COAL HAULAGE

COAL HAULAGE

General

It has been noted previously that, with the exception of a few special cases using hydraulic transport, coal haulage outside the face area in modern mines is almost exclusively by conveyor belt, combined in some mines with bulk winding. The hydraulic transport is really limited to cases where water supply is plentiful and particularly where the mine surface access is at a lower level than the workings.
Earlier mines used rail transport with trains of small wagons, known as "skips" or "tubs", hauled by various means, but such systems are no longer in use at least in Australia and will not be considered here.
Other systems which have been examined or trialed but have not been commercialized to date, and which will not be further considered include:

• Use of bucket elevators in shafts – generally low capacity and restricted to very short shafts
  
• Use of hydraulic transport in pipes with power supplied by pumps – again a plentiful water supply would be required and the effect of a broken pipeline or a power loss with a loaded system warrants risk management
  
• Special conveyors which can be rolled into a tube by guide rollers when loaded, avoiding spillage and allowing some flexibility in alignment
  

Conveyor belts have been in use for many years with improvements taking place over the years in drive control, idler life and reliability, pulley design, belt cleaning, monitoring, signaling, tensioning, etc. Construction methods and materials used in manufacture of the belting itself have also undergone considerable improvement – it should be noted that any conveyor belting used underground must be of fire resistant and anti static ("FRAS") material.
These improvements have resulted in high capacity and high powered belts being available. This has a cost involved, not only for the larger, higher capacity equipment but for the electronic control and signalling equipment and expertise involved. A high standard of installation and maintenance is also required, the effect of poor standards becoming more serious as belt power and speed increases.

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