ACARP Australian Coal Association Research Program Australian Roadway

ACARP Australian Coal Association Research Program Australian Roadway Development Improvement Project CM 2010 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY August/September 2009 Guy Mitchell, BMA Coal Bob Miller, Centennial Bob Gordon, BHP Billiton

ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE • Significant improvements in longwall production and productivity are continuing to be made, with production doubling every 10 years or thereabouts. • Improvements in roadway development are generally failing to keep abreast of longwall improvements. • Higher capacity, new generation mines are being planned – 15 Mtpa. • Older mines are struggling to survive and it is becoming more difficult to find solutions and successfully apply them. • Unlikely that continuing increases in longwall production will be sustainable if current roadway development practices and trends remain unchanged. • Longwall sustainability! ACARP Project C 17010 2

ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT TASK GROUP ACARP considered it an industry wide problem requiring an industry wide approach to fund and resource the necessary research, development, and demonstration of new technologies that would leverage both incremental and step change improvement in roadway development performance. RDTG formed in 2005 to develop and direct a roadmap for targeted R&D to improve roadway development. Member companies include Anglo, Austar, BHPB, BMA, Centennial, Peabody, Rio Tinto, Vale, and Xstrata. CM 2010, an integrated “roadway development related” R&D strategy encompassing both ACARP and direct industry funding in excess of $31 M was proposed to ACARP in September 2008, and was subsequently approved by the ACARP Board in December 2008. ACARP Project C 17010 3

CM 2010 R&D STRATEGY Vision An integrated, remotely supervised high capacity roadway development mining system that enables 15 Mtpa longwall mines to be established and sustained with a single mining unit. The system will also enable mining to be safely undertaken under adverse or extreme mining conditions, or reserves previously considered unmineable. Measures A sustained performance rate of 10 metres per operating hour (MPOH) for 20 hours per day, based on installing primary support of 6 roof and 2 rib bolts per metre advance together with roof and rib confinement measures (mesh). Improved health and safety through reduced exposure to hazards in the immediate face area. ACARP Project C 17010 4

KEY ELEMENTS - CM 2010 R&D STRATEGY Based on input from participants at the March 2007 round of Workshops the RDTG developed the CM 2010 R&D model: Key enabling technologies – the technology and hardware. Organisational and technical competencies that underpin these technologies. Project management of R&D and engagement of the corporate sector is essential to bring the CM 2010 R&D strategy to fruition. Key enabling technologies Organisational and technical competencies ACARP Project C 17010 5

KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES – CM 2010 “Self-steering” technologies and systems to enable mining equipment to maintain both azimuth, horizon and grade control within a variable seam horizon, and the total automation of the cutting and loading cycle (including mining breakaways) Self Steering CM. ppt Automated installation of conventional resin anchored bolts and self drilling bolts, and the feeding of bolts and mesh to the installation hardware without direct operator involvement Autobolting. ppt Alternative skin reinforcement and confinement technologies and systems that eliminates the installation of roof and rib mesh and provides an enhanced roof and skin reinforcement medium Tough. Skin. ppt Adaption and refinement of continuous haulage technologies, and their integration into an integrated, remotely supervised high capacity mining system Technologies and systems that enable face services to be extended within the 3 minute cut, load support cycle without direct operator involvement. ACARP Project C 17010 6

OTHER ACARP ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES Development of self drilling bolts and installation systems – underground trial of GSS/Alminco system scheduled at Ulan September 2009 GSS SDB. wmv Road. SIM - released to industry in July 2007 through workshops at Wollongong and Mackay, and attended by over 50 industry personnel roadsim. ppt www. undergroundcoal. com. au – live 28 August 2009 with further development planned over balance of 2009 undergroundcoal. ppt 2008/09 Roadway Development Benchmarking Study - to be circulated to mines in a new web-based format via undergoundcoal. com. au this week Roadway Development Operators’ Workshops – March 2010 Workshop now being planned Roadway Development Handbook being developed to capture the industry’s current “body of knowledge” – progressively going live via undergoundcoal. com. au ACARP Project C 17010 7

IN CONCLUSION The balance of today’s Workshop unashamedly focuses on the “organisational and technical competencies” identified earlier. Clearly, the “enabling technologies” now being developed will face challenges in both their development and in their integration into a high capacity development system. It is critical that the industry continues to develop the underpinning organisational and technical competencies in order to realise the gains potentially offered by these developing technologies. We commend today’s presentations, and trust that the learnings offered stimulate participants to question how they could improve their own mine’s organisational and technical competencies. Please enjoy the Workshop. ACARP Project C 17010 8