Before the FCT high-speed shuttle cars – which needed regular short breaks –ferried the newly mined coal to the nearest conveyor belt. In addition to the downtime incurred with the breaks, having shuttle cars zipping around at high speed in the confined environment of the mine carries a risk to the people operating the machinery underground.
Because of these difficulties Anglo American decided to invest $40 million in two FCTs. The system was designed by Joy Mining Machinery, which has a collaborative relationship with Anglo American’s Thermal Coal and Metallurgical Coal business units, and has already proven itself by breaking production records in mines in the US. The FCT eliminates the need for shuttle cars, cuts down on dust and reduces the likelihood of collisions underground, since it catches coal from the continuous-mining machine and funnels it directly on to a flexible conveyor belt, which then whisks the coal away.
When the cutter advances, the entire machine crawls forward, gripping the floor of the mine with its spiked tracks. This constant slow and steady movement is also safer for the mine’s workforce as the fast-moving shuttle cars are replaced with a much larger, slower-moving machine. The system also cuts down on dust, which improves visibility.
The FCT also offers improved productivity. The Greenside mine reported a rise in production rates from 600 tonnes per hour (tph) to up to 776 tph in the last seven months of 2012. During this period the FCT displayed the potential to produce about 1.2 million tonnes per annum, some 20 per cent above the base production on which the purchase of the FCT was justified. At Goedehoop there has been a similar improvement, from 450 tph to 680 tph. The payback period on the investment is around 4.5 years, and relies on incremental increases in production over the next year or so. The company is working with an experienced FCT operator from the US to keep the production in the right direction and is confident that the millipede with the big appetite for coal will continue to prove its worth.
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This article was written by Caroline Williams, a science writer, broadcaster and formerly features editor at the New Scientist.
