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Southern Colliery

Southern Colliery, constructed in 1988, produces three and a half million tonnes of coal each year.

Southern Colliery extracts coal from the German Creek seam, which ranges from 2.5 metres to 3.2 metres thick, averaging 2.7 metres. The retreating longwall produces the majority of the mine’s coal with the remainder being won by continuous miners developing the longwall panels and the main headings.

5.2 metre wide roadways are driven to full seam thickness, around 2.7 metres high. Longwall installation roadways are 8 metres wide. Longwall panels are 250 metres wide and up to 2.9 kilometres long. The roof is supported by 167 electro-hydraulically controlled Chock Shield Supports rated at maximum support resistance of 800-900 tonnes.

Coal cutting is provided by a Mitsui Shearer fitted with two metre diameter drums. Coal clearance is provided by a Joy Armoured Face Conveyor. The conveyor is powered by a two speed motor (522/261 kilowatts) at each end giving a total installed power of 1044 kilowatts. A Klockner Becorit crusher, with capacity of 2500 tonnes per hour for an output size of 200 millimetres, feeds product to a Joy beam stage loader that loads product to the panel conveyor belt. Southern Colliery’s retreat longwall operation has a capacity of 2500 tonnes per hour.

Raw coal is stockpiled at a 250,000 tonne capacity stockpile at the colliery. The coal is then transported to the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant by overland conveyor.

Longwall Mining Process

Click on diagram for larger view