The theme of the conference is rapid mine development, a prerequisite for high performance longwall operations.

“Future longwall performance enhancements will rely on the well timed preparation of the mandatory infrastructure and on the achievement of high performance road headings,” conference organisers said.

Attending the conference will be representatives from the international mining industry, suppliers and from the scientific community. Speakers from Australia, USA, South Africa and Europe are giving presentations and outlining the industry’s current status. Organisers said the symposium provided a unique opportunity for interested experts to discuss in detail the different aspects and innovations for more efficient longwall mine development and to transfer know-how in this field.

Topics covered in the conference will be operational experiences, achievement of profitability and productivity, the use of new equipment and technology, longwall mine planning and organizational aspects.

Australian presentations will be made by representatives from the MIM Newlands mine, Brian Nicholls Mining, Cutting Edge Technology, and Byrnecut International. USA presentations will be from RAG American Coal, Consolidation Coal, Joy Mining Machinery, Genwal Resources, and DBT America. European presentations will include papers from DSK AG, from Tamrock, Finland and from JCOAL, Japan, among others.

Further information is available on: www.rwth-aachen.de/bbk1/english or See Events on this website for more details.