Harry Martin, DBT’s vice president marketing, told International Longwall News that a contract for a second automated plow for operation in the province of Shanxi is in the stages of finalization.

In January 2001, DBT installed its first plow face into China at the Tiefa mine in Liaoning province. DBT supplied the plow, plow running track, shield controls and advancing mechanism.

“The Tiefa plow has shattered all thin seam production records in China after mining two panels, both of which encountered sandstone intrusions and geological faults. The plow by the nature of its design is far easier to steer through the undulating floor and roof conditions encountered in faulted areas,” Martin said.

Since DBT opened its manufacturing plant in China at Langfang in 1999, the plant has begun making pan lines locally. The plant serves as a base for DBT to provide aftermarket services to Chinese customers. The acquisition of Long-Airdox provides DBT with three additional locations in China.

For the expected second plow order Martin said the process will be identical to Tiefa except that more components may be manufactured at the Langfang plant and the technology will be three years more advanced.

In other China-related news, DBT reported in the September 2001 edition of employee newsletter “On Coal”, that the Formula One shield was showcased in China, after having been shown at the MINExpo show in Las Vegas last year. The newly developed unit, the first 2m wide longwall shield for deep mining operations, weighs less than 35 tons. The new shield achieves a support resistance of 11,000 kN, which equates to the weight of 750 cars.