Ground Engineering - Principles and Practices for Underground Coal Mining


Book Description

This book teaches readers ground engineering principles and related mining and risk management practices associated with underground coal mining. It establishes the basic elements of risk management and the fundamental principles of ground behaviour and then applies these to the essential building blocks of any underground coal mining system, comprising excavations, pillars, and interactions between workings. Readers will also learn about types of ground support and reinforcement systems and their operating mechanisms. These elements provide the platform whereby the principles can be applied to mining practice and risk management, directed primarily to bord and pillar mining, pillar extraction, longwall mining, sub-surface and surface subsidence, and operational hazards. The text concludes by presenting the framework of risk-based ground control management systems for achieving safe workplaces and efficient mining operations. In addition, a comprehensive reference list provides additional sources of information on the subject. Throughout, a large variety of examples show good and bad mining situations in order to demonstrate the application, or absence, of the established principles in practice. Written by an expert in underground coal mining and risk management, this book will help students and practitioners gain a deep understanding of the basic principles behind designing and conducting mining operations that are safe, efficient, and economically viable. Provides a comprehensive coverage of ground engineering principles within a risk management framework Features a large variety of examples that show good and poor mining situations in order to demonstrate the application of the established principles in practice Ideal for students and practitioners About the author Emeritus Professor Jim Galvin has a relatively unique combination of industrial, research and academic experience in the mining industry that spans specialist research and applied knowledge in ground engineering, mine management and risk management. His career encompasses directing ground engineering research groups in South Africa and Australia; practical mining experience, including active participation in the mines rescue service and responsibility for the design, operation, and management of large underground coal mines and for the consequences of loss of ground control as a mine manager; appointments as Professor and Head of the School of Mining Engineering at the University of New South Wales; and safety advisor to a number of Boards of Directors of organisations associated with mining. Awards Winner of the ACARP Excellence Research Award 2016. The Australian Coal Industry's Research Program selects recipients to receive ACARP Research and Industry Excellence Awards every two years. The recipients are selected on the recommendation of technical committees. They are honored for achievement of a considerable advance in an area of importance to the Australian coal mining industry. An important criterion is the likelihood of the results from the project being applied in mines. Winner of the Merv Harris Award from the Mine Managers Association of Australia. The Merv Harris Award is named for Merv Harris who donated money to be invested for a continuing award in 1988. With the award, the Mine Managers Association of Australia honors members of the Association who demonstrate technical achievement in the Australian Coal Mining Industry. The first award was granted in 1990, since then, only two people have received this honor. The book has received the following awards.... AGS (Australian Geomechanics Society) congratulates Dr Galvin for these awards







Coal


Book Description

Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements. Coal focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization.




Surface Subsidence Engineering


Book Description

Underground coal mining disturbs both the overburden strata and the immediate floor strata. The subject of surface subsidence deals with the issues associated with the movement of overburden strata, which are the layers from the seam to the surface, where structures and water resources important to human activities are located. Surface Subsidence Engineering provides comprehensive coverage of the major issues associated with surface subsidence. The chapters are written by experts on surface subsidence in the three leading coal producing and consuming countries in the world: Australia, China and the United States. They discuss general features and terminologies, subsidence prediction, subsidence measurement techniques, subsidence impact on water bodies, subsidence damage, mitigation and control, and subsidence on abandoned coal mines. In addition, the final chapter addresses some of the unique features of surface subsidence found in Australian coal mines. The book provides information on coal seams ranging from flat to gently inclined to steep to ultra-steep seams. Written for mining engineers, geotechnical engineers and students of mining engineering, this book covers both theories and practices of surface subsidence. Unlike previous publications, it also deals with the subsidence impact on surface and groundwater bodies, crucial resources that are often neglected by subsidence researchers.







To Punish or Persuade


Book Description

In To Punish or Persuade, John Braithwaite declares that coal mine disasters are usually the result of corporate crime. He surveys 39 coal mine disasters from around the world, including 19 in the United States since 1960, and concludes that mine fatalities are usually not caused by human error or the unstoppable forces of nature. He shows that a combination of punitive and educative measures taken against offenders can have substantial effects in reducing injuries to miners. Braithwaite not only develops a model for determining the optimal mix of punishment and persuasion to maximize mine safety, but provides regulatory agencies in general with a model for mixing the two strategies to ensure compliance with the law. To Punish or Persuade looks at coal mine safety in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, France, Belgium, and Japan. It examines closely the five American coal mining companies with the best safety performance in the industry: U.S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Consolidation Coal Company, Island Creek Coal Company, and Old Ben Coal Company. It also takes a look at the safety record of unionized versus non-unionized mines and how safety regulation enforcement impacts productivity.




The Coal Truth


Book Description

Since 2012, the fight to stop the opening of the vast Galilee coal basin has emerged as an iconic pivot of the Australian climate and environment movement. The Coal Truth provides a timely and colourful contribution to one of the most important struggles in our national history - over the future of the coal industry. Written by an environmental insider with an eye on the world his daughters will inherit, The Coal Truth is told with wit and verve, drawing in other specialist voices to bring to life the contours of a contest that the people of Australia can't afford to lose. Contributors include: Adrian Burragubba, Tara Moss and Berndt Sellheim, Lesley Hughes, John Quiggin, Hilary Bambrick, Ruchira Talukdar and Geoffrey Cousins. This book will be of interest of anyone interested in environmental studies, activism, politics, and Australian studies.




Mining Methods


Book Description

An economic viability of a modern day mine is highly dependent upon careful planning and management. Declining trends in average ore grades, increasing mining costs and environmental considerations will ensure that this situation will remain in the foreseeable future. This book describes mining methods for the surface and underground mineral deposits. The methods are generalized and focus on typical applications from different mining areas around the world, keeping in mind, however, that every mineral deposit, with its geology, grade, shape, and volume, is unique. The book will serve as a useful resource for researchers, engineers and managers working in the mining industry, as well as for universities, non-governmental organizations, legal organizations, financial institutions and students and lecturers in mining engineering.




Rock Support and Reinforcement Practice in Mining


Book Description

The text broadly covers recent developments in ground control techniques, and their at operating mines, worldwide. Specific topics include: design and analysis of support and re-inforcement in metalliferous mines, mesh, shotcrete and membrane support systems, and strata control in coal mines.




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