Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining where a long single face of coal, known as a panel, is mined with a continuous cut across its entirety. Seams utilizing longwall panels are typically 4–20 ft (1.2–6.1 m) thick. The panel is typically 10,000–15,000 ft (3,000–4,600 m) long, but can be up to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) long and 1,000–1,500 ft (300–460 m) wide. The longwall method compares with shortwall, room-and-pillar, and several others.
History
The basic idea of longwall mining was developed in England in the late 17th century, although it may have been anticipated in the pre-industrial era by a similar technique utilized by the Hopi of Northeastern Arizona in the 14th century. Miners undercut the coal along the width of the coal face, removing coal as it fell, and used wooden props to control the fall of the roof behind the face. This was known as the Shropshire method of mining. While the technology has changed considerably, the basic idea remains the same, to remove essentially all of the coal from a broad coal face and allow the roof and overlying rock to collapse into the void behind, while maintaining a safe working space along the face for the miners. Starting around 1900, mechanization was applied to this method. By 1940, some referred to longwall mining as "the conveyor method" of mining, after the most prominent piece of machinery involved. Unlike earlier longwall mining, the use of a conveyor belt parallel to the coal face forced the face to be developed along a straight line. The only other machinery used was an electric cutter to undercut the coal face and electric drills for blasting to drop the face. Once dropped, manual labor was used to load coal on to the conveyor parallel to the face and to place wooden roof props to control the fall of the roof. Such low-technology longwall mines continued in operation into the 1970s. The best known example was the New Gladstone Mine near Centerville, Iowa, "one of the last advancing longwall mines in the United States". This longwall mine did not use a conveyor belt, instead relying on ponies to haul coal tubs from the face to the slope where a hoist hauled the tubs to the surface. Longwall mining has been extensively used as the final stage in mining old room and pillar mines. In this context, longwall mining can be classified as a form of retreat mining.
Layout
Gate roads are driven to the back of each panel before longwall mining begins. The gate road along one side of the block is called the maingate or headgate; the road on the other side is called the tailgate. Where the thickness of the coal allows, these gate roads have been previously developed by continuous miner units, as the longwall itself is not capable of the initial development. The layout of longwall could be either "advancing" type or of "retreat" type. In the advancing type, the gate roads are formed as the coal face advances. In thinner seams the advancing longwall mining method may be used. In the retreat type, the panel is a face connecting them both. Only the maingate road is formed in advance of the face. The tailgate road is formed behind the coal face by removing the stone above coal height to form a roadway that is high enough to travel in. The end of the block that includes the longwall equipment is called the face. The other end of the block is usually one of the main travel roads of the mine. The cavity behind the longwall is called the goaf, goff or gob.
Ventilation Typically, intake (fresh) air travels up the main gate, across the face, and then down the tail gate, known as 'U' type ventilation. Once past the face the air is no longer fresh air, but return air carrying away coal dust and mine gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, depending on the geology of the coal. Return air is extracted by ventilation fans mounted on the surface. Other ventilation methods can be used where intake air also passes the main gate and into a bleeder or back return road reducing gas emissions from the goaf on to the face, or intake air travels up the tail gate and across the face in the same direction as the face chain in a homotropal system. To avoid spontaneous combustion of coal in the goaf area, gases may be allowed to build up behind seals so as to exclude oxygen from the sealed goaf area. Where a goaf may contain an explosive mixture of methane and oxygen, nitrogen injection/inertisation may be used to exclude oxygen or push the explosive mixture deep into the goaf where there are no probable ignition sources. Seals are required to be monitored each shift by a certified mine supervisor for damage and leaks of harmful gases.
Equipment
A number of hydraulic jacks, called powered roof supports, chocks or shields, which are typically 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) wide and placed in a long line, side by side for up to 400 m (1,300 ft) in length in order to support the roof of the coal face. An individual chock can weigh 30–40 tonnes, extend to a maximum cutting height of up to 6 m (20 ft) and have yield rating of 1000–1250 tonnes each, and hydraulically advance itself 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at a time.
The coal is cut from the coal face by a machine called the shearer (power loader). This machine can weigh 75–120 tonnes typically and comprises a main body, housing the electrical functions, the tractive motive units to move the shearer along the coal face and pumping units (to power both hydraulic and water functions). At either end of the main body are fitted the ranging arms which can be ranged vertically up down by means of hydraulic rams, and on to which are mounted the shearer cutting drums which are fitted with 40–60 cutting picks. Within the ranging arms are housed very powerful electric motors (typically up to 850 kW) which transfer their power through a series of lay gears within the body and through the arms to the drum mounting locations at the extreme ends of the ranging arms where the cutting drums are. The cutting drums are rotated at a speed of 20–50 revs/min to cut the mineral from coal seam.
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