increases
the life of the cutting tools. This is an advantage over other surface miners,
since, other surface miners are having smaller cutting drum diameter and
rotates with higher speed and hence, cutting tools get much less time to cool.
It is also easier to change the cutter picks, since the cutting drum is located in
the front.
9. Due to bigger drum diameter the KSM 2000 can go for bigger depth of
cut (2.9 m) and more production in comparison with other surface miners.
KSM 2000 has more no. of cutting elements (540), much more power (total
3200 kW) and more weight (540 tonne). As a result it can offer much more
cutting force and is able to operate in much tougher condition in comparison
with other surface miners.
10. KSM 2000 permits block operation. The KSM 2000 can cut whole
block on its own. Cutting can be carried out in any direction. Its operation also
offers better slope stability.
11. Milling type of surface miners produce more fines (70% of output is
around minus 35 mm), whereas, output size from KSM 2000 remains within
75 to 100 mm. This ensures better price realization of coal produced by KSM
2000.
12. KSM 2000 shall offer better economy in respect of cost/tonne or
cost/m3 for coal & overburden. The reason is the machine is having longer life
(20 years) and one machine is able to produce around 7.5 million tonne/year
of coal even in combination with dumpers (please see the paragraph
“Productivity of KSM 2000).

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CONCLUSIONS:
Surface miner being a new technology is yet to be adopted by mining
technologists for medium hard/hard coal and overburden. Due to various
disadvantages and hazards of the present conventional mining method, as
explained in this article, more & more interests are growing towards this new
technology. Many coal mines in India are suitable for applying this technology
due to higher production demand, favorable seam gradient, long strike length,
multi-seam mining and also presence of villages in close vicinity of the mines. It
may not be prudent to use surface miners only for the purpose of selective
mining due to the following reasons:
1. Use of surface miners only for the purpose of selective mining of
thinner bands within coal seams shall reduce overall production of mine due
to low output for such selective mining. The extent of such reduction shall
depend upon the nature and thickness of the interbands and the production
capacity of the surface miners. Hence, it should be necessary to assess,
whether there will be grade improvement of coal (not only improvement in
kcal/kg of output) for such selective mining. Grade improvement of output
may prove economic viability to compensate the investment for such surface
miners and also for the loss of overall production.
2. Due to smaller output size (< 100 mm), conveyor can be adopted with
surface miner. The various advantages of conveyor system have been
explained above. Dumper transport, on the other hand, essential for
conventional mining for carrying bigger lumps. Mixing of two mining system,
i.e. selective mining by surface miner and main production by conventional
method in the same mining block, shall compel using dumper transport for
surface miner also. This will obviously reduce the productivity of surface
miner.
3. Surface miner needs different kind of planning for mining coal seams
in layers from top to bottom & each layer in various strips. The slope of
negotiating ramps shall be different for surface miner. Conventional mining,
on the otherhand, follows benches of more height. Height and width of
benches depend upon size of shovels & dumpers. Hence, it may be difficult
to make proper mining layout for adopting two different kinds of mining
methods in the same mining block.
Though milling type (smaller capacity) surface miners are in use in limestone and
also in lignite coal for quite sometime, but bigger surface miner for mass
production has been recently launched by Krupp Fördertechnik, Germany and
yet to become popular. But it shall prove its worth in near future. Adopting this
new technology in Indian coalmines shall open a new era in coal mining. It shall
be proven as a boon in mining technology in the next millennium.
REFERENCES:
Opencast Mining (Unit Operations) - V.V. Rzhevsky.
Article (Non-Explosive Mining) - Mr. M.P. Mishra, published in MINE SAFE’97.
Article (New Technology in Opencast Mining) (S.K.Bag) - Published in
Opencast’98 of MGMI.
Article (New Technology in Opencast Mining) (S.K.Bag) - Published in Scuim’99
of MGMI.

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