Featuring representation from major Australian operators, the event will be chaired by Jim Middleton, vp – Mine Operations, BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal; Neville McAlary, gm – Safety, Xstrata Coal; Ian Livingstone-Blevins, gm – Underground Operations, Anglo Coal; and Bob Miller, gm – Western Longwall Operations, Centennial Coal, and will showcase more than ten case studies.

Day one:

Case study on Longwall Automation at Beltana by Peter Henderson, mine electrical engineer, Beltana Mine – Xstrata Coal

Greg Rowan, research leader – Mining ICT and Automation, CSIRO - Mining and Automation projects

INTERNATIONAL: Discovering Longwall Top Coal Caving – Lessons from China - Lai Cunliang, managing director, Yancoal Australia & deputy general manager, Yanzhou Coal China

CASE STUDY: Application of Longwall Top Coal Caving in Australia - Phil McNamara, mine operations manager, Austar Mine – Yancoal Australia

David Sykes, mine manager, Dartbrook Management – Anglo Coal, Consistency through Longwall Automation

Lawrie Ireland, Operations Manager, West Wallsend Mine – Xstrata Coal, Mining Under Massive Sandstone Channel Zone using Hydrafrac Techniques to Prevent Periodic Weighting and Windblast

Bob Miller, general manager – Western LW Operations, Centennial Coal, Water Management in Longwall Operations

David Cliff, associate professor & principal research fellow, Minerals Industry Safety & Health Centre – University of Queensland, Reducing Fatalities and Serious Injuries in the Australian Coal Mining Industry

Peter Hayes, principal, PJH Consulting: Southland Colliery Mine Fire and Subsequent Re-entry

Day two

Bryan Quinn, Operations Manager, Dendrobium Coal – BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal, CASE STUDY: Going forward at Dendrobium

Murray Wood, operations manager, Ulan No.2 Underground – Xstrata Coal - CASE STUDY: Setting Up for the Future at Ulan No.2 Underground

John Haywood, mine manager, Mandalong Mine – Centennial Coal - CASE STUDY: The New Mandalong Longwall Mine - Introduction of Longwall mining and experience of first block

Tony Sutherland, underground manager, Wambo Coal - CASE STUDY: North Wambo Underground Project

CHINA & COAL

Mark Sanders, director of Asia Markets, Joy Mining - China’s Influence on the Future of World Coal Business

SUBSIDENCE MANAGEMENT

Dr. Gang Li, principal subsidence engineer, NSW Department of Mineral Resources (subject to availability) - Underground Mining Subsidence Management

MINE REHABILITATION

Glen Lewis, general manager – Underground Operations NSW, Xstrata Coal, CASE STUDY: New Wallsend No. 2 Colliery – Decommissioning and rehabilitation project

CONTRACT MINING

Peter Roberts, general manager – Business Development, Walter Mining, Changing Paradigms in Contract Mining

EDUCATION & WORKFORCE

Des Caulfield, Chief Executive Officer, Resource & Infrastructure Industry Skills Council, A Systematic Approach to Satisfying Skills Shortages

Phil Stewart, executive co-ordinator, QLD Mining Industry Training Advisory Board - NEW: Development of the Mackay New Skills Centre for Mining

OPEN PANEL & FLOOR DISCUSSION – Addressing the Issue of Recruitment, Skills and Workforce Retention in the Coal Mining Industry

Day three workshops

Mining ICT & Automation: Future Directions

Greg Rowan, Research Leader & David Hainsworth, Senior Principal Research Engineer, Mining ICT & Automation, CSIRO

This workshop will explore the latest initiatives and future directions in mining ICT and automation. Greg Rowan will examine recent research initiatives into automation and remote mining equipment with a specific focus on highwall mining guidance, underground communications, coal thickness measurement techniques and tele-operation methods.

Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Interpretation for Underground Coal Mines

David Cliff, Associate Professor & Principal Research Fellow, Minerals Industry Safety & Health Centre, University of Queensland

This workshop will cover the current state of gas monitoring, interpretation and analysis for underground coal mines. The workshop will deal with the issues of designing a modern gas monitoring system, where to monitor, what to monitor and how. In addition, it will provide sample software to assist in the analysis and interpretation of gas concentrations. The workshop will cover explosibility assessment, detection of fires as well as the use of indicators to detect spontaneous combustion.

A number of case studies will be used to demonstrate the need to establish mine specific norms, the need to understand the quality and limitations of the data, and how various control methods have affected the concentration of gases detected, including the application of inertisation and the changing of ventilation pressures. Participants are encouraged to bring data from their own mines for analysis and discussion.