Ryfama is best known for its hydraulically operated, Matilda-style boot-end system in Australia but the company has more than 100 operating coal clearance systems through-out Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic, and even has systems in Spain, Romania and Mexico.

Kopex must first adapt Ryfama’s gear for Australian underground coal conditions and gain certifications before it can launch its AFC line in the country.

Unlike the horizontal seams in Australia, Ryfama’s eastern European and Asian customers must negotiate seams which slope by up to 30 degrees.

Consequently, Kopex will modify the discharge system typical of Ryfama’s AFCs to suit Australian longwall mining purposes, while other design changes will be made to drive covers, shields and protection systems.

Kopex Waratah products general manager Maciej Powolny said it was possible to enter the Australian market with three different sizes of Ryfama coal clearance systems.

These will cover line pan widths of 850 millimetres, 950mm and 1100mm, with wear-plate thicknesses of 40mm, 45mm, and 50mm for each respective pan width.

The capacity for each respective size of AFC is 1750 tonnes per hour, 2200tph and 3000tph, while the total length of each AFC can reach 450 metres.

He said typical guarantees for the structural integrity of the line pans cover8-10 million tonnes of transported coal for each pan.

All of the conveyors use twin chains, with chain sizes ranging from 34mm x 126mm, 38mm x 126mm in the “P” flatter type of chain, and 38mm x 137mm.

The widest AFC, known as the Rybnik 1100 system, can also be driven by twin chains of 42mm x 146mm “P”

This AFC can also use “especially profile” twin chains in a range of 42-46mm x 123-151mm, according to Powolny.

The Rybnik 1100 has been Ryfama’s biggest-selling AFC since the start of this century, with total installed power of 2750 kilowatts, while the smaller AFCs can run on 2250kW.

Powolny said associated beam stage loaders and crushers would operate at 10% higher capacities than the AFC.

While it might be some time before it is offered in Australia, he said Ryfama was finalising a prototype AFC based on a line pan width of 1400mm and capable of 6000tph using two 1600kW drives and twin chains of 52mm x 151mm with eight-tooth sprockets. He said this wider and more productive Rybnik 1400 system AFC will need to be installed and proven overseas before marketing efforts might start for it in Australia.

“For the most sophisticated expectations, we must wait for first applications of the Rybnik 1400 system in China, Republic of South Africa, India, Poland or other markets, where this solution could be authenticated for Australian experts,” Powolny told Australian Longwall Magazine.

As the main wear plate of the line pans in the Rybnik 1400 system are 65mm thick, he said the structural integrity of the pans would each cover 15 million tonnes of transported coal.

While the Ryfama AFCs are yet to be modified and subsequently launched in Australia, Powolny expects that lead times for orders could be approximately one year for tenders which are not “extremely restricted”

Kopex acquired Waratah Engineering in October 2009, and the Waratah facilities in Argenton, New South Wales, operate as the Australian manufacturing base for Kopex.

Support and service is also available in Queensland from the Kopex Australia facility in Mackay.

Ryfama holds about 65% of the Polish AFC market, while the company sold 12coal clearance systems to Russia and five to the Czech Republic in the last five years.