Ventilation Stopping

Stoppings are ventilation control devices found throughout the mine to control airflow and air quality.  They are essentially man made walls that span across the width of the heading or cut through.  Stoppings can contain man doors, vehicle doors, and airflow ventilation devices.

Tensioner and Hydraulic Unit

 The tensioner is used to tension megabolts that have been installed into the roof for secondary support. These compact, hydraulic units supply the necessary pressure to tighten the Megabolt nut.. 

DCB and Cable Boat

A DCB (distribution control box) provides power to development areas in the coal mine including the longwall.  It has many outputs, which allows for multiple electrical feeds.  The cable boat allows for the storage of additional cable. The DCB and cable boat are specifically designed to be transportable and are positioned on skids for ease of movement.

Conveyor Belt

Conveyor Belts are the principal extraction method for the removal of underground coal. The belt is supported on rollers, called idlers and is driven by an electric drive motor at the head pulley. Conveyor belts vary in length and can move large volumes of raw coal.

Driftrunner

A driftrunner is the main transport vehicle for moving miners in and out of the mine. It also transports a range of materials needed underground.  With a drivers seat, passenger seat and back seating it can accommodate for up to 14 personnel. It is a heavy duty, diesel powered vehicle designed specifically for driving in the challenging conditions underground.

Shuttle Car

A shuttle car is used to transport cut coal to the main transportation system in the mine.  A common example is moving coal from the continuous miner to the conveyor belt.  Using a shuttle car enables the continuous miner to continue working, maximising productivity.  It has rubber tyres, powered by AC motors with trailing cable.

Megabolt

Megabolts are used to laminate the roof strata and help prevent the possibility of a roof fall. Holes are drilled to match the length of the bolt prior to the bolt being inserted. The pretensioned steel stranded Megabolts are then chemically anchored in place, tensionsed, then grouted.

Longwall

The longwall is a machine that has the ability to remove large volumes of coal in a single pass. The length of the pass can be 200 - 300m long.  It consist of a few key elements;

Chocks - support the roof of the longwall area. Shearer - cuts the coal through its rotating drums. Armoured face conveyor (AFC) - directs the coal to the end of the pan line, where it is transported on conveyors to the surface.

Information and Panel Token Board

The information board is used to communicate important information to people working in a specific district underground. It informs miners entering the area the current state of gases, the ventilation, physical state of roadways and also highlights any local potential hazards. The token boards are used to record the number of people or amount of diesel based equipment within the panel area.