A number of new mining methods, such as LTCC and wider faces, have ramped up this year in Australia. What are the ramifications of this now and in the long term?

Longer faces can only improve operational efficiencies of a longwall. One of the most underestimated continuous delays on a longwall is the turnaround at each end of the face.

By optimising this operation the efficiency gains are enormous. For example an extra minute delay at each turnaround could reduce the shift production up to 1000 tonnes. As mines go deeper and the face ‘T’ junction becomes increasingly more difficult to control then long faces become a very desirable proposition.

Of course one of the main attractions is that less development metres are required and as development advance rates are becoming more of a focus this can improve the financial return on the longer faces.

However longer faces are not always achievable due to subsidence and/or geological constraints along with the increased investment requirements.

Longwall faces are a highly efficient method of coal mining but to be effective they must be kept advancing.

If problems occur with the longer face length for example due to minor faulting and the need for extra roof control measures which in turn means it takes longer to advance the coal face, then the effect of forward stresses on the roadway conditions in front of the face could have a major play on future critical advance rates.

Similarly with the slower face advance rates of the longwall the roadways may need extra support further out from the face than presently required, this would certainly affect future operation of deeper coal mines. In mines which are susceptible to spontaneous combustion the slower advance rates could equally have an adverse effect.

LTCC mining system is well proven in China and is a highly effective method of coal recovery. Mining companies must look at innovations worldwide and consider best practice which is not always home based. LTCC is an exciting development in Australia and one that people will watch with interest.

A number of junior and mid-tier coal explorers and producers are currently carrying out exploration, feasibility studies and bringing mines onto line. What does this mean for consultants, and for the Australian industry as a whole?

With the continued industry-wide human resource issue of the lack of experienced of and highly skilled geologists and engineers, increasingly the coal companies are looking to the consultancy firms to satisfy their needs.

The issue most consultancy firms have is similar to the mining companies, namely that they are looking to hire and retain the same resources. Losing key personnel to the coal companies can lead to underperformance in the consultancy as they become stretched in terms of numbers and quality of technical personnel and hence sometimes overcommit to the client.

Consultancies are under increasingly difficult time pressures to produce results as investment in new coal projects are being fast tracked as coal prices remain high and coal companies wish to reach the investment markets in these boom times.

In some instances the exploration work has not been carried out correctly with strict QA/QC on results which leads to frustrations as consultancies go back to their clients wanting better information. This causes time delays, yet the clients still want the project completed in their initial time frame.

As time frames for completion of work are become shorter and demands on consultancies increase this can lead to less than full evaluation of all the options available since companies direct their advisors to carry out the minimal number of options or opportunities available. The concern here is that the best option or the path of least risk is not always taken.

During these times of high coal prices increasingly higher risk projects are being brought to the table which at other times would have stayed in the ground. If the coal prices are sustainable, as they look to be in the short term, then there is a need for a greater degree of risk analysis.

Snowden has seen an increase in the requirement from the investment institutions and the larger mining companies to look at risk in greater detail and Snowden now carries out extensive risk analysis for the projects on which they work on.

In the longer term these higher risks projects could have an effect on the sustainability of mineral macro economics since when the coal prices fall from their peaks some of the projects may quickly become uneconomic.

One of the main advantages during these times is on the Australian economy since many of the smaller projects which were not viable for the major players have been acquired by Australian juniors, who are looking to bring these projects on-line. This has and will continue to increase employment in the future and can lead to a sustained future for the industry.

In your eyes what is the most important R&D project (private or publicly funded) happening at the moment and why?

For longwalls, some of the most important R&D projects are the continuation of the development of better/improved methods to drain methane. As mines become deeper the permeability of the coal decreases, ventilation becomes more difficult and pre-draining a longwall with the current methods may not work as efficiently.

Improved and innovative tunnelling techniques need to be investigated so that the development method can become as near as possible to a continuous process as possible. Today unlike a longwall the development process still has many delays associated with the methodology and the true efficiency of a continuous miner is diluted as the machine stops or slows down to install bolts, move fans, or belts.

However these projects will need considerable investment from the manufactures and industry alike and would require a joint programme and trials. The present initiative by industry on investigating ways to improve development rates is first class but needs to go much further to develop innovative ideas to improve efficiency.

What progress has been made in improving the way roof falls are managed?

Prevention is always better than the cure and many improved predictive methods in roof control have been initiated in the last five to ten years especially with improved modelling techniques and hazard control plans.

Detailed research has lead to much better understanding of the processes leading to strata failure and the interaction between support elements and the ground. Ongoing data acquisition and improved modelling techniques have enabled improved support designs. Pre-stabilisation of disturbed ground by injecting polyurethane resins and grouts pre-injected into disturbed ground or installing pre-tensioned cables have also reduced the number of roof falls.

Returning to the question of roof falls themselves, faster and better foams continue to improve the safe way of managing a roof fall however better management of the systems we presently have will continue to reduce the occurrence of roof falls.

Managing real time information from a longwall powered support system can give forewarning of roof falls therefore one can develop and provide time to implement control measure to prevent falls from occurring.

Similarly real time, automated electronic information from roof movement instrumentation should become the norm rather than relying on the human factor of reading tell tales and manual interpretation from similar devices.

How big an impact are consultants making on the strategic direction of companies and mines as the role of the consultant grows in the face of the continuing skills shortage?

The first question to answer is “What is strategic direction?”

Many consultancies think they are leading strategy when in fact they are impacting the management of the operations or business and these are two very different aspects.

Many consultancies like to think they are impacting on the strategic direction of the companies however in my experience of mining consultancy we mainly analyse and advise on operational improvement or strategy rather than lead or direct the strategy.

Strategy is the holistic vision on how a company is going improve competitive advantage, and how a company plans to increase its value to shareholders by inspiring its employees and captivating its customers.

Many times Snowden has improved the strategic operational insight to optimise the best operational outcome. Only in a few instances has Snowden had the opportunity to affect the strategic direction through its corporate business division and business improvement initiatives. The latter is where Snowden has assisted companies through introducing tools to consider where to focus on improvements.

With the government promising a shift to “clean coal” what impact will this have on your business and the landscape of Australian coal as a whole?

In the short term there should be no real impact on the business, however in the longer term this will only benefit the business and the profile of the coal industry. Presently coal is seen as a ‘dirty’ fuel, however its use is still currently rising; it provides most of Australia’s electricity generation needs and 40% of the world’s electricity. It is now being recognised that coal will play a major role in world energy supply in decades to come.

There is an upsurge in interest worldwide for using coal as an alternative to transport fuels by using the coal to liquid process, new investments in making ‘coal cleaner’ by replacing old inefficient power plants with new ones operating 30% more efficiently and reducing CO2 emissions.

Advanced clean coal technologies, which can incorporate carbon capture and storage, will improve the prospect of continuing use of coal and the ability to retro fit these would have clear advantages. The future of coal worldwide, and in particular Australia, is similar to the end of year school report “Doing well but lots of room for improvement!”