SEPTEMBER 2015 VOL. 120 NO. 9

FEATURE ARTICLES FIRE DETECTION/32 CH&S 2015 PREVIEW/34

20 Remembering Those Lost Son of a miner killed in Ohio operation follows ‘calling,’ raises thousands to commemorate state’s fallen workers

24 India Coal Logistics Perspective

31 Mining for Data Using Advanced Graphing Software to Mitigate Safety Risks

32 Where There’s Smoke… REFUGE ALTERNATIVES/40 COAL PREPARATION/48 A longtime fire technology, air sampling smoke detection, is now possible for mobile mining equipment

34 Coal Handling and Storage 2015 A new venue in St. Louis promises a diverse collection of hot topics and networking opportunities

40 Underground Mine Refuge Alternatives A look at food, water and sanitation requirements

44 On Solid Ground 34th meeting of International Conference on Ground Control in Mining spotlights research and best of the sector’s experts

48 Tracing the Best Outcomes for Dense Media Cyclones DMC monitoring and optimization based on immediate, precise partition curves from radio density tracers THIS ISSUE 54 Training and Evaluation of Coal Miners’ Self-escape Competencies This month, Coal Age offers several articles related to optimization pro- 56 Increase Fuel Choices While Maintaining a Slagging and grams for coal mining, processing and utilization. On the cover, a Fouling-free Boiler Wirtgen surface miner cuts and loads coal at New Hope’s New Acland mine in Australia. COAL IN THE NEWS 4 Court Approves Patriot Asset Sale DEPARTMENTS 4 OSM Grants Extension on SPR, Coal Operators Say 2 Editorial 4 It’s Not Enough Coal in the News 5 5 Royal Energy Picks Up Cline Reserves in Appalachia World News 10 People 6 Cordero Rojo Secures Future Reserves 12 Dateline Washington 8 Blankenship Asks for Information to be Removed 14 Calendar 12 MEC Lays Off Miners in Illinois 16 Awards 14 Sales Down for Armstrong Energy 22 Marketwatch 16 Construction Will Begin in 2016 at Buck Creek Mine 24 Transport Tips 18 Preparations Begin for Bauma 2016 in Munich 56 Operating Ideas 18 Newest IGCC Plant Records Highest Capacity Factors 58 Product News 61 Classified WORLD NEWS 64 Legally Speaking

5 Shenhua Interested in Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley Assets

6 India’s CIL Plans to Double Capital Investments

8 Unemployment Rises in Indonesia as Coal Miners Cease Production

September 2015 www.coalage.com 1 editor’s note Adding Insult to Injury

www.mining-media.com ast month, Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Mining Media International Association, penned a power editorial, “Scraps from the Editorial Office L 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306 Table: Obama’s Plan an Insult to West Virginia’s Coal Mining Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. Families.” Coal Age readers can find it at www.wvcoal.com. Phone: +1.904.721.2925 Raney has been a fierce advocate for coal and the Mountain Fax: +1.904.721.2930 State for many years. In the piece, he admonished the Charleston Gazette, which has long taken an anti-coal stance, Editor-in-Chief—Steve Fiscor, [email protected] for suggesting that the industry thank President Barack Western Field Editor—Russ Carter, [email protected] Obama for tossing a few dollars to the American coal industry Field Editor—Donna Schmidt, [email protected] BY STEVE FISCOR European Editor—Simon Walker, [email protected] after systematically destroying it for six years. / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, [email protected] Raney is referring to the 2016 White House budget, which Assistant Editor—Jennifer Jensen, [email protected] contains the POWER+ Plan (see www.whitehouse.gov). The Obama Administration Graphic Designer—Austin St. Clair, [email protected] blames the problems in coal country on “booming natural gas production, declining costs for renewable energy, increases in energy efficiency, flattening electricity Mining Media International demand, and updated clean air standards.” These trends, according to the adminis- Corporate Office 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1 tration, are impacting workers and communities who have relied on the coal indus- Denver, Colorado 80231 U.S.A. try as a source of good jobs and economic prosperity. To help these communities Phone: +1.303.283.0640 adapt, the POWER+ Plan will invest in workers and jobs, addresses legacy costs in Fax: +1.303.283.0641 coal country, and drive development of coal technology. President/Publisher—Peter Johnson, [email protected] Raney did the math and the plan would: Vice President of Sales & Marketing—John Bold, [email protected] • Provide $200 million per year for five years to clean up abandoned mines; Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Victor Matteucci, [email protected] • Provide $5 million for “brownfields” work to clean up coal-fired power plants; Western U.S. & Canada, Sales—Mary Lu Buse, [email protected] Scandinavia, UK and European Sales—Colm Barry, [email protected] • Provide $20 million to retrain ex-miners and help them find new jobs; Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, [email protected] • Provide $25 million to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for Australia/Asia Sales—Lanita Idrus, [email protected] efforts to create new businesses and upgrade infrastructure; Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, [email protected] • Provide $6 million more for “place-based regional innovation efforts” to spur Indonesia Sales—Dimas Abdillah, [email protected] jobs in distressed coal communities; and Latin America Sales—Paulina Downey, [email protected] / Sylvia Palma, • Award $3.9 billion over a decade to shore up pensions and medical care for [email protected] retired miners. Classified Advertising—Kirk Carbo, [email protected] Making sure retirees and their surviving spouses are provided for is important, Show Manager—Tim Fearney, [email protected] Production Manager—Dan Fitts, [email protected] but as Raney explained, those pensions would likely not be in trouble today were it not for the actions of this administration. The temporary aid, which adds insult to injury, amounts to $256 million for the first year and $200 million in the subsequent four years. There are approximately 13 states in the the ARC, so each one would receive a fraction of the money. Any engi- neer would immediately recognize that $200 million, let alone $5 million, would not be enough money to accomplish a whole lot. But, what Raney wisely pointed out is that this will come from the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) fund, which was funded Coal Age, Volume 120, Issue 9, (ISSN 1040-7820) is published monthly by Mining by coal operators. Media Inc., 10 Sedgwick Drive, Englewood, Colorado 80113 (mining-media.com). Periodicals postage paid at Englewood, CO, and additional mailing offices. Canada Prior to the “war on coal,” Raney explained that the coal industry historically pro- Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO vided about $3.4 billion each year in wages in West Virginia alone, and $26 billion Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: [email protected]. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an each year to the gross state product. The Obama Administration has stripped the editorial calendar, are available online at www.coalage.com. Mountain State (and other coal-producing states) of a vital economic base. To SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. appease his guilt, he is giving them a fraction of their money back. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year, $56.00, 2 year, $96.00, 3 year, $162.00, Student, $16.00, Outside the USA and Canada, 1 year, $77.00, 2 year, $137.00, 3 year, $225.00 surface mail (1 year, $145.00, 2 year, $257.00 airmail delivery). For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to Coal Age, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; call +1.303.283.0640 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retrieval of select- ed archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and Proquest. For microform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521- 0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Coal Age, P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076 USA. Steve Fiscor, Coal Age Editor-in-Chief REPRINTS: Mining Media Inc, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA [email protected] phone: +1.303.283.0640, fax: +1.303.283.0641, www.mining-media.com PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. Obtain further information at www.copyright.com.

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MINING.SANDVIK.COM news Court Approves Patriot Asset Sale

A bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 11 reorganization of Patriot Coal’s Appalachian Reserves Patriot Coal has reportedly cleared the coal operator to divest its (millions of tons, December 2013) remaining assets in an auction. According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Keith Phillips in Type Method Owned Leased Total Virginia has said he would sign off on the auction. Big Mountain TU 0 7 7 The first bidder will be the Virginia Conversation Legacy Fund Corridor G TS 1 58 59 (VCLF), which announced last month that it planned to acquire Federal TU30 3 33 assets not already involved in the company’s recent sales agree- Jupiter TU 0 5 5 Kanawha Eagle M/T U055 55 ment with Blackhawk Mining, including the Federal and Corridor Logan County M/T U/S 15 55 70 G complexes. Also included are mining permits for water quality Midland trail TU22 84 106 improvement and land reclamation efforts. Paint Creek M/T U/S 0 53 53 VCLF and affiliate ERP Compliant Fuels are assuming about Panther M/T U139 40 Rocklick M/T U012 12 $400 million in liabilities as well, including workers compensation, Wells M/T U045 45 environmental ties and black lung obligations. Bob Bennett, Patriot president and CEO, said in August that he 69 416 485 hoped the deal enabled it to move ahead in its bankruptcy process. “In VCLF, we have found an experienced partner who will responsibly Note: T = Thermal, M = Metallurgical, U = Underground, and S = Surface manage our remaining assets consistent with the highest environ- mental standards, and we believe this proposed transaction is in the Any competing bids for Patriot’s assets, including the Federal best interest of Patriot and its stakeholders,” he said, noting that it mine, were due at the beginning of September. Blackhawk’s bid expects a majority of Patriot’s workers to be offered work with for most of the mines and assets still stands; it has been the stalk- Blackhawk or VCLF at the sealing of the respective deals. ing horse bidder with an offer to issue $653.3 million in debt. At an August 18 hearing, VCLF attorney Andrew Troop told the Editor's note: As of press time, an auction had been set for bankruptcy court that it is hoping to use the deal to find a balance September 21, according to the WSJ. between its own mission to reclaim assets while also honoring the coal industry’s history in the area. MSHA Releases Proposed Rule Expanding “Its desire here is to…reclaim land, operate responsibly, provide Proximity Regulations some return to creditors who otherwise it looks like would receive The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published a nothing or very little in connection with this plan, preserve jobs and proposed rule, Proximity Detection Systems for Mobile Machines enter into a new workable resolution with the United Mine Workers in Underground Mines, on September 2 in the Federal Register. [union],” he said, according to the WSJ. The rule would apply to shuttle cars, ram cars and scoops.

BREAKING NEWS

OSM Grants Extension on SPR, Coal Operators Say It’s Not Enough highlighted the negative effects of the proposed SPR. “The responsible During early September, coal operators were voicing concern about the development and use of our natural resources will be substantially limited time they had been given to review changes proposed by the U.S. harmed, very likely sterilizing millions of tons of coal reserves while, at Office of Surface Mining (OSM), regarding Stream Protection Rule (SPR), the same time, keeping millions of dollars in royalty payments from pri- the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that supports the proposed vate landowners and the many cities and school districts that rely on the rule, and the Regulatory Impact Analysis that provides analysis of each taxes from the responsible recovery of our Texas lignite and coal,” alternative considered. Blevins said. Even though OSM announced it would grant an extension from the end “The proposed rules were developed to address some very specific of September to October 26 during the hearings, coal operators insisted it concerns in six Appalachian states,” Blevins said. “The rules, however, was still not enough time to properly review what the agency was proposing. have been unnecessarily broadened into ‘one size fits all.’ The public com- Over the past six years, has rewritten the laws that govern how coal mines ment period for these unusually complex proposed regulations was set at operate. In total, more than 475 rules have been amended and modified, 60 days, and many will duplicate protections currently required by the and new ones have been added. The agency released more than 6,000 pages Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the of documents related to the proposed rules in mid-July. states with the potential of shutting down or limiting production from Speaking at a hearing in the St. Louis area, one of six scheduled for numerous mining operations throughout the country, including those in public comments on the agency’s proposed SPR, Ches Blevins, executive Texas.” The rules are expected to become effective on January 1, 2017 fol- director and general counsel, Texas Mining & Reclamation Association, lowing OSM’s review of the comments.

4 www.coalage.com September 2015 news continued

TOP 10 COAL-PRODUCING STATES WORLD NEWS ¸ ˛ ˝ ¸ (in Thousand Short Tons) Shenhua Interested in Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley Assets Week Ending (9/5/15) Six parties including China-backed Shenhua Group have been in the YTD ‘15 YTD ‘14 % Change data room for Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley coal business, adding more Wyoming 248,729 264,242 -5.9 competitive tension to what was expected to be a two-horse race West Virginia 70,133 77,898 -10.0 between Glencore and Mick Davis’ X2 Resources, according to the entucky 45,481 53,806 -15.5 Sydney Morning Herald. Rio is hoping to fetch as much as $4 billion Illinois 40,873 38,568 6.0 in the sale of its thermal coal business, with Chief Executive Sam Pennsylvania 38,526 42,331 -9.0 Walsh confirming that he would be open to a sale at the right price. Montana 28,955 28,541 1.5 Sources told The Australian Financial Review that Rio could reap up Texas 24,193 29,333 -17.5 Indiana 23,989 26,653 -10.0 to $3.5 billion, although some of the companies in the data room North Dakota 18,142 19,791 -8.3 have been suggesting the miner split the assets that are up for sale. Colorado 14,625 16,573 -11.8 New Hope and a private equity firm round out the six parties that have been in and out of the data room. Rio’s business in the Hunter, U.S. Total 620,444 676,624 -8.3 called Coal & Allied, is 20% owned by Mitsubishi.

As proposed, coal mine operators will be required to use proximity France Ends Export Subsidies for Coal Before Climate Talks systems that cause a coal-hauling machine or scoop to stop before con- The French government is ending export subsidies for building coal- tacting a miner; provide audible and visual warning signals when a fired power plants abroad, as the country tries to clean up its envi- miner gets too close to the machine (within the machine’s warning ronmental reputation before hosting the U.N. climate talks. Prime zone); provide a visual signal on the machine that indicates the system Minister Manuel Valls recently announced the immediate end to the is functioning properly; prevent movement of the machine if the sys- coal credits, primarily used by French group Alstom, which exports tem is not functioning properly; prevent interference with or from oth- its technology and builds plants in several countries. er electrical systems; and be installed and maintained by a person trained in the system’s installation and maintenance. Norway to Close Arctic Coal Mine, Causing Political Headache The rule, if placed into effect, would be effective in phases. Norway’s state-owned coal company Store Norske said it plans to According to MSHA’s proposal, mines will have eight months after close one of its key mines in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, posing the rule goes into effect to be in compliance for coal-hauling difficult political questions for Norway as it seeks to control a strate- machines and scoops manufactured after the effective date of the gic foothold in the north. The Lunckefjell mine was slated to produce rule (also for coal-hauling machines and scoops equipped with an around 1.9 million metric tons (mt) of coal per year from 2015 to existing proximity detection system). 2019. A shutdown leaves only the smaller Gruve No. 7, which is Coal hauling machines and scoops equipped with an existing prox- expected to produce 130,000-150,000 mt of coal per year. Around 150 imity detection system — which cannot be modified underground or of its 250 staff are at risk of losing their jobs, Store Norske said in a needs to be replaced with a new proximity detection system — or those statement. Located around 700 km north of the European mainland, units manufactured on or before the effective date of the rule and not Svalbard is governed under a 1920 treaty giving Norway sovereignty, equipped with a proximity detection system must be in compliance but allowing all nations signing it to do business there and to exploit within three years after the rule’s effective date. its natural resources. About 1,700 of the around 2,700 people living in According to federal data, as of this June, just 155 of approxi- Svalbard are Norwegians, according to the country’s statistics mately 2,116 hauling machines and scoops working underground bureau. Russia has its own coal mining operation and the largest for- were equipped with such systems. Additionally, the agency said, eign enclave with about 500 inhabitants. The importance of tourism 42 workers were killed and another 179 were injured in pinning, and scientific research has grown in recent years, but the mining crushing and striking accidents between 1984 and 2014. In the business with its employees and their families has been the corner- most recent five-year period (2010-2014), accidents killed nine stone of Norway’s presence in Svalbard. miners in 41 cases — 23 involved coal hauling machines and 18 involved scoops. Donkin Mine Will Begin Production in 2016 The Donkin underground steam and coking coal mine in Nova Scotia, Royal Energy Picks Up Cline Reserves in Appalachia Canada, owned by U.S.-based Cline Group and its Kameron Collieries Royal Energy Resources has signed a $20 million cash-and-royalty subsidiary, finally has a more-or-less official timetable to begin pro- deal with Cline Group affiliates Middle Wilgat and Coal Fields duction — early 2016. In early August, Geoff MacLellan, Nova Scotia’s Transports for two permitted mines, assets and infrastructure — minister of transportation and infrastructure renewal, said the com- with reserves totaling more than 150 million tons — in Ohio and pany intends to open Donkin as soon as possible, almost certainly by West Virginia. the first few months of next year. The mine’s owners, he said, were The assets in Meigs County, Ohio, and Mason County, West “moving aggressively” to construct mine infrastructure, including a Virginia, include what is collectively known as the Gatling mining new electric transmission line to bring power into the mine site to pre- complex, encompassing all membership units of Gatling LLC, pare for the start of mining. Employees were being hired to staff the Gatling Ohio LLC, Meigs Point Dock LLC, Big River Mining LLC, mine and mining equipment was being ordered and delivered to the Yellow Bush Mining LLC and Broad Run Dock LLC. Continued on p. 6...

September 2015 www.coalage.com 5 news continued

The Northern Appalachian complex, which produced about Continued from p. 5... 250,000 tons per month at its peak in 2009, abuts the Ohio River on site, MacLellan added. Cline/Kameron officials could not be reached a 70,000-acre site and is within 75 miles of existing and operational for comment. The province has permitted Donkin to produce up to coal-fired utilities, with an estimated 20-million-ton cumulative 2.75 million metric tons (mt) annually. The mine’s total capacity, coal burn annually. It includes two permitted room-and-pillar however, is about 3.6 million mt per year. It boasts about 480 million underground mines in both West Virginia and Ohio, as well as a mt of high-quality reserves. “substantial quantity” of mining equipment. An operational wash plant, conveyor systems, coal loading facility and a dedicated belt- India’s CIL Plans to Double Capital Investments line to American Electric Power’s Mountaineer power plant are Coal India Ltd. (CIL) will complete a total capital investment worth also included. $1.63 billion in the current fiscal year, almost double the invest- According to estimates by Weir International Mining ment made in 2014-2015, to ramp up production and create trans- Consultants (now Weir International Inc.), the Ohio mine has portation logistics infrastructure, a company official said. The proven and probable reserves of approximately 121 million tons of largest coal miner, accounting for more than 80% of India’s domes- coal, and the West Virginia mine 64 million tons of coal; fair mar- tic coal supplies, in early August finalized investments to the tune ket value as of March 26, 2014, was $75.35 million. of $907 million on new projects that would add another 40 million Royal confirmed that the underlying reserves and certain assets tons of incremental coal production to its existing production are owned by Natural Resource Partners (NRP), and leased to capacity of 493 million metric tons (mt). some Gatling entities on a per-ton royalty basis. NRP must also ink More than $550 million would be invested to develop the compa- a modified lease agreement before the acquisition can close. ny’s Lakhanpur-Belpahar-Lilari coal reserves to produce 30 million Cline will receive a 2% clean coal royalty, totaling $1.5 million, as mt/y including an open-cast mine in the eastern Indian province of part of the deal. The balance of $18.5 million will be paid in cash. Odisah, $238 million on opening a new mine at the Rampur-Baura The entire transaction is scheduled to close on or before October 5. reserves in southeastern India, which would add production of 4 mil- In a related deal, Royal is now negotiating — hinging upon a lion t/y. Another $115 million would be invested in activating a new closed letter agreement for the aforementioned transaction — open-cast mine at the Yekona coal reserves in western India. with private Kentucky-based firm Jet Fuel LLC for an associated The official said that, considering the acute lack of transporta- strategic partnership. Jet was previously under agreement to pur- tion and logistics infrastructure, it was felt just increasing produc- chase the Gatling entities and currently has a pending coal pur- tion would not suffice to meet demand from end users and, unless chase agreement with the Mitchell power plant for 240,000 tons new investments were made in infrastructure, most of the incre- through the remainder of this year. mental production would remain locked up at pitheads and not increase fuel sales of the miner. Hence, an investment to the tune of Cordero Rojo Secures Future Reserves $638 million would be committed for infrastructure including con- Cloud Peak Energy (CPE) has inked a deal with a Wyoming struction of railway linkages between pitheads and rail network of landowner near its Cordero Rojo complex in the Powder River the government-owned and operated Indian Railways. Basin that will extend its surface access and give it access to much more coal. Officials said August 24 that the agreement will allow it 4 Are Killed in Colombian Mine Explosion to get to another 95 million tons of coal and also enhance its future A coal mine explosion on August 24 in the Boyaca province of development flexibility. Colombia, the country’s second such event in just a few weeks, took The coal includes tons directly under the acquired land as well lives. According to Colombia Reports, the incident occurred at the as other adjacent tonnage that it expects will become available for San Patricio operation near Socha, outside of Bogota, at about 7 future mining since it now has access to the acreage. p.m. local time. The met mine is owned by San Patricio Coal SAS and The thermal coal-producing Cordero Rojo operation reported was initially opened in 2012. The National Mining Agency released a proven and probable reserves of 267 million tons at the end of last statement confirming the suspension of mining operations at the year. Across its portfolio of three operations (Cordero, Antelope complex and said that an investigation had commenced. and Spring Creek), CPE reported control of about 1.1 billion tons “Preliminary data showed that the emergency originated with a of reserves on the same date, not including the additional then- methane gas explosion,” agency Vice President Javier Garcia said. inaccessible tonnage. The bodies of the four miners were recovered despite some areas of high inclination in the entries. Three weeks prior, five miners were Freedom Industries’ Southern, Farrell Plead Guilty killed in a similar incident in Samaca, which is also located in the to Pollution Charges Boyaca province. That operation has confirmed by local authorities Former Freedom Industries Presidents Gary Southern and Dennis to be legal; BBC reported that a probe is examining if the San Farrell, at the center of the January 2014 Elk River chemical spill in Patricio operation is legally operating. West Virginia that involved its facility near Charleston, have both pleaded guilty to three pollution charges and now are facing federal China Passes New Pollution Law, May Set Coal Consumption Limit prison time. Legislators have approved amendments to China’s 15-year-old air Southern and Farrell are the final defendants to be charged in pollution law that grant the state new powers to punish offenders connection with the spill of a coal preparation reagent 4-methyl- and create a legal framework to cap coal consumption, Reuters cyclohexene methanol, or MCHM, from its 48,000-gallon storage Continued on p. 8... tank, traveling from the river to a public water intake facility and

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temporarily cutting off water supplies to at least 300,000 residents Continued from p. 6... of nine West Virginia counties. reported. The draft amendments were passed 154:4, with five U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said Southern pleaded guilty abstentions, according to Zhong Xuequan, a spokesman for the August 19 to violating the federal Clean Water Act, negligently dis- National People’s Congress (NPC). The ruling Communist Party has charging refuse matter in violation of the federal Refuse Act, and acknowledged the damage that decades of unbridled economic failing to have a pollution prevention plan. Farrell has pleaded growth have done to China’s skies, rivers and soil. It is now trying to guilty to violating the federal Refuse Act and failing to have a pol- equip its environmental inspection offices with greater powers and lution prevention plan. more resources to tackle persistent polluters and the local govern- Freedom and four other Freedom officials already entered ments that protect them. guilty pleas this past March to environmental crimes. The The amendments are expected to make local governments Freedom officials, including Farrell and Southern, were first directly responsible for meeting environmental targets. They also charged in December 2014 with a myriad of federal charges. ban firms from temporarily switching off polluting equipment dur- “This should serve as a wakeup call to those who operate chem- ing inspections and outlaw other behavior designed to distort emis- ical storage facilities near our precious water resources. If you sion readings. place our water at risk, you face prison time,” Goodwin said. “As I According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, concen- said when these individuals were charged, this spill, which was trations of hazardous particulates PM2.5 fell 17.1% in the first half completely preventable, happened to take place in this district, of 2015 to 58 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3). China doesn’t but it could have happened anywhere. If we don’t want it to hap- expect to meet the state standard of 35 mg/m3 until 2030. pen again, we need to make it crystal clear that those who engage in this kind of criminal behavior will be held accountable. That’s Unemployment Rises in Indonesia as Coal Miners Cease Production exactly what we have done through these prosecutions.” In the 2000s, many Indonesian companies diversified their busi- Southern is facing a 30-day mandatory minimum and up to ness to include coal mining (or shifted their core business to coal three years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for December mining altogether) due to opportunities amid a commodities boom. 16. Farrell, who will be sentenced December 14, faces a mandatory As a result of current weak market conditions (and even less rosy minimum of 30 days and up to two years of federal prison time. future forecasts), around 125 coal mining companies have ceased Freedom Industries itself, now in bankruptcy, is scheduled to operations in East Kalimantan. Some mines have idled production be sentenced December 10 after a representative of the company while they wait for coal prices to rise. Roughly 5,000 people will pleaded guilty in March. The company has been charged with vio- lose their jobs. Indonesian coal exports fell 18% to 186.8 million lating the Clean Water Act, negligent discharge of refuse matter in metric tons (mt) in the first seven months of 2015 from a year ear- violation of the Refuse Act, and violating an environmental permit. lier. Meanwhile, the country’s coal production fell 15% to 232.9 million mt over the same period. The Indonesian government Blankenship Asks for Information to be Removed recently lowered its coal production target for 2015 from 425 mil- As he awaits a hearing on his criminal case later this year for his lion mt to 400 million mt. actions surrounding the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine explosion of 2010, ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is calling for details on New Zealand’s Largest Coal Operator Forced into his compensation and certain testimony to be excluded from the trial. Managed Bankruptcy According to an Associated Press report, the former executive — Government-owned Solid Energy announced it was placing itself who left his seat in December 2010, a few months after the trsgedy into voluntary administration, a process it hopes will allow it to keep — has filed a total of 16 motions through his legal counsel claiming trading as it tries to sell its assets. Whether any of its coal opera- that information on his salary and stock holdings would be irrele- tions remain viable will be up to any potential buyers to decide. The vant to his case. company employs 540 staff directly and another 200 contractors. At Additionally, the filing reportedly said, testimony from former its peak, it was mining more than 4 million metric tons per year Massey subsidiary White Buck Coal President David Hughart, who (mt/y), about 70% of which was used for making steel. is now serving prison time on conspiracy charges for his part in the The company said its large debt was exacerbated by a drop in events, will unfairly prejudice a jury. the price for hard coking coal to $85/mt this year. “We have been Hughart was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison upfront with our employees and other stakeholders about the chal- after admitting in 2013 that he helped ensure that miners at his lenges facing Solid Energy,” said Andy Coupe, chairman, Solid operations were given illegal advanced warning of required Energy. “For some months, we have been consulting with our banks inspections. During his plea hearing that same year, he implicated and shareholder to develop a suitable plan.” Blankenship in the scheme. Blankenship’s lawyer, however, said Under the plan, which creditors will need to approve next month, that Hughart’s testimony only applies to mines other than UBB, most of the company’s debts will be frozen so they don’t accrue according to the AP. more interest. An investment bank will then try to sell off the com- pany’s assets over the next 2.5 years. Production Increases at White Oak Alliance Resource Partners is boosting production of high-sulfur ˛ steam coal from the White Oak No. 1 longwall mine in Hamilton County, Illinois, after acquiring the remaining equity interest in privately owned White Oak Resources LLC.

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During the final five months of 2015, the mine near Indeed, Craft said Alliance wants to operate its lower-cost mines McLeansboro is expected to produce about 500,000 tons a month such as White Oak 1 “at full capacity” while optimizing other, unspeci- or a total of 2.5 million tons. That would equal White Oak 1’s out- fied operations. According to Brian Cantrell, Alliance senior vice put of 2.5 million tons in the first two quarters of this year. president and chief financial officer, the company’s total expendi- It also would set up the mine in 2016 for annual production of 5 tures are estimated at $265 million to $285 million this year, down to 6 million tons annually from the Herrin No. 6 seam, drawing about $40 million from the midpoint of 2015. upon a reserve base of 1 billion tons. Alliance, based in Tulsa, Moreover, Alliance anticipates White Oak 1 will be “modestly Oklahoma, controls a little more than half of that total. accretive” to Alliance’s bottom line over the August-December Joe Craft, Alliance president and CEO, told analysts during an early period. August conference call that his company is confident it can increase Under terms of the agreement to acquire the remaining inter- production at White Oak 1, the first of a potential multimine develop- est in White Oak Resources, Alliance paid $50 million at the sale ment planned by White Oak Resources in the largely rural southern closing. The transaction was funded with cash on hand. Additional Illinois county. contingent consideration may be due in the future, Alliance said. “We think we can increase production out of White Oak,” he For all of 2015, Alliance now is targeting overall coal production declared. White Oak 1 started longwall production in October 2014, in a range of 42.8 to 43.5 million tons, including the anticipated pro- extracting a total of 1.7 million tons last year. duction and sales from White Oak 1 for the remainder of the year. Alliance, one of the largest producers in the high-sulfur Illinois Alliance said it has secured price commitments for approximately Basin (ILB), is counting on its White Oak holdings to lower its overall 42.8 million tons in 2015 and also has firmed up coal sales and price production costs. That would enable the company to more effectively commitments for approximately 31.2 million tons, 13 million tons, compete against low-cost rival Foresight Energy LP, the largest coal and 9.6 million tons in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. producer in the ILB. Ohio’s Murray Energy Corp. purchased a major Alliance anticipates its average coal sales price per ton at the ownership stake in Foresight earlier this year. midpoint of its 2015 guidance ranges will be approximately 4% than m PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Western Fuels Association’s Board of Directors appointed Meri Sandlin CEO Coalition and the Western Canadian Coal Society. In 2007, he was appointed and general manager, replacing Duane Richards, who served in the role for chief commercial officer of the coal business unit of Teck Resources. Wasik is 11 years. currently a nonexecutive director of Cobbora Holding Co. and Kuro Coal Ltd.

West Virginia Coal Association elected these individuals to three-year terms The University of Applied Sciences, TFH Georg Agricola in on the board: Ralph Ballard (WWMV LLC), Gary Bennett (Arch Coal), Russell Bochum, has a new member on its executive committee: Dr. Bolyard (L&P Mineral), Pat Graney (Narcelle Logistics), Bobby Hypes (South Ulrich Paschedag is the new vice president of the faculty of geo- Fork Coal), Greg Jessee (Met Resources), Tim McLean (Walker Machinery), engineering, mining and technical business management. Marty Petrunyak (Nelson Brothers) and Mike Zervos (United Energy). The fol- Paschedag is the successor of Dr. Christoph Dauber, who com- lowing officers and executive committee members were also elected: pleted his second term of office had held the seat since 2009. Ulrich Paschedag Chairman of the Board Jimmy Brock (Consol Energy); First Vice Chairman Mike Carey (Murray Energy); Second Vice Chairman Jimmy Bunn II (Coal River Columbia Steel is pleased to announce that current District Energy); Secretary Gary Bennett (Arch Coal); Treasurer Andrew Jordon Manager John Bergner has added dragline operations in (Pritchard Mining); Assistant Treasurer Ben Beakes (Alpha Natural Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to his customer base. Resources); Associate Division Chairman Tim McLean (Walker Machinery); Bergner has 17 years of experience representing dragline members at large, Mike Day (Patriot Coal), Warren Hylton (Patience Coal), chain, rigging, and GET products, and more than three Kevin Craig (NRP); President Bill Raney; Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton; John Bergner decades as a Columbia district manager. and Vice President Jason Bostic. Joy Global announced that Randal W. Baker, executive vice president and The World Coal Association (WCA) announced Dr. Fatih Birol COO, will leave the company. Baker previously served as president of Joy as the new executive director of the International Energy Global Surface Mining Inc. from November 2009 until his appointment as Agency (IEA). Prior to his appointment, he was chief econo- COO in December 2013. mist and director of Global Energy Economics, overseeing the agency’s most prominent publication, the World Energy Sandvik announced that Olof Faxander, president and CEO, has left the com- Fatih Birol Outlook. The WCA also welcomed Milagros Miranda Rojas as pany. Björn Rosengren, currently president and CEO of Wärtsilä Corp., will its new policy director. Rojas joins the WCA after having succeed Faxander. Faxander has been the president and CEO of Sandvik since spent most of her career as a diplomat for the Republic of Peru. Her most 2011. recent appointment was as minister-counselor at the Peruvian Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Strata Worldwide has named Julian Ford, formerly executive vice president for proximity detection and collision avoid- Atrum Coal NL welcomed Bob Bell and John Wasik to the board of directors. ance, as president and general manager of Strata’s South Bell currently serves on the boards of the Western Canadian Shippers African operations. Julian Ford

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2014 realizations. Based on current cost and production estimates, employ about 500. This is in addition to the 85 layoffs that the including the addition of low-cost production from White Oak 1, the company announced in May. company now anticipates total 2015 segment adjusted EBITDA Gary Broadbent, assistant general counsel and spokesman for MEC, expense per ton at the midpoint will be comparable to 2014. confirmed reports that have circulated for months in the region that the company’s American Coal Co. subsidiary was phasing out production MEC Lays Off Miners in Illinois at New Era, ostensibly to improve Galatia’s competitiveness. Murray Energy Corp. (MEC) is transitioning most of the high-sul- “We have been transitioning our operations to New Future,” fur steam coal production at its Galatia underground mining com- Broadbent said in an August email. plex in southern Illinois from its older New Era mine to its New AmCoal purchased Galatia in 1998 from Kerr-McGee Corp. Future mine, a move expected to reduce production costs. A total Kerr-McGee opened Galatia in the early 1980s near a small com- of 112 miners will be furloughed; the operation will continue to munity of the same name in Saline County.

DATELINE WASHINGTON The Pope, the President and the Devil

BY LUKE POPOVICH About the time you read this in late September, Pope will be giving our president a very different message when their discus- Francis will be visiting President Barack Obama in the sion turns to climate change. White House. There, on Septmber 23, expect to hear Obama will try to persuade Xi to pledge meaningful greenhouse gas more pontificating about the urgency of global climate reductions for the Paris climate conference in December. But Xi doesn’t change. curry favor with the League of Conservation Voters…or any voters, let These two world luminaries — the first a spiritual alone Brussels bureaucrats. China has pledged only to stop increasing its leader of the shrinking number of the world’s 1.2 mil- greenhouse gas output in 2030, when it expects industrialization to lion Catholics, the second a political leader of a steadi- plateau. That is, when it can no longer increase its emissions. ly shrinking plurality of American voters — will doubtless urge support for Xi might remind the president and the Pope that there are almost immediate and expensive measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions. exactly as many people in the world today who lack electricity as there are If these two have one thing in common, aside from speaking piously Catholics — a little more than 1 billion. Few of these energy poor people and living in regal splendor, it’s their vocal opposition to coal. This sum- live in China, because China is the world’s top coal consuming nation and mer, Pope Francis, in remarks supporting the Vatican’s environmental so not very apologetic about it either. encyclical, said carbon emissions from coal pose a danger to the spin- When Xi politely declines to slow his economy further by raising its ning globe and bid his followers to slow or stop the use of coal and other energy costs, the White House will have to explain away their differences. fossil fuels. Here is the difference you won’t hear. Obama and the Pope, both pious Our president is less forthright, as we expect of a partisan politician. apostles of the poor, nevertheless view reducing carbon emissions as But he shares the papal opposition to coal. Obama occasionally mumbles more important than reducing poverty, whereas comrade Xi believes that support for an all-of-the-above energy policy, assuring us that coal has a reducing poverty is more important than reducing carbon emissions. role to play. Just not in the U.S., which has the world’s largest supply of it. Put another way, while both the Pope and our president use their his- He has called on his followers in the regulatory bureaucracies to prevent toric meeting to sell a global plan for de-carbonizing the world’s economy, the use of coal here and calls on world banks to stop financing coal’s use President Xi understands why de-carbonization is a euphemism for de- abroad. industrialization, a plan that China, India and two-thirds of the world Here’s where the plot thickens. In an ironic twist of biblical propor- can’t afford. Sub-Saharan Africa for example has only 28 GW of power — tions, no sooner will the Vicar of Christ leave the White House on the 23rd the same as Arizona — to serve 860 million people. Arizona has 6.7 mil- than the head of the People’s Republic of China enters it the following day. lion people. On September 24, the fragrance of holy incense in the Oval Office will be Francis and Obama warn of predatory, polluting capitalists, but over- displaced by the sulfurous, unholy presence of China’s President Xi look how economic growth powered by fossil energy has done more to Jinping. The world’s most influential opponent of coal departs and the eliminate mass misery than any combination in history. President Xi may world’s biggest coal defender arrives; Hollywood could not have contrived wonder who’s the real champion of the poor? a script like this. “ So on the same day Pope Francis will address a joint session of Luke Popovich is a spokesperson for the National Mining Association, the Congress and later a throng of believers on the Mall, China’s president industry’s trade group based in Washington, D.C. If these two have one thing in common, aside from speaking piously and living in regal splendor, it’s their vocal opposition to coal. “12 www.coalage.com September 2015 At Hitachi, we’re not distracted by building every kind of mining equipment. We focus 100% on shovels and haulers. By specializing, we give you exactly what \RXZDQW%HWWHUUHOLDELOLW\KLJKHUSURGXFWLYLW\DQGERWWRPOLQHHIðFLHQF\       THAT’S ALL.

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Broadbent did not indicate how coal output will be affected by year. The mine is producing coal from the western Kentucky No. 8 the shift from New Era to New Future, or whether the latter will seam. Capital costs to develop the mine were approximately $24.3 cease production altogether as has been rumored. New Era pro- million as of June 30. duced about 5.5 million tons in 2014, but has seen production Survant, part of Armstrong’s Parkway deep mine complex near decline this year. In the first two quarters of 2015, the mine pro- Central City, is expected to produce about 1 million tons a year at duced about 1.5 million tons. New Future, meanwhile, produced full output. That means the Parkway complex will have an annual 3.1 million tons of coal in the first half of 2015 and is on pace to capacity of about 2.4 million tons. Survant has sold about 90,000 surpass last year’s output of 5.7 million tons. tons of development coal and is expected to produce a little less than 600,000 tons in 2016. Sales Down for Armstrong Energy Armstrong sells most of its coal into the U.S. electric utility Armstrong Energy said its Armstrong Coal subsidiary is on pace to market. produce and sell about 8.4 million tons of steam coal in 2015, The company forecasts production for 2015 will be lower than down from a record 9.4 million tons in 2014, and the St. Louis- actual production in 2014, largely because of the premature clos- based company already has sales commitments of about 6 million ing of the Lewis Creek underground mine in Ohio County, tons in 2016 with some 4.75 million tons already priced. Kentucky, early this year because of persistent geological prob- In a mid-August conference call, company officials said pro- lems and lower output from its surface mines in western Kentucky. duction at the new Survant underground mine in Muhlenberg In the short term, Armstrong said it anticipates lower coal sales County, Kentucky, would be ramped up in the final months of this because of reduced utility demand as a result of low natural gas prices and utilities retiring coal-burning power plant capacity in response to new government pollution control regulations. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Armstrong Coal operates in the high-sulfur Illinois Basin (ILB) that is home to major low-cost producers such as Foresight Energy October 5-7, 2015: Coal Handling and Storage Conference and Exhibition, St. Louis, and Alliance Resources Partners. To more effectively compete in Missouri. Contact: Web: www.coalhandlingshow.com. the ILB, Armstrong has been focusing on cutting production costs, with some success. th October 17-19, 2015: 34 International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (China), According to the company, its cost of coal sales were $70.2 mil- Jiaozuo, China. Contact: Nan Hua; Tel: (86) 13569149976; Email: [email protected]. lion and $149 million for the three-month and six-month periods October 19-21, 2015: Economic Evaluation and Investment Decision Methods, three-day ending June 30. That was 26.3% and 19.6% lower than the compa- rable periods of the previous year due to both the decrease in vol- course, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. Contact: CSM SPAC; Email: ume and improved operating efficiency, primarily related to [email protected]; Tel: 303-279-5563; Web: www.csmspace.com/events/econeval. favorable repair and maintenance costs at its underground mines, October 29-November 1, 2015: China Coal and Mining Expo, Beijing, China. Contact: lower diesel fuel costs, and better mining conditions. Web: www.chinaminingcoal.com. However, operating efficiencies this year were partly offset by adverse weather during the first quarter of 2015. November 9-13, 2015: Economic Evaluation and Investment Decision Methods, five-day course, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. Contact: Centennial Natural Resources Will Close This Year CSM SPAC; Email: [email protected]; Tel: 303-279-5563; Web: www.csm- North American Coal Co. (NACCO) is closing its Centennial space.com/events/econeval. Natural Resources subsidiary in Alabama, formerly known as January 27-29, 2016: WVCA Mining Symposium, Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, Reed, by the end of 2015 in a move aimed at insulating the compa- West Virginia. Contact: Web: www.wvcoal.com. ny from fluctuations in domestic and international coal pricing. Once the operator of several steam coal surface mines in January 28-29, 2016: 16th Coaltrans USA, The Four Seasons Miami, Miami, Florida. Alabama, Centennial has seen demand decrease with the imple- Contact: Web: www.coaltrans.com. mentation earlier this year of the Environmental Protection January 31-February 3, 2016: 41st Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Agency’s (EPA) new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Technique, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: ISEE; Email: [email protected]; Web: rule. www.isee.org. “These factors, along with further deterioration of coal prices and declining demand, would have led to more substantial cash February 21-24, 2016: SME Annual Conference and Expo, Phoenix Convention Center, loss expectations than previously anticipated had Centennial con- Phoenix, Arizona. Contact: Web: www.smenet.org. tinued to operate,” NACCO said in its second-quarter earnings April 11-17, 2016: bauma, Messe Munchen, Munich, Germany. Contact: report. “As a result, management recommended and the board of Web: www.bauma.de. directors approved permanently discontinuing operations at Centennial by the end of 2015.” April 25-27, 2016: Coal Prep 2016, Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky. NACCO expects to incur estimated pre-tax charges of $500,000 Contact: Web: www.coalprepshow.com. to $1 million for severance and other employee benefit costs dur- September 26-28, 2016: MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2016, Las Vegas Convention ing the second half of this year as it substantially reduces employ- Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: Web: www.minexpo.com. ment levels at Centennial during the remainder of 2015. The company also expects to recognize up to $15 million for adminis- trative and other costs associated with mine reclamation that oth-

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erwise would have been delayed until the future had the company River or its tributaries. Those plants received more than 50 million continued to produce coal at Centennial. Most of these charges tons of coal in 2013, and the company is optimistic it can grab a are expected to be recognized before the end of September. piece of that market. In the first half of 2015, Centennial’s Poplar Springs and Indeed, Ainsworth said in August it is likely that Paringa will be Fishtrap mines were its largest producers in Alabama, together able to announce a long-term coal supply agreement before the accounting for more than 270,000 tons of output. end of 2015. He declined to identify the utilities with whom Paringa is negotiating. Construction Will Begin in 2016 at Buck Creek Mine Even though several suppliers have reduced production in the Construction on Paringa Resources’ new Buck Creek No. 1 steam ILB this year and some coal-burning generating units are set to coal underground mine in western Kentucky is expected to get retire over the next few years, Ainsworth said utility coal buyers are under way in early 2016 after the Australian company awards con- eager to maintain multiple coal sourcing options so pricing can tracts for the work by the end of this year. remain competitive. Buck Creek No. 1, to be located along the Hopkins County/McLean One utility coal buyer in the region, who asked not to be identi- County border, will be one of the largest mines developed in the high- fied, confirmed such a purchasing strategy. While the combination sulfur Illinois Basin (ILB) region in several years. The mine should pro- of Murray Energy/Foresight Energy, Alliance Resource Partners, duce around 4 million tons of coal annually, according to Nathan Peabody Energy and a few others dominate the region, it is impor- Ainsworth, Paringa’s vice president of business development. tant to keep smaller producers in the mix as well, he said. Because the construction is scheduled to take about 18 Paringa believes Buck Creek 1 can compete on price. Study months, production is not likely to be begin until sometime in results released early this year indicated that multiple under- 2018. ground mines the company is proposing for western Kentucky Paringa is targeting the domestic electric utility market, in par- would have average operating costs of $30.19/ton. When Buck ticular, controlled base-load power plants located along the Ohio Creek No. 1 begins production, the mine’s coal is expected to % 2015 AWARDS

Westmoreland’s Jewett Earns Reclamation Honor approximately 5 million tons of lignite annually (about 9% of the state’s The Jewett surface mine in Texas, owned by Texas Westmoreland Coal total production each year). Co., has been given the 2015 Reclamation Award from the Railroad Commission of Texas (TRCT). Wellmore Wins at VMI Competition The complex, which is located in Freestone, Leon and Limestone coun- The Virginia Mining Institute’s (VMI) Mine Rescue Competition has wrapped ties in the eastern region of Texas, was bestowed the award for its place- once again, and this year, the Wellmore Coal Red Ream from Buchanan ment of a solar-powered water well to supply a portable irrigation system County has taken the top spot as grand champion. used for re-vegetation of reclaimed acreage planted with trees and shrubs. The contest, sponsored by the VMI, was held earlier this month at the Specifically, the system captures solar energy through several large Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Community Center. Judges and event volun- photovoltaic modules, which then send the converted energy to electric teers included the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy water pumps. Groundwater is then brought to the surface and temporari- (DMME), Kentucky mine officials, Ohio mine officials, West Virginia mine offi- ly held in large, on-site storage tanks until battery-powered remote con- cials and Brickstreet Insurance. trol valves open, allowing water to flow through the irrigation systems Specific contests included mine rescue, bench and pre-shift, and teams until the preprogrammed interval of time has expired. Each irrigation from Virginia, Alabama and Illinois participated. zone is synched, TRCT officials said, allowing for a nearly complete Other big winners included: Consol Buchanan Mining - Red Team (first run- autonomous watering system. ner-up, Mine Rescue); Wellmore Coal Co. - Gray Team (second runner-up, Mine About half of Jewett’s 31,000 total acres are in various stages of Rescue); Prairie State Generating - Lively Grove Team (third runner-up, Mine reclamation as outlined by railroad commission protection regulations. Rescue); Wellmore Coal Co. - Red Team (first place, Mine Rescue Team Day 1); The irrigation system, also solar-powered, is instrumental in establishing Prairie State Generating - Lively Grove Team (second place, Team Day 1); the land’s vegetative cover. Wellmore Coal Co. - Gray Team (third place, Team Day 1); Consol Buchanan “Because of the mine’s remote location, traditional overhead trans- Mining - Red Team (first place, Mine Rescue Team Day 2); state of Alabama - mission lines were not available to power a water well for reclamation,” Blue Team (second place, Mine Rescue Team Day 2); Consol Buchanan Mining - Chairman David Porter said. “Instead, Westmoreland researched and Black Team (third place. Mine Rescue Team Day 2). then developed a large solar-powered reclamation well to irrigate In bench BG4, first place went to James Gardner (Alabama), followed by reclaimed areas, ultimately carrying on a long-standing Texas coal min- Consol Buchanan Mining’s Josh Richardson. Bench first place for BioMarine ing practice of restoring natural areas.” 240R went to Wellmore’s Shannon Moore. Commissioner Christi Craddick noted that Westmoreland’s work was In pre-shift, first place was earned by Consol Buchanan Mining’s Kenny typical of the industry in the state of Texas. “They [energy producers] take Richardson. Second and third were Wellmore’s Lance Wimmer and Bill Slone, a challenge and then develop a new way to address a challenge — in respectively. this case, how to irrigate a remote, large-scale revegetation project in a “Despite trends in the coal industry, as long as one person is mining coal dry climate.” in Virginia, these teams must be prepared for any emergency,” DMME Mine The Jewett mine, one of the state’s largest operations, produces Chief Randy Moore said.

16 www.coalage.com September 2015 news continued

receive a price of $47.36/ton, increasing to more than $63/ton in Preparations Begin for bauma 2030. Buck Creek No. 1 has a projected life of 18 years. Buck Creek No. 1’s fully washed coal is expected to have aver- 2016 in Munich age specifications of about 11,800 Btu/lb and 5-lb/mm Btu sulfur. Meanwhile, planning is under way by Paringa for a second Buck Creek mine that could be in production a few years down the road.

Newest IGCC Plant Records Highest Capacity Factors While some challenges remain, Duke Energy Indiana’s 618- megawatt Edwardsport integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant appears to have addressed many of the issues that often caused the $3.5 billion facility to generate less electricity than the utility would have liked since it went into commercial operation in June 2013. During that time, Edwardsport, in rural Knox County, Indiana, occasionally experienced “negative generation” periods when the plant consumed more power than it produced. Critics pounced on these episodes, restating their often-made case that the nation’s newest IGCC plant never should have been built in the first place. Fighting back, the utility, a subsidiary of Charlotte, North Carolina- based Duke Energy Corp., one of the largest utilities in the U.S., repeat- edly has said it will take some time to get the extremely complicated Demand for exhibition space is again very high for the next bauma, plant running smoothly. Edwardsport is needed, Duke said, to provide taking place from April 11-17, 2016. The upcoming event, billed as a cleaner, reliable source of generation to shore up reliability in the the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building face of many older coal unit retirements in the Midwest. material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and In recent months, Edwardsport has recorded some of its high- construction equipment, will take up all the available space — a est capacity factors — a measure of its generation output — in the total of 6.5 million square feet of exhibition space — at the Messe past two years. In June, for instance, the plant generated 307,236 München exhibition center in Munich. megawatt-hours of electricity, a capacity factor of 69% of the More than 3,400 exhibitors from more than 50 countries are approximately 460,000 MWh it is capable of producing. expected to attend. Klaus Dittrich, chairman and CEO of Messe Edwardsport burns steam coal produced by Peabody Energy Corp.’s Bear Run surface mine in nearby Sullivan County, Indiana. München, said, “The response from the exhibitors and the high lev- Bear Run, the largest surface mine east of the Mississippi River, el of demand for space are truly amazing.” But Dittrich is also very produces about 8 million tons of coal annually. aware of the problems the high demand brings. “Of course we want Jack Stultz, general manager III, regulated fossil stations, for to give as many companies as possible the chance to present Duke Energy Business Services, told the Indiana Utility Regulatory at bauma. Yet because of this high level of demand, we will unfor- Commission that Edwardsport’s coal handling system “performed tunately not be able to meet all requests for space and as expected,” receiving truck and train deliveries. Earlier this year, participation.” the plant had an estimated 386,000 tons of coal in inventory. Bauma also has a new slogan: “The heartbeat of our industry.” “Future coal deliveries will be by train from Peabody’s Bear This emphasizes the role of bauma as a key industry platform and a Run mine and will be planned to match planned coal usage at the pacemaker for innovations, as the exhibitors time their development plant,” he said. cycles to coincide with this show. Since an outage at the plant last fall, Stultz said, Edwardsport The bauma Innovation Award will be presented for the 11th time. “appears to have resolved the vast majority of its heat trace and The awards are presented to promising developments that are insulation deficiencies, operating throughout much of the coldest future-capable, cost-efficient and offer a high practical benefit that winter months with only two incidents of frozen transmitters, nei- contribute toward energy and resource-efficiency and/or humaniza- ther of which required any significant downtime to resolve.” tion of the workplace. The the awards ceremony will take place on The plant’s gasification availability decreased last December to April 10, 2016, as part of the opening ceremony to bauma. 29.34%, he said, due to issues with the slurry charge pump on unit This show is a worldwide trade show for the construction machin- 2 and air separation unit. A slag buildup last December took about ery industry. The product ranges on show at bauma cover the full seven days to resolve. range applicable to the construction and mining industries. Visitors “Setting aside the issues with the slurry charge pumps and air and customers can find the latest products and innovations, which separation units,” Stultz concluded. “I have been very pleased are presented to the market for the first time at bauma. with Edwardsport’s operations. My team and I are focused now on www.bauma.de/en. reliability of the station — we know we have a plant that will run — our intent is to get to the point of consistently being able to put it on and keep it on.”

18 www.coalage.com September 2015 news continued Remembering Those Lost Son of miner killed in Ohio operation follows ‘calling,’ raises thousands to commemorate state’s fallen workers

BY DONNA SCHMIDT, FIELD EDITOR

The memorial fund was organized by Arthur ‘Sam’ Bennett; he attended the The coal miner’s memorial at the center of Coshocton, Ohio. unveiling with his mother Wilma and sister Debra Bennett Brown.

A small coal mining town in central Ohio now has a beautiful off to raise funds despite the much larger financial goal of about square at which to reflect on the miners who have lost their lives $60,000. Restaurant benefits and even door-to-door donation on the job in the region over the years, and its existence is thanks collections followed, along with grant funds from the to the push of one man — himself a former miner — that wanted Montgomery Foundation ($25,000) and the Coshocton to honor his father and his mining brothers. Foundation ($2,500). The official dedication of the Coal Miners’ Memorial at the After meeting with officials at Ohio producer Oxford Resource center of Coshocton, Ohio, may have been made in October 2013, Partners (now part of Westmoreland Coal), Bennett was given but the process to get to its unveiling — and the several brick $3,000 on behalf of the company. Brothers Charles and Tom commemoration ceremonies that have followed — was just as Ungurean each matched their company’s pledge for the memori- storied as the road its fundraiser took to get to where he is today. al, and more than 10 others each put up $1,000 toward the total — At the prompting of a friend in 2008, Sam Bennett, a second- giving the fund far more than the $60,000 originally targeted. generation miner who left his post at Peabody Energy earlier in With final drawings, a miniature miner statue, and local gov- life to work in the paper industry, began the preparation process ernment approvals in hand, local Zanesville artist Alan Cottrill to build a miner’s memorial. An initial plan to erect the piece at got to work on the centerpiece of the memorial, the bronze stat- the now-abandoned mine that took the life of his father, Arthur ue. Bennett pointed out that every element of the design, includ- Sr., in 1971 was changed to the village’s downtown. Draft designs ing the stone that now marks 52 fallen miners between 1872 and for a headstone-like commemoration quickly became much 1989, was made in the United States. more when the judge tasked with approving the project request- The last stones making up the circular seating area were ed a sitting area, lighting and a life-size miner statue. placed the night before a dedication ceremony on October 18, An undeterred Bennett, eager to mark the lives of his father as 2013. Bennett attended with his mother and sister, and the well as so many others over the course of more than a century, set daughter of the most recent worker killed on the job (in 1989) also spoke in a moving tribute to her father and his hard-working fel- Memorial Costs low miners. A representative of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s office, Tim Ross, read a proclamation, and the memorial element’s It took a few years to gather all of the funds needed to build the memorial. designer, Milligan Memorials, also spoke as the marker was Below are a few of the costs involved, not including production labor. The unveiled to the public. miniature statue replica, produced to provide a visual of the final result, The fund still sells engraved bricks to be lain about the memori- now sits at Ace Auer Hardware in downtown Coshocton. al, and there have been multiple dedication ceremonies in 2014 and Black Granite Stone (Monument) $16,000 2015 for those as well; another has been planned for October 31. Bronze Coal Miner Statue $35,000 Bennett now keeps the fund open for the maintenance of the Brick Circular Stone Patio $2,500 memorial, including landscaping and the placement of Landscaping and Mulch $900 additional bricks. He said the door is always open for further Spotlights and Labor $500 expansion of the site as well. Donations can be made at www.coalminersmemorialfund.org.

20 www.coalage.com September 2015 marketwatch

Despite Its Cost Edge, PRB Coal Production Fell Almost 10%

BY MOLLY CHRISTIAN AND HIRA FAWAD, SNL ENERGY

Production in the largest U.S. coal supply earnings call. “While wet weather contin- duction percentage decline of the PRB’s 16 region, the Powder River Basin (PRB), fell ued during the first several weeks of July, mines occurred at Cloud Peak’s Cordero 9.4% in the second quarter from the shipments are ramping back up.” operation. Cloud Peak had been planning same time in 2014 as competitive natural Lower utility demand also depressed to reduce output at Cordero by about 10 gas prices, unit retirements and weather- production. A resurgence in coal-to-gas million tons per year (tpy) starting in 2015 related delays offset the benefits of the switching and the retirement of several in light of higher costs and waning demand basin’s cost advantage to other U.S. generating units in response to the U.S. and prices for the PRB’s lower-heat 8,400 coals. Environmental Protection Agency’s Btu/lb coals. The rainy weather and lower- PRB output fell to 90.3 million tons in (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards than-expected demand may have forced the second quarter, down from 99.6 mil- have forced producers to ratchet back Cloud Peak to make deeper cuts, with lion tons in the prior-year period. The output. Cloud Peak Energy expects PRB Cordero’s output falling to 4.5 million tons decline occurred even as U.S. rail perfor- coal burn to fall by 30 million to 40 mil- in the second quarter from 8.6 million tons mance has improved from 2014’s bat- lion tons in 2015 on the regulatory and a year prior, representing an annual tered levels, with heavy rains in the 2015 market headwinds, including increased decline rate of about 12 million tons. quarter flooding mines and disrupting dispatch of renewable generation. The next-biggest percentage drop was deliveries. “The reduction in the PRB we’re seeing at Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle “Our PRB operations received more there is…real,” said Colin Marshall, presi- mine, the largest in the country by vol- than [their] average annual rainfall in less dent and CEO, Cloud Peak Energy, during ume. North Antelope Rochelle’s produc- than two months late in the quarter,” a July 29 earnings call. “Quite frankly, for tion slumped to 23.8 million tons in the Peabody Energy Corp.’s Chief Financial some of that coal, there isn’t a market second quarter, down 16% from a year Officer Amy Schwetz said during a July 28 to…go to in the future.” The biggest pro- ago and matching the overall drop in

22 www.coalage.com September 2015 marketwatch continued

Peabody’s total coal sales. In its earnings with electric generation about $8/MWh Thunder and the other southern mines report, Peabody said most of the 5.5 mil- lower than the next cheapest supply that ship higher-quality coals will do well.” lion-ton reduction in its second-quarter region, the Illinois Basin, he added. Arch Cloud Peak said PRB producers are PRB shipments was from North Antelope and Cloud Peak echoed those senti- deploying more assets to higher-margin Rochelle as a result of adverse weather. ments on their latest earnings calls. 8,800-Btu/lb mines in light of the soft Output from Arch Coal’s Black Thunder “The PRB market in general will remain market, but “we should not lose sight of mine, the second-biggest in the PRB, sank strong,” Arch President and COO Paul the fact that substantial amounts of coal 5.7% to 23.5 million tons, while produc- Lang said. “The region is not going to are going to be burned in the USA for the tion from Cloud Peak Energy’s third-place escape the downturn or the reduction or foreseeable future,” Marshall said. “Once Antelope mine dropped 5.6% to 7.6 mil- the rationalization of production, but I demand stabilizes, it should support a lion tons. During a July 30 earnings call, think the higher-quality mines like… Black smaller vital coal industry.” Arch said it missed about 3 million tons of PRB shipments mainly on rail issues resulting from the heavy rain. Some mines managed to raise ship- ments despite the dismal market and operating conditions. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. increased output at its Eagle Butte mine by 2.9% year-over-year to 4.9 million tons while production from its Belle Ayr mine surged 15% to 3.7 mil- lion tons. More details on the gains could come August 5, when Alpha is scheduled to release second-quarter results. Other mines farther up in the PRB also lifted production, potentially reflecting better weather than in the southern part of the basin where the biggest declines occurred. Peabody’s Caballo mine pro- duced 68% more coal in the quarter at 2.8 million tons. Volumes also rose from Black Hills’ Wyodak operation and Western Fuels Association’s Dry Fork mine, which both serve adjacent plants and were likely spared the worst rain- related impacts.

Producers Upbeat on Long-term PRB Prospects While gas competition and other factors sapped PRB coal demand in the second quarter, producers expect the market to recover down the road. The region’s coal is the most competitive of any U.S. sup- ply basin against gas, with its lower pro- duction costs allowing it to price more cheaply than competing bituminous coals. “[W]hile all regions are losing demand due to low gas prices this year, we look for the PRB and Illinois Basin to rebound to higher levels than 2014 by 2017, as natural gas prices lift and higher coal plant utilization and basin switching overcome expected retirements,” Peabody President and CEO Glenn Kellow said. The PRB enjoys a “consider- able cost advantage to other regions,”

September 2015 www.coalage.com 23 transport tips India Coal Logistics Perspective

BY DAVE GAMBREL

There are many terminals that can gy, the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP). stockpile and then to the final delivery unload coal in India; our interest is Presumably, these will be served by exist- system. For example, in June 2014, half of focused on terminals that service the ing or new terminals that can accommo- the 27 stranded ships in the Paradip port major existing coal-fired power stations, date the larger vessels. Table 3 shows were each carrying 90,000 metric tons those that generate 1,000 megawatts those terminals that can accommodate (mt) of coal and taking up to six days to (MW) or greater. There are 17 such ther- both Capesize and Panamax vessels, and unload with inefficient clamshell cranes. mal stations on the West Coast (Arabian lists some of the coal consumers import- In India, it is still commonplace to see Sea), and another 16 on the East Coast ing at those terminals. men working the coal piles by hand or (Bay of Bengal) (See Table 1). West Coast Indian terminal operators use the loading coal by hand and shovel into power stations receive coal through five term “connectivity” to refer to the road or trucks or coal cars, the natural result of different major terminals, and East Coast railway delivery system to the power sta- having a large population. stations receive coal from nine different tion or other coal user, as well as the con- Groups of coal cars in India are called major terminals. veyor systems or intensive labor systems rakes. Bulk freight transport rates also The West Coast terminals can all han- for moving coal from the dockside to the vary based on the number of times a rake dle Panamax vessels, and one of them can also handle a Capesize vessel. The East Coast terminals can accommodate Panamax vessels, and two of them can also handle Capesize. Capesize vessels usually have the cheapest rates per ton, which is very important for U.S. ship- pers. At many terminals, there is a com- plication that charterers should be aware of because it has the potential to extend berth time and cause demurrage: ineffi- cient off-load equipment and end-user connectivity. In its 4,671-mile coastline, India is home to 12 major ports as well as 200 non-major ports. The 200 non-major ports are in the following states: Gujarat (42); Maharashtra (48); Tamil Nadu (15); Karnataka (10); Kerala (17); Andhra Pradesh (12); Odisha (13); Goa (5); West Bengal (1); Daman and Diu (2); Lakshadweep (10); Pondicherry (2); and Andaman and Nicobar (23). Many of these are either non-coal ports or too small to accommodate the minimum- sized vessel that can compete carrying U.S. coal, the Panamax vessel. We only regard a coal terminal as major if it can receive and unload a Panamax vessel or larger. Right now, there are only three Indian coal ports that are capesize-capable: Mundra (West Coast), Gangavarum (East Coast) and Krishnapatnam (East Coast). Looking into the future a few years, it is also possible to draw a bead on the next generation of coastal power plants, those Table 1: India’s coastal coal-fired power stations. (See Table 3 for port details) that are based on super-critical technolo-

24 www.coalage.com September 2015 transport tips continued may be loaded or unloaded. A so-called plus tariffs. The first UMPP, developed by met with limited success. The Ministry of two-point rake is one that can be loaded Tata Power at Mundra, Gujarat has been Power, in association with the Central or unloaded at two points, usually a half- commissioned and contributes 4,150 MW Electricity Authority and Power Finance rake at a time, at approved combinations in power to the western grid. For compari- Corporation Ltd., has launched an initiative of two loading or unloading locations. son, America’s largest coal-fired power for the development of coal-based UMPP’s in Some freight rakes are used continuously plant, Southern Co.’s Scherer plant, gener- India. These projects will be awarded to in dedicated operations over a closed- ates 3,564 MW. developers on the basis of competitive loop journey. These are known as closed- The UMPPs are seen as an expansion of bidding. One should not only watch the web- circuit rakes, and typically consist of the MPP (Mega Power Projects) that the gov- site, www.pfcindia.com/home.aspx, and the 66-ton BOXN wagons. The BOXN is a ernment of India undertook in the 1990s, but government-based power company NTPC, high-sided open rail car with pneumatic brakes and high-tensile couplers. Perhaps the most common wagon, there are around 64,000 or more of them in use. These rakes are often also subjected to a more rigorous maintenance regime, known as the super-intensive examina- tion, and have brake power certificates issued for 6,000 km, or 35 days at a time.

Ultra Mega Power Projects UMPP is a series of ambitious power sta- tions planned by the government of India. They would entail the creation of an addi- tional capacity of at least 100,000 MW by 2022. UMPP, each with a capacity of 4,000 MW or above, are being developed with the aim of bridging this gap. Of the 12 sta- tions planned for the project, seven are coastal plants requiring imported coal and five require local coal. Currently, only two UMPPs have been commissioned, Mundra (imported coal) and Sasan (local coal). Mundra is already taking imported coal, some of it from the USA. Coal producers are not the only ones interested in the speed of UMPP develop- ment. Indian port operators such as Krishnapatnam (KCPL) have an intense interest. Midway through 2010, iron ore exports were banned, leaving the KCPL port no choice but to focus on coal and other bulk commodities. KCPL has responded like a true entrepreneur, expanding their DEAL YOURSELF bulk importing facilities. However, we learn A WINNING HAND that power plants commissioned since April 2014, aggregating to 13,900 MW, face finan- WHY RISK GOING WITH ANY OTHER BRAND? Stack the deck in your favor by choosing Tsubaki chains, sprockets and backstops. Check us out at the cial uncertainties due to the lack of suffi- U.S. Tsubaki’s portfolio of Mining products will provide the reliability and durability Bluefeld Coal Show cient off-take agreements and transmission required to keep your operation running at its best, even in the harshest conditions. September 16-18 constraints, according to Fitch Group’s U.S. Tsubaki’s leading service and engineering support will design the right solutions Booth # 909 for your application, minimizing downtime and saving you money. So be an ACE and go company India Ratings & Research. Keep an ALL IN with Tsubaki! eye on the UMPP. ©2015 U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission, LLC All Rights Reserved. Based on supercritical technology, ROLLER CHAINS • ENGINEERING CLASS CHAINS • BACKSTOPS • SPROCKETS • CABLE & HOSE CARRIERS • POWER TRANSMISSION PRODUCTS 16,000 MW of capacity have been contract- ed through the competitive bidding process for UMPPs. The average tariff for these pro- Total Package jects is in the range of 2-3 rupees per kWh, USTSUBAKI.COM which is much lower than the recent cost-

September 2015 www.coalage.com 25 transport tips continued

Both units are fully functional and have been since September 2012. Adani Power acquired this power plant from Lanco Infratech in August 2014. • As of January 2011, the company had 16,500 MW under implementation and planning stage. A few of them were 3,300- MW coal-based TPP at Bhadreswar in Gujarat, 2,640-MW TPP at Dahej in Gujarat, 1,320-MW TPP at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, 2,000-MW TPP at Anugul in Orissa, and 2,000-MW gas- based power project at Mundra in Gujarat. The company is also bidding for 1,000 MW Table 2: Ultra Mega Power Projects on the drawing board. of lignite coal-based power plant at Kosovo showing its international projects. but watch private power generation compa- functional. It operates a first power In the second week of August 2014, Adani nies as well to stay abreast of new coal import transmission project of 400-kV Double power had acquired Lanco Infratech’s Udipi needs. These include two major Indian com- Circuit Transmission System from the thermal power plant. This would add anoth- panies that are privately owned: Mundra plant to Dehgam (430 km). er 1,200 MW of installed capacity, taking the • Kawai Thermal Power Station. A group capacity to 10,480 MW. Adani Power 1,320-MW (2 x 660 MW) coal-based On May 11, Adani Power announced the thermal power plant at Kawai village, Essar Energy completion of the acquisition of Udupi Baran district, Rajasthan. This plant is Essar Energy has an installed power genera- Power Corp. Ltd. and with this, Adani Power fully functional. tion capacity of 3,910 MW across six plants, has a total commissioned capacity of 10,440 • Tiroda Thermal Power Station. A 3,300- and is a very progressive company. MW, making it the largest private power MW (5 x 660 MW) coal-based thermal However, they purchased two Siwertell producer in India. power plant at Tiroda, Gondia district, unloaders two years ago for dust-free • Mundra Thermal Power Station. A Maharashtra. All units are fully functional. unloading of coal, and have been struggling 4,620-MW (4 x 330, 5 x 660 MW) coal- • Udupi Power Plant. A 1,200-MW (2 x 600 to use them. They need to acquire land for based thermal power plant at Mundra, MW) coal-based thermal power plant at the placement of transport conveyors that Kutch district, Gujarat. This plant is fully Padubidri, Udupi district, Karnataka. are needed to move coal from the unloaders to the power plant, so the Siwertells have not yet been put into service. • Essar Vadinar Power Plant, Vadinar, Gujarat. It is a 1,010-MW (1 x 120, 1 x 380 MW, 1 x 510 MW) captive thermal power plant. The plant is fully functional. • Essar Salaya Power Plant, Salaya, Gujarat. It is a 1,200-MW (2 x 600 MW) coal-based thermal power plant. The plant is fully functional. • Essar Mahan Power Plant, Mahan, Singrauli district Madhya Pradesh. It is a 1,200-MW (2 x 600 MW) coal-based ther- mal power plant. One unit is functional. • Essar Hazira-2 Power Plant, Hazira, Gujarat. It is a 270-MW (1 x 135 MW) thermal power plant. This plant is yet to become operational. • Essar Tori Power Plant, Tori, Jharkhand. It is an 1,800-MW (3 x 600 MW) coal- based thermal power plant. This plant is yet to become operational. • Essar Paradip Power Plant, Paradip, Odisha. It is a 120-MW (4 x 30 MW) coal- based thermal power plant. This plant is Table 3: Major coal terminals of India. yet to become operational.

26 www.coalage.com September 2015 Coal Handling & Storage 2015 Conference & Exhibition October 5-7, 2015 St. Louis, MO Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch

Registration is Now Open! Supported by the Coal Preparation Society of America, and boasting an expanded conference program in a brand new venue, the Coal Handling & Storage Conference & Exhibition is more relevant than ever.

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Presented By With Support from Coal Handling & Storage 2015 Conference & Exhibition October 5-7, 2015 St. Louis, MO Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch Meet the Keynote Panelists With the coal and power industries facing changes and challenges, it is vital for operators and professionals to have a map to help guide their choices. On Tuesday, October 6, our keynote speakers will share their vision for America’s coal industry future. This is a keynote you won’t want to miss.

Betsy Monseu Jacob Williams Warren Woods Chief Executive Of cer, Vice President of Coal Emissions Vice President, Legislative American Coal Council and Conversion Technologies, and Regulatory Af airs, Peabody Energy Ameren Missouri New Conference Program and New Opportunities With an all-new conference program supported by the Coal Preparation Society Of America, it’s time to come back to the Coal Handling & Storage Conference & Exhibition. Conference attendees and their companies can expect a great environment for growing skills and relationships. You’ll enjoy:

A conference focused on practical education that attendees put into practice on a day-to-day basis

Planned networking events that help build connections with suppliers, consultants, and the most forward- thinking minds in the industry

Employees bring new skills and ideas to their colleagues and peers in the workplace

A small investment in education can have a huge ef ect on safety, profitability, and ef cient operations WWW.COALHANDLINGSHOW.COM Focused on the Handling of Coal from Mine to Market Call +1 678 822 9804 for Information

Preliminary conference program subject to change. Conference Program Monday, October 5, 2015: Pre-Conference Workshops Using Analyzers for Blend & Boiler Control 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM FOUNDATIONS™ Operations & Presented by Mel Laurila, QCI Maintenance Workshop 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Coal Handling & Storage Track: Safety Presented by Jerad Heitzler, Martin Engineering and Environmental 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Coal Preparation 101 Moderator: Justin Clift, Hazard Control Technologies Presented by Rick Honaker, University of Kentucky Dust, Water and Coal, The Good News and the Bad News 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Developing a Plant Safety Culture Presented by Daniel Marshall, Martin Engineering Presented by Justin Clift, Hazard Control Technologies Coal Dust Suppression Programs with SCI (Spontaneous Combustion Inhibition), Chemistries Tuesday, October 6, 2015 Presented by Christopher Raymond, Min Tech 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Keynote: America’s Coal Industry: The Road Forward Your Plant Electrical Infrastructure’s Potential Vulnerabilities Betsy Monseu, CEO, American Coal Council Presented by Jay Ellington, Electrical Department Head, CDG Engineers Warren Wood, Vice President External Aff airs and Communications, Ameren Corporation 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Fuel Quality Track: Low Cost Fuel Enhancement Jacob Williams, Vice President Global Energy Analytics, Peabody Energy Economics of Coal Upgrading 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Coal Handling & Storage Track: Conveyor Systems Presented by Jerry Luttrel, Virginia Polytecnic Institute Moderator: Mike Schimmelpfennig, Ameren Status of FGX Dry Coal Cleaning Process in the United States Gearbox Technology & Maintenance Presented by B.K.Parekh, Senior Engineer, FGX SepTech, LLC Presented by Mike McNulty, Sumitomo Machinery of America Dual X-Ray Transmission Sorting as a Low Cost Coal Upgrading Option Conveyor Improvements That Aff ect the Belt Line and the Bottom Line Presented by Rick Honaker, University of Kentucky Presented by Greg Bierie, Martin Engineering CEMA’s Belt Cleaning Standards: How to Apply Them Wednesday, October 7, 2015 Presented by Kevin Maloy, Richwood 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM General Session: The Challenges of Operating To the Point Without a Pinch: The Right Way to Guard Aging Infrastructure Presented by Chris Allen, Belt Conveyor Guarding Moderator: John Fillion, CDG Engineers 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Fuel Quality Track: Online Fuel Analysis Innovative Design & Construction Methods for Replacing Aging Infrastructure: Latest with PGNAA Technology Ameren’s Rush Island Energy Center Surge Bin Replacement Presented byDouglas Tshudy, Thermo Presented by Mark Rieske, CDG Engineers and Jeff Willey, Ameren The Power of Magnets and Lasers in Coal Handling Aging Infrastructure and Economic Replacement Decisions Presented by Shane Lee, TerraNova Presented by Tom Lippencott, Vice President, METSO On-line Fuel Monitoring in Coal Yards Deteriorating Coal Infrastructure Presented by Nichelle Worthington, Sabia Presented by James S. Newcomer, P.E., Project Manager, CDG Engineers 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Coal Handling & Storage Track: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Coal Handling & Storage Track: Stockpile Coal Shipment and Delivery Management Moderator: David Gambrel, Associate Editor, Coal Age Magazine Moderator: Greg Bierie, Martin Engineering The Coal Handling System at Midwest Energy Resources Company’s Superior Coal Yard Optimization: Excellent Return on Investment Terminal: A Tour of Requirements and Improvements Presented by John Sampish, P.E., CCC Group, Inc. Presented by Marshall Elder, Director of Terminal Operations, Midwest Energy Resources EPA Compliance Using Wind Barrier Type Dust Control for Open Storage Piles Company (MERC) and Tom Hines, Territory Manager, Martin Engineering Presented by David Gilroy, Dust Solutions, Inc. 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Fuel Quality Track: Fuel Quality Impact on Atomized Mist Dust Suppression in Coal Handling Applications Handling & Storage Presented by Derek Schussele, Dust Control Technology Mechanical Sampling of High Moisture or Sticky Coals 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Coal Handling & Storage Track: Coal Ash Presented by Mike Evans, SGS Key Coal Quality Parameters and Their Impact on Handling and Combustion Presented by Kent Schultz, Fuel Tech Go to www.coalhandlingshow.com to register now!

Great sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are still available. Contact Tim Fearney, Show Director, at +1 678 822 9804 or email [email protected] for more information. Coal Handling & Storage 2015 Conference & Exhibition October 5-7, 2015 St. Louis, MO Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch The FOUNDATIONS™ to Better Belt Conveyor Operations Exhibiting and Sponsorship Opportunities are Still Available!

Invest in ef cient, more profitable operations with Martin Coal Handling & Storage is the only Engineering’s FOUNDATIONS™ belt conveyor workshop event specifically addressing the storage and handling of coal in its journey from Presented by Jerad Heitzler, Martin Engineering’s FOUNDATIONS™ workshop centers on the mines to the end user. Now more ways to make belt conveyors—and the operations that rely on them—cleaner, SAFER, than ever, it’s critical to get in front of and more productive. As a special to Coal Handling & Storage, this impactful program customers and prospects to show that will be of ered on Monday, October 5 at 8:00 AM as part of our pre-conference you’re behind them when it seems workshop program. everyone else is against them. For just For anyone with responsibility for belt conveyor operations and maintenance, $3,200, you can exhibit at Coal Handling the FOUNDATIONS™ workshop is designed to help you increase performance and & Storage, an intimate event with ef ciency. Regardless of your equipment manufacturer, these classes will show you countless opportunities for networking the best practices for belt conveyor operations. and product demonstrations in a comfortable business atmosphere. • Operations, maintenance and technology • Fuel quality Contact Tim Fearney, Show Director, • Transportation and logistics at +1 678 822 9804 or email • Aging infrastructure [email protected] for • Environmental challenges more information. • Other issues and challenges facing the industry

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BY EASWAR IYER

When sections in underground mines are overstressed and pose hazardous conditions, there is a great deal at stake in terms of equipment, time and, most importantly, lives. Specialized numeri- cal modeling tools have been developed over the years to predict stability and estimate stresses during the routine excavation of coal, simplifying the representational data extracted from the abundant variables measured. Mining engineers turn to four possi- ble numerical modeling tools for analyzing stress: an empirical model that underlies the Analysis of Longwall Pillar Stability (ALPS) program; the 3-D displacement discontinuity program MUL- SIM/NL; the 3-D flexible overburden program LaModel; and the 2- D volume-element program FLAC. Each of these tools has underlying assumptions that affect their calculated results, which may or may not be calibrated correctly to the current site. To determine which model most closely follows the actual stresses in the mine, engineers analyze the difference between real-life conditions and the calculated results of these This graph depicts the distribution of stress increase with respect to the pre-panel phase models. Advanced graphing software equips mining engineers of a longwall mining panel was developed for the National Institute for Occupational with tools needed to collect measurements from the mine and the Safety and Health (NIOSH). (Use of this graph does not imply that NIOSH endorses resulting calculations, in order to present them in detailed, insight- OriginLab or its products.) ful graphs for proper analysis of the various numerical models. Collecting a high volume of measurements is necessary to pro- The graph above depicts the distribution of stress increase with vide an accurate gauge of mining behavior and to calibrate numer- respect to the pre-panel phase of a longwall mining panel from the ical models adequately. However, the millions of points of American west, with an instrument line noted in pink and the calcu- calculated data produced from these modeling tools are stagger- lated MULSIM/NL model stress increase displayed in contours. ing. In most cases, the output will not fit on a single sheet of a This mining step shows the average location of the face when the spreadsheet. Extraction of certain stress or displacement profiles instruments detected the stress increase reading of 20 psi. When from the spreadsheet requires exhaustive periods of time consider- comparing the MULSIM/NL model with actual measurements, the ing the thousands of models that are necessary. Additionally, the stress increase contour line approximately meets the location of the contouring capabilities of spreadsheets are poor, at best, or nonex- instruments, indicating that the rock mass stiffness for the MUL- istent. SIM/NL model is calibrated in line with the measured stress pro- In its place, data analysis and graphing software help to col- files. Ultimately, professional presentations like this contour graph lect calculated results from the models and measurements of increase the credibility of the research it is displaying, and help min- stress, displacement and load from the mine. Using scripting lan- ing project managers correctly calibrate numerical models. guage for programming the analysis and graphing of data, mining The ultimate goal of this type of research is to better understand engineers can then automate data import and extraction. This how to predict impending danger and what to do about it. eliminates the time consuming task of manual data entry and the Numerical models are only sufficient if they follow the rock inevitable inaccuracies from human errors, which could have dis- mechanics of the mine. The insight extracted from these data and astrous implications. graphs help in calibrating the numerical tools and determining With advanced graphing capabilities, engineers can easily com- their limitations. Calibrating basic modeling parameters to in- pare model output with measurements to determine whether a mine measurements and determining basic material models of the model was adequately calibrated. In addition, graphing software coal present significant steps toward mitigating mining-induced aids researchers to determine the appropriate constitutive laws or hazards. The data collection, visualization and analysis provided material strength models to use. A visual comparison of the calcu- by advanced graphing software will unquestionably be instrumen- lated results from each model can clearly present conclusions as to tal in future research to identify other geologic structural condi- which model most closely followed the measured mine activity. tions that contribute to mining-induced, sudden release of seismic energy. Mining engineers tasked with safe excavation must ensure Presentation the proper model is chosen for the particular section of under- The manner in which research is presented can positively or nega- ground mine and create a viable, valid and informative model, tively alter the perception of its validity. Researchers often think which permits them to do so. With a site-specific, calibrated mod- that basic graphing applications are adequate enough to fulfill el, engineers can accurately anticipate impending collapses and their presentation needs. However, the resulting graphs tend to be prevent catastrophes that endanger mine workers, equipment and quite simple and lack the flexibility necessary to properly express production. the true insight of the data. Easwar Iyer is vice president of technology for OriginLab.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 31 blastholefire detection drilling Where There’s Smoke… A longtime fire technology, air sampling smoke detection, is now possible for mobile mining equipment

BY PETER J. WYNNYCZUK

Very early warning, air sampling smoke detection (ASD) has tra- Operators and maintenance crews will have a lot more interac- ditionally been thought of as a technology only suited for clean tion with a smoke detection system in this environment than environments. Many fire industry professionals believe that fac- the workers in a standard office or warehouse. The system was tors such as dirt, dust, moisture, vibration and other harsh con- designed with two zones. The first zone (Zone 1) was designed ditions preclude the use of air sampling smoke detection to protect the electrical cabinets with both in-cabinet sampling because of nuisance alarms and detector maintenance issues. and cabinet exhaust ventilation sampling. The second zone This is unfortunate because harsh industrial environments have (Zone 2) was designed to protect the lubrication/hydraulic a much greater risk of fire than the standard clean environment. room and the exhaust vents of the hoist and swing motors. Possible fire hazards in industrial facilities include very high- Blazemaster CPVC pipe was used as the main sampling air voltage electrical cabinets, large motors, conveyor belts, lubri- transport pipe with 3-mm sampling holes field drilled and cants, flammable liquids, moving parts causing friction and labeled. Capillary tube and sampling bulkheads were used to less-than-ideal housekeeping. Industrial facilities also tend to sample in the electrical cabinets. The detectors, a 24-DCv power have ongoing maintenance activities, such as welding and metal supply and battery backup were pre-wired and attached to a cutting, that can set in motion smoldering and a possible fire single mounting plate. The detectors were offset from the main situation well after the work has been completed. For these rea- mounting plate with anti-vibration spindles. The displays with sons and others, very early warning, air sampling smoke detec- annunciators were installed in the operator cab, but all indica- tion would provide great value to an industrial facility. tors were turned off so not to disturb the operator with alarms Because of a worldwide risk audit of major mobile mining during the test period. In the case of a sole operator in a produc- equipment, an international mining company was interested in tion environment, constant or unexplained alarms will result in evaluating secondary smoke detection options in one of their the removal of the system. P&H 4100 electric rope shovels. This type of equipment has very The installation was performed during the week of June 20, high-voltage and hydraulic/lubricant potential fire hazards. It 2011, coinciding with a major maintenance “down” scheduled for also has all the aforementioned operational challenges for air four days. Working in an active mining environment under a sampling smoke detection. The electric rope shovels, being the strict timeline presented a number of challenges for an installa- beginning of the ore processing supply chain, mean any disrup- tion team. The scheduled startup of the shovel back into produc- tion at this point would cause problems throughout the produc- tion process. As in most industrial facilities, the cost of lost production would be much greater than the cost of the lost equipment. A recent fire at a Canadian gold mine’s processing facility caused the stock exchange-listed company to issue guid- ance regarding their 2012 production, and the stock price dropped 25%. The mine’s mobile maintenance department also realized the value of the ASD data for preventative maintenance. Under normal operations, motors and other pieces of equipment used Figure 1: A schematic diagram illustrates the ASD layout. in the shovel should not produce smoke. The presence of a sig- nificant amount of smoke in these areas might not lead to a catastrophic fire, but could be a signal of an impending equip- ment failure. The mobile maintenance department knows that early detection of an impending equipment failure can provide for a quick reaction that will save maintenance costs and avoid unplanned downtime. Due to the high cost of replacement parts, labor and above all, lost production, these professionals understand an early warning ASD system can easily pay for itself by detecting one potential equipment component failure. The engineering drawings from the shovel manufacturer could not be easily obtained, thus site surveys and hand mea- surements had to be taken. In an industrial design, there are a Figure 2: A sampling pipe on a hoist motor. number of challenges regarding system component placement.

32 www.coalage.com September 2015 fire detection continued tion was not going to be delayed due to delays in the installation of this demonstration system. This factor makes steps like the pre-installation assembly of the detector-mounting plate an important function that saves the installation crew valuable time. The installation crew also had to work around the mainte- nance crews performing scheduled work and then wait for assistance when required. When working on a major mine site, another project management challenge is the strict enforce- ment of federal mine safety regulations and company safety policies, which can create long time delays. One example is that, at 1 p.m. every day, the worksite had to be cleared for a 2 p.m. blast and a 3 p.m. all-clear signal. These and other safety-related factors contributed to long hours for the team and also some Figure 3: Examining the VESDA in the electronics room. deviations from the original design. Although many of the fac- tors resulting in lost installation time can be identified, a project manager needs to build an educated guess of unknowns into the schedule. Every industrial environment will have a different opera- tional profile, and the corresponding background particulate levels will differ between industry and even specific process. In some applications, the particulate levels will be relatively stable, and in others, there can be sharp unexplained spikes in levels. This is the reason why, for industrial applications, a sufficient background particulate data collection period needs to be determined. Each application will have a different time period that is decided upon by discussions with the operational per- sonnel and a determination of possible changes that could Figure 4: The displays can be seen in the operator cab. occur. The operational profile of an electric rope shovel is extremely dynamic because of multiple external factors, and it information about the location of the smoke event and, there- was decided that the test period of a minimum of six months fore, help to determine the best course of response. would be required to determine the suitability of the system for It was also decided that sampling over the electrical cabinet the application. The test ended up running for a seven-month exhaust vents exposed those sampling points to interferences period from June 25, 2011, to January 31, 2012. This time period from outside the cabinet. To keep the alarm obscuration levels was also chosen because it covered both summer and winter as low as reasonably practical, the vent sampling points will be months. converted to in-cabinet sampling points. The final major change Early in the test period, the shovel experienced an “arc-over” was to reduce the amount of sampling holes in the hydraulic in an electrical BUS cabinet that automatically shut down the zone to cut down on the dilution factor. This zone experiences shovel. After an examination of the detector’s recorded data and the most interference from outside factors, and a balance consultations with the mobile maintenance department, it was between sensitivity and nuisance alarms had to be considered. determined that the incident was detected by the Zone 1 detec- Even though an electric rope shovel is a very specific piece of tor approximately 1 minute before the automatic shutdown, equipment, the potential hazards and operational challenges with the obscuration level immediately reaching 10% obscura- can apply to any industrial facility or process. The deployment tion per foot and the detector going into a Fire 2 alarm. About 20 of an early warning ASD system in an industrial environment is seconds later, Zone 2 went into Fire 2 alarm, reaching 3% obscu- almost always driven by risk management considerations and ration per foot due to the dissipation of the smoke throughout not fire codes. The high cost of equipment damage and the the space. It took about an hour for the detectors to return to resulting production disruption makes object protection an normal operational levels. important part of a risk management program. It is believed that, once equipment-specific alarm levels are An early warning ASD system is particularly suited to object set and the shovel operators are comfortable with the accuracy protection because the ability to route and place the sampling of the alarms, it would have been possible that some sort of pre- points right next to the area of the potential hazard. A well- ventive action could have been taken to reduce the severity of designed early warning ASD system can also determine normal the disruption. operational particulate levels and then can be adjusted to limit The test was determined to be a success, and it was decided the impact of what would be considered a false alarm. However, that a permanent system be installed using the lessons learned. as the mine’s mobile maintenance department realized during The mobile maintenance department requested the addition of the test, a “false alarm” can be a possible indication of an opera- a third zone to isolate and protect the critical high-voltage elec- tional issue that needs to be addressed. trical components with the highest probability of fire. They Peter Wynnyczuk is the manager of industrial air sampling wanted the added addressability to give the operator more for Heritage Industrial Services LLC/Xtralis.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 33 blastholech&s 2015 preview drilling Coal Handling & Storage 2015 A new venue in St. Louis promises a diverse collection of hot topics and networking opportunities

BY DONNA SCHMIDT, FIELD EDITOR

on the company’s foundations, operations and maintenance. At 1 p.m., an afternoon workshop begins with Coal Preparation 101, offered by Rick Honaker from the University of Kentucky. It will be followed up by “Coal Handling System Fire Hazards & ERT Lesson Learned” by Justin Clift from Hazard Control Technologies. Following the keynote discussion, Ameren’s Mike Schimmelpfennig will moderate a technical session on convey- or systems. Four presentations are planned, including “Gearbox Technolo- gy and Maintenance” by Mike McNulty Exhibitors discuss coal handling techniques at C&HS 2014. from Sumitomo Machinery of America; “Conveyor Improvements That Affect It’s no secret that the coal business is fac- panelists, Betsy Monseu, CEO for the the Belt Line and the Bottom Line” by ing some serious headwinds, and similar- American Coal Council; Jacob Williams, Martin Engineering’s Greg Bierie; ly, this year’s Coal Handling & Storage vice president of coal emissions and con- “CEMA’s Belt Cleaning Standards: How (CH&S) conference has a very apt mis- version technologies for Peabody Energy; to Apply Them” by Kevin Maloy from sion. Themed “The Road Ahead,” and set and Warren Wood, Ameren Missouri’s vice Richwood; and “To the Point Without a to return to St. Louis from October 5-7, president for legislative and regulatory Pinch: The Right Way to Guard” by Belt the event is putting the big question at affairs. Each of the panelists will give a short Conveyor Guarding’s Chris Allen. center stage: Where to go from here? presentation and then discuss future A fuel quality track, “Online Fuel Insight is key to coal’s future, and it prospects for the coal business. Analysis,” offers a group of three project can certainly be found at this important Before these industry leaders take the presentations. First on the agenda is a pre- annual conference, which will convene stage, delegates have the option of attend- sentation by Thermo’s Douglas Tshudy, this year at a new location, the Hyatt ing three pre-conference workshops “Latest with PGNAA Technology,” to be Regency St. Louis at the Arch. planned for Monday, October 5. The first, followed up by “The Power of Magnets and The event kicks off Tuesday morning, by Martin Engineering’s Jerad Heitzler Lasers in Coal Handling” by Shane Lee October 6, with a keynote discussion with and scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon, focuses from TerraNova. The last paper in the ses- sion, from Sabia’s Nichelle Worthington, is “Online Fuel Monitoring in Coal Yards.” CH&S 2015 Schedule at a Glance Beginning at 2 p.m., transportation con- sultant David Gambrel will moderate the Conference Hours Coal Shipment and Delivery sesssion. The Monday, October 5 - Pre-conference Workshops 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. paper will be presented by two in that ses- Tuesday, October 6 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. sion, including Marshall Elder, the director Wednesday, October 7 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. of terminal operations for Midwest Energy Resources Co. (MERC), and Tom Hines, ter- Exhibit Hours ritory manager for Martin Engineering. The Monday, October 5 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. pair will offer details on “The Coal Handling Tuesday, October 6 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. System at Midwest Energy Resources Company’s Superior Terminal: A Tour of Wednesday, October 7 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Requirements and Improvements.” A fuel quality track will be held simul- Special Events taneously, “Fuel Quality Impact on Opening Reception on Show Floor - Monday, October 5 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Handling and Storage,” and will begin Reception on Show Floor - Tuesday, October 6 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. with “Mechanical Sampling of High Moisture or Sticky Coals” by Mike Evans

34 www.coalage.com September 2015 ch&s 2015 preview continued from SGS. Fuel Tech’s Kent Schultz will Hazard Control Technologies. They include Engineer’s Perspective” by Ameren’s Mike follow it up with “Key Coal Quality “Dust, Water and Coal, The Good News and Shimmelpfennig. Parameters and Their Impact on the Bad News” by Daniel Marshall from Another session, Low Cost Fuel Handling and Combustion.” The group Martin Engineering; “Coal Dust Suppression Enhancement, will offer three presenta- will wrap up with QCI’s Mel Laurila with Programs with Spontaneous Combustion tions. The first of the trio will be offered “Using Analyzers for Blend and Boiler Inhibition (SCI), Chemistries” by Min Tech’s by Virginia Tech’s Jerry Luttrell with Control.” Christopher Raymond; CDG Engineers’ Jay “Economics of Coal Upgrading,” followed A Safety and Environmental session Ellington with “Your Plant Electrical by “Status of FGX Dry Coal Cleaning starts at 3:30 p.m., with five presentatons Infrastructure’s Potential Vulnerabilities”; Process in the United States” by B.K. that will be moderated by Justin Clift from and “The EPA’s Clean Power Plan - An Parekh, the senior engineer for FGX

CH&S 2015 Technical Program (as of August 30, 2015) Monday, October 5: Pre-conference Workshops Online Fuel Monitoring in Coal Yards Economics of Coal Upgrading Presented by Nichelle Worthington, Sabia Presented by Jerry Luttrell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. FOUNDATIONS Operations & Maintenance Workshop 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Status of FGX Dry Coal Cleaning Process in the United Presented by Martin Engineering, presented by Jerad Coal Handling & Storage Track: Coal Shipment and States Heitzler Delivery Presented by B.K. Parekh, senior engineer, FGX SepTech Moderator: David Gambrel, transportation consultant LLC 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Coal Preparation 101 The Coal Handling System at Midwest Energy Dual X-Ray Transmission Sorting as a Low Cost Coal Presented by Rick Honaker, University of Kentucky Resources Company’s Superior Terminal: A Tour of Upgrading Option Requirements and Improvements Presented by Rick Honaker, University of Kentucky 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Presented by Marshall Elder, director of ter- Coal Handling System Fire Hazards & ERT Lesson minal operations, Midwest Energy Resources Wednesday, October 7 Learned Co. (MERC) and Tom Hines, territory manager, Martin Presented by Justin Clift, Hazard Control Technologies Engineering 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. General Session: The Challenges of Operating Aging Tuesday, October 6 Fuel Quality Track: Fuel Quality Impact on Handling & Infrastructure Storage Moderator: John Fillion, CDG Engineers 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Keynote Discussion: America’s Coal Industry — Mechanical Sampling of High Moisture or Sticky Coals Innovative Design & Construction Methods for The Road Forward Presented by Mike Evans, SGS Replacing Aging Infrastructure: Ameren’s Rush Island Betsy Monseu, CEO, American Coal Council Energy Center Surge Bin Replacement Warren Wood, vice president, external affairs and com- Key Coal Quality Parameters and Their Impact on Presented by Mark Rieske, CDG Engineers, and Jeff munications, Ameren Corp. Handling and Combustion Willey, Ameren Jacob Williams, vice president, Global Energy Analytics, Presented by Kent Schultz, Fuel Tech Peabody Energy Aging Infrastructure and Economic Replacement Using Analyzers for Blend & Boiler Control Decisions 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Presented by Mel Laurila, QCI Presented by Tom Lippencott, vice president, Metso Coal Handling & Storage Track: Conveyor Systems Moderator: Mike Schimmelpfennig, Ameren 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. Deteriorating Coal Infrastructure Coal Handling & Storage Track: Safety Presented by James S. Newcomer, P.E., project manager, Gearbox Technology & Maintenance and Environmental CDG Engineers Presented by Mike McNulty, Sumitomo Machinery Moderator: Justin Clift, Hazard Control Technologies of America 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Dust, Water and Coal, The Good News Coal Handling & Storage Track: Conveyor Improvements That Affect the Belt Line and and the Bad News Stockpile Management the Bottom Line Presented by Daniel Marshall, Martin Engineering Moderator: Greg Bierie, Martin Engineering Presented by Greg Bierie, Martin Engineering Coal Dust Suppression Programs with SCI Coal Yard Optimization: Excellent Return CEMA’s Belt Cleaning Standards: How to Apply Them (Spontaneous Combustion Inhibition), Chemistries on Investment Presented by Kevin Maloy, Richwood Presented by Christopher Raymond, Min Tech Presented by John Sampish, P.E., CCC Group Inc.

To the Point Without a Pinch: The Right Way to Guard Your Plant Electrical Infrastructure’s Potential EPA Compliance Using Wind Barrier Type Dust Control Presented by Chris Allen, Belt Conveyor Guarding Vulnerabilities for Open Storage Piles Presented by Jay Ellington, electrical department head, Presented by David Gilroy, Dust Solutions Inc. Fuel Quality Track: Online Fuel Analysis CDG Engineers Atomized Mist Dust Suppression in Coal Handling Latest with PGNAA Technology The EPA’s Clean Power Plan — An Engineer’s Applications Presented by Douglas Tshudy, Thermo Perspective Presented by Derek Schussele, Dust Control Technology Presented by Mike Shimmelpfennig, Ameren The Power of Magnets and Lasers in Coal Handling 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Presented by Shane Lee, TerraNova Fuel Quality Track: Low Cost Fuel Enhancement Coal Handling & Storage Track: Coal Ash

September 2015 www.coalage.com 35 ch&s 2015 preview continued

SepTech. Wrapping up that group will be Ameren’s Jeff Willey with “Innovative Design Engineering’s Greg Mierie serving as modera- “Dual X-ray Transmission Sorting as a and Construction Methods for Replacing tor. A trio of presentations planned for that Low-Cost Coal Upgrading Option” by Aging Infrastructure: Ameren’s Rush Island session include “Coal Yard Optimization: Rick Honaker, University of Kentucky. Energy Center Surge Bin Replacement.” Excellent Return on Investment” by John The technical session opens on Metso Vice President Tom Lippencott will Sampish of CCC Group; “EPA Compliance Wednesday morning (October 7) at 8:30 follow with “Aging Infrastructure and Using Wind Barrier-type Dust Control for a.m. with a set of presentations address- Economic Replacement Decisions” and Open Storage Piles” by Dust Solutions’ David ing the challenges of aging infrastructure. “Deteriorating Coal Infrastructure” by James Gilroy; and “Atomized Mist Dust Suppression Moderated by CDG Engineers’ John Newcomer, a project manager for CDG in Coal Handling Applications” by Derek Fillion. Engineers, will close the group. Schussele from Dust Control Technology. Several experts will take the stage, the first Beginning at 10:30 a.m., the stockpile An afternoon session on coal ash is being CDG Engineers’ Mark Rieske and management track begins with Martin planned the final day; at press time, the details of that itinerary were still being finalized. For a complete and up-to-date list of the paper presentations, check out the conference agenda on page 35. More information on the presenters, including the keynote experts, is available at www.coalhandlingshow.com.

CH&S 2015 Exhibitors List Dozens of companies will line the vendor hall, displaying the latest products and services. Technical experts will be available to answer questions and offer advice. The list of compa- nies includes, but is not limited to:

Air-Cure Air-Cure engineers, manufactures and provides turnkey solutions for combustible and fugitive dust control, with more than 40 years of industry experience. Its solutions include systems for reducing housekeeping costs, com- plying with current NFPA codes, lowering outlet emis- sions to the environment, achieving low PM2.5 emissions, patented train car unloading, and dust treat- At Imerys, we understand that cost effectively burning the ment and disposal. right fuel blend can be puzzling. Achieving optimum MWh, managing fuel chemical characteristics without negatively effecting ASGCO Complete Conveyor Solutions boiler availability, and making a profit is anything but child’s play. Since 1971, ASGCO has used engineered products and Making the additional preparations to meet government emission services to provide its customers with the best solutions regulations can make completing the puzzle seem impossible. to their conveyor material-handling applications by elim- inating carryback, material spillage, and dust in the Aurora™, a proprietary mineral-based fuel additive, is the missing transfer points and ensuring proper conveyor belt track- ing throughout the conveyor system. Combined with the piece of the puzzle. It mitigates slagging, fouling and corrosion company’s national network of distributors, ASGCO can issues resulting in less frequent and shorter outages. It improves provide coal processing professionals with custom engi- overall boiler performance, increases boiler availability and allows neering and design to meet specific conveyor needs, you to burn a wide variety of opportunity fuels to yield a higher along with installation and maintenance programs that profit. Aurora™ completes the puzzle. will streamline operations by increasing production uptime and lowering costs. Call us or visit our website: Belt Conveyor Guarding Americas: +1 770 645 3698 Europe: +33 (0) 2 97 86 19 36 Belt Conveyor Guarding is an industry leader in providing Asia: +662 695 0999 Brazil: +55 11 2133 3963 sustainable guarding solutions for rotating equipment and conveyor applications. It provides safe, affordable www.imerys-aurora.com solutions that ensure equipment is compliant with health and safety regulations and protect the worker from expo- sure to danger zones. The company is able to customize guarding solutions for use in many industries, including coal handling and storage.

36 www.coalage.com September 2015 ch&s 2015 preview continued Benetech Cogar Manufacturing eliminate the need for ancillary equipment, such as For more than 30 years, Benetech has provided the dust collectors, impact beds and skirting. right tools for material-handling solutions that reduce Flexco dust, prevent spillage, improve material flow and Flexco will exhibit material-transfer solutions featur- Ford Steel Co. ensure compliance. Its expertise with innovative prod- ing Tasman Warajay technology as well as products Ford Steel Co. provides high-quality impact and abra- ucts, services and technologies helps customers that work in conjunction with the chutes, such as belt sion-resistant steel alloys. Selling under the Wearalloy reduce costs, lower risk profiles and increase efficien- cleaners, to impact dust generation. The booth will be trade name since 1945, the company’s products include AR 400, 450, 500, 600 BHN, heat-treated cy. A partner from start to finish, Benetech has the staffed by product experts eager to answer questions steels, Superclad Chromium carbide plate, Mangalloy turnkey capabilities to manage all needs from engi- and discuss the entire belt conveyor system. They will (11-14% manganese) plate and bar, Superblock white neering to procurement and construction. The compa- identify challenges and ways to increase the efficien- iron castings and Super-Hard Chrome plate. In addi- ny drives “best practices” and programs targeted to cy and productivity of each company’s operations. tion to those products, Ford offers full-service fabrica- deliver safe and efficient storage, transfer and pro- Visit them for more information on how to minimize or cessing of bulk materials. Some of the tools in the company’s toolbox include dust suppression, sponta- neous combustion control, dust collection, engineered transfer systems and accessories, washdown sys- tems, load zone solutions, conveyor components, assessments, consulting, training and more.

CDG Engineers CDG Engineers is a full-service engineering design firm with broad experience in coal handling and processing. Serving the mining, utility, and industrial markets, the company has designed extensive systems for conveying, overland transportation, unloading operations, rail spurs, crushing, dust control, barge operations and other processes. For existing operations, CDG Engineers has served clients by providing civil engineering, infrastruc- ture improvements, arc flash studies, structural analy- sis, operational audits and systems reviews. Centrally located in the U.S. with a branch office in the Powder River Basin, CDG Engineers has more than 20 years of experience solving complex problems.

Certified Laboratories Certified Laboratories (CL) is one of the largest indepen- dent lubrication manufacturers in North America and the leader in heavy equipment lubrication. They manufacture and supply reliability based lubricants, Environmental Protection Agency-(EPA) registered fuel quality prod- ucts/services, and products for superior protection against dust and other weather-related obstacles. Its lubrication specialists partner with clients to design and drive proactive maintenance initiatives. CL products increase reliability, reduce production downtime, and help lower operating costs.

CCC Group CCC Group is a nationally ranked industrial general contractor dedicated to self-performing a broad scope of construction and fabrication services for various industries. Having been involved in the min- ing and material-handling industries for more than 40 years, the company offers installation of engi- neered products and solutions, and complete con- struction and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for coal handling and storage facilities. In addition, CCC Group offers engineering and design services specializing in proven dust and fume control technologies.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 37

ch&s 2015 preview continued tion, experienced outside salesmen and exceptional new CleanScrape Belt Cleaner lasts longer than any structural engineering services, field technical assis- customer service. They are experts in solving the chal- other cleaner, requiring few blade changes and saving tance and machinery inspections. They are designers, lenges associated with heavy equipment and plant on downtime, lost production and shutdowns. Installed engineers, consultants and system integrators creating maintenance wear problems. in the primary position, the cleaner is equipped with innovative solutions for the control needs of clients tungsten carbide tips that are safe on mechanical worldwide. Heyl & Patterson splices. Installed at an angle across the discharge Since 1887, the coal industry has trusted Heyl & pulley, CleanScrape requires very little space for Spendrup Fan Co. Patterson to provide robust bulk material-handling installation. equipment that lasts a lifetime. The company manu- TerraSource Global factures specialized, high-volume coal-handling Midwest Industrial Supply Inc. TerraSource Global is a resource for bulk material han- equipment to perform for decades, including rotary Midwest has been providing coal-handling solutions for dling equipment and crushing machinery and is com- railcar dumpers, continuous bucket and grab bucket the utility industry for 40 years. Its solutions for the utili- prised of three brands, including Gundlach Crushers, barge unloaders, railcar positioning systems and barge ty industry eliminate problems while reducing overall Jeffrey Rader and Pennsylvania Crusher. The product hauls, plus products that augment its machines, such costs as well. lines include Posimetric and vibratory feeders, material- as weigh scales, hammermills, rail car ejectors and handling equipment, screening and processing equip- train holding devices. It provides innovative, cost- MinTech Enterprises ment, storage and reclaim equipment, size reduction effective solutions with built-in flexibility for safe, equipment and more. Their equipment can handle all energy-efficient unloading. It also offers a complete Plastruct Polyzone types and grades of coals. Pennsylvania Crusher brand line of replacement parts and upgrades, regardless of A producer of production-boosting polymer lining sys- Posimetric feeders provide reliable and consistent feed- the original manufacturer. tems. In a word, they can keep coal moving year-round in ing while eliminating fugitive dust, increasing plant adverse conditions and less-than-ideal hopper or chute safety. Jeffrey Rader brand NF Electromechanical Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals geometry. Significant production increases are realized, Vibratory Feeders are recommended for heavier loads Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals (IRPT) is a nation- and also significant labor and safety savings. and for hazardous environments. wide trade association for port and terminal profes- sionals, as well as a resource for river-borne services Power Techniques Inc. Varo Engineers to promote the value of the waterways system. IRPT Power Techniques Inc., located in Alma, Illinois, and Varo Engineers Inc. is a full-service engineering con- provides a national perspective on industry issues incorporated in 1990, provides a comprehensive range of sulting and design firm with 65-plus years of experi- affecting legislation, policy and operations, and they engineering and construction services in material han- ence. They emphasize customer service, while promote, market and work to unify systems for com- dling. Professional services encompass the engineering, tailoring solutions to a client’s needs in the industri- mon objectives. They currently have approximately material procurement and construction and mainte- al, manufacturing, institutional and power genera- 250 members consisting of port professionals, ter- nance disciplines. Power Techniques Inc., along with tion markets. Specialties include process minal operators, shippers, carriers, firms, suppliers M&J Engineering (Pty) Ltd., introduced the WEBA Full applications, material-handling systems, furnace and other associations. They divide their members Flow Control Transfer System and the Advanced Flow design, energy audits and electrical power and con- based on the river system they work on or near, as Chute design to the United States market in 2002. trols. We also provide project management and client well as offer a multistate and international basin site services for multidiscipline projects. They serve classification. Precision Samplers Inc. (PSI) clients through a flexible, multidiscipline approach PSI has been a leading manufacturer of mechanical that results in a project specific solution. Kinder Morgan Engineering sampling systems for more than 35 years. During that & Conveying time, PSI has provided more than 350 systems, which are Wear Concepts Kinder Morgan Engineering & Conveying provides bulk in operation in the U.S., Canada, China, Taiwan and Wear Concepts is a specialty supplier, designer and material-handling equipment and systems, such as in- South America. PSI specializes in the turnkey design, installer of wear-and abrasion-resistant products and plant conveyors, overland conveyors, floating conveyors, engineering, fabrication and installation of three cate- material flow solutions. The company has been in ship loaders, barge unloaders, radial stackers, portable gories of sampling systems: auger sampling systems for business since 1996, serving the coal handling and conveyors and other related bulk materials-handling sampling stationary material in trucks, rail cars, and processing industry. It offers solutions to some of the equipment. The company designs and manufactures stockpiles; conveyor belt sampling systems including the toughest wear problems in conveying systems, mills, equipment for various industries such as mining, rotary sweep belt sampling systems and conventional crushing operations and pipelines. Wear-Con offers petroleum coke, coal, iron and steel, pulp and paper, baux- cross-stream sampling systems; and mechanical sub- turnkey installations with MSHA Part 48-certified field ite, ores and many other bulk materials. samplers for laboratory applications and a third or final- service crews. The company provides standard wear stage cutter of a mechanical sampling system. products, including wear plates, pipe and elbows, Laffey Equipment Co. ceramics, wear compounds and provides several Laffey is a manufacturer’s representative and distributor Richwood unique solutions for wear performance. Its knowledge- established in 1977. It represents established manufac- Richwood designs innovative solutions for the worldwide able research and development, engineering and tech- turers of quality products. The company’s manufacturers bulk material handling industry. For more than 30 years, nical support departments constantly work to reduce include Thermo Fisher, Metso, NAVCO, Dust Solutions the busiest mines in the world have put their confidence downtime and help coal and plant operators get the Inc., Thomas Conveyor, Rapat Corp. and Kinergy & Andco in its problem-solving expertise. Clean conveyors and most from their equipment, working directly with them Actuator. Laffey’s products include in-motion weighing, sealed and protected load zones for site-specific solu- to tackle even the most difficult wear problems. sampling, level controls, belt conveying, mechanical tions mean lowered maintenance costs, safer work areas conveying, rail car and barge handling, vibratory equip- and more productive operations. Wolf Point Engineers & Contractors ment and flow aids, electric actuators, metal detection, Wolf Point Engineers & Contractors (WPE&C) provides conveyor protection and safety switches. Richmond Engineering Works turnkey bulk material handling solutions for the power As a manufacturer of rail car dumpers and rail car posi- and mining industry. Typical systems involve coal, pet Martin Engineering tioners, Richmond Engineering Works provides its clients coke, limestone, gypsum, wood pellets and wood chips. Martin Engineering has delivered tough, tested and with powerful, user-friendly industrial systems and con- All projects involve engineering, procurement and con- innovative coal-handling solutions, backed by genuine trols that dramatically improve productivity. The compa- struction services. WPE&C is a division of North Alabama and dependable industry experience, since 1944. The ny offers a full range of electrical, mechanical and Fabricating Co. Inc.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 39 blastholerefuge alternatives drilling Underground Mine Refuge Alternatives A look at food, water and sanitation requirements

BY A.G. MAYTON AND J.R. HEBERGER

Underground coal mine explosions, such as the January 2006 Sago mine disaster, have dramatically demonstrated the need to provide mine refuge alternatives for miners who are unable to exit the mine and are forced to take refuge during mine disasters or emergencies. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MIN- ER) Act of 2006 requires that underground coal operators include refuge alternatives (RAs) in their Emergency Response Plans. Mines presently use three types of refuge alternatives: mobile steel, mobile inflatable tent and built-in-place (BIP). Considering the importance of equipping RAs well for emer- gencies, this article reviews the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations for food, water and waste dis- posal/sanitation in RAs. Information received from RA manufac- Figure 1: Five examples of emergency food rations commonly used in refuge alter- turers is presented on food, water, and sanitation products and natives. Some rations must be broken into smaller pieces, while others are enclosed individually in plastic wrap. methods provided in their RAs. Issues that may arise from using these products are also discussed, along with possible solutions.

MSHA Standards for Rations in Refuge Alternative Food, water and waste disposal requirements are stipulated in the mandatory mine safety standards promulgated by MSHA. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 30, Part 75.1507, gives guidance on food, water and sanitation for refuge alternatives. The specific regulations for food and water state that the RA should be stocked with the following: a minimum of 2,000 calories (Cal) of food and 2.25 quarts (qt) of potable water per person per day in approved containers sufficient to sustain the maximum number of persons reasonably expected to use the RA for at least 96 hours. These regulations specify only the amount of food and water rations that should be available for each miner per day using the RA, and not necessarily how much of the rations each miner should or will consume. Regarding waste/sanitation, the regula- tion merely states that each RA includes sanitation facilities.

Refuge Alternative Supplies For this review, the major mine RA manufacturers were visited or contacted by email and telephone. Nine manufacturers provided Figure 2: Examples of differing nutritional content from the packaging of four dif- information with details on food and water rations as well as ferent emergency food rations. waste disposal products. Emergency ration and sanitation prod- uct manufacturers and distributors were also contacted to answer requirements), while others provide a rather brief description of questions about their products. nutrients included (Figure 2). Package labels reviewed ranged in Food rations — Most of the emergency food rations supplied calories from 2,000 to 3,600. with RAs are fortified food bars (Figure 1). The major brands Water rations — A variety of water products and sources are used include Mayday, ER Bar, S.O.S., Datrex and Mainstay. One RA in RAs (Figure 3). Samples of packaged water collected include: manufacturer indicated its intention to use a yet-to-be-deter- AquaBlox, Datrex, ER (QuakeKare), Mainstay and S.O.S. Food Lab mined liquid food product similar to consumer nutritional food Inc. The samples include 8.5-fl. oz., juice box-type packages (with shakes. These bars comprise wheat-based ingredients and show bendable straws) and 4.2-fl. oz foiled pouch-type packages. Other similar texture, but vary in nutritional content. They are ready-to- types observed during field visits or noted from telephone conversa- eat, non-thirst provoking, and generally described as hard, dry tions with manufacturers included: 8- to 16.9-fl. oz. plastic bottles bars, similar to a thick piece of hardtack. Common flavors are and 6- to 7-gal containers from which smaller quantities of water are coconut, lemon and apple cinnamon. Some accentuate nutri- dispensed. One RA manufacturer indicated that it uses public water tional content with considerable detail (100% of major dietary and treats it with an additive to extend the shelf life to five years.

40 www.coalage.com September 2015 refuge alternatives continued

fusing to miners taking refuge. Not all ration manufacturers pro- vide clear instructions for their products as many address use specifically for emergencies at sea. For instance, one food ration package states: “Eat two food bars per person per day.” Each bar in this package is 400 Cal, so eating two bars would provide only 800 Cal total. Water ration instructions vary according to the manufacturer. One brand states: “Drink no water the first 24 hours unless sick or injured or in desert conditions. Thereafter, approximately two 4- fl. oz. bags per day minimum.” Another brand gives the following instructions: “Consume one box (8.45 fl. oz.) per person per day.” None of the food and water ration instructions stated to con- sume more than the MSHA regulation of a minimum of 2,000 Cal and 2.25 qt of water made available per person per day, and near- ly all stated to consume less. Figure 3: Examples of emergency water rations: water boxes, foil pouches, water Moreover, the package labeling is complicated because it bottles and water treatment tabs for treating water from domestic sources. includes serving size or content information, ingredient informa- tion, and sometimes additional instructions, which often men- Sanitation/Waste disposal products — Chemical toilet kits tion water consumption. One food ration indicates “Save consisting of disposable plastic bags with treating and deodoriz- drinking water. Do not drink water during the first 24 hours ing agents (Figure 4) are the predominant choice for waste dis- unless sick, injured or in desert conditions. After first the 24 posal. Many of these products are identical to portable toilet hours, drink no more than 500 ml (1/2 liter, approx. 16 oz.) per systems sold for camping and other outdoor activities. Some RAs day. Never drink seawater, not even mixed with fresh water.” have interior compartments for the used bags. One manufacturer Finally, serving sizes are different among the products evalu- offers a flush toilet in the air-lock area of the RA that expels the ated. There are no specific instructions provided for use in a waste outside the chamber. BIP RAs usually offer, in addition to refuge alternative, nor to indicate how much an individual should the chemical toilet kit selections, other waste/toilet options such consume to meet the 2,000-Cal ration per miner. as a camp toilet with lid and hand sanitizing gel, a mine-con- A simple solution to the possible confusion is consistent label- structed urinal, and a mine-constructed separate toilet room with ing of food and water items in a manner specific for use in mine a marine-type flushable toilet and associated flushing and sani- RAs. The packaging could state how much food and water to con- tizing products (Figure 4). sume according to the MSHA regulations. Eliminating multiple directions for how to use products in different scenarios could mitigate any misunderstandings with food and water servings. Additionally, placards with the minimum and maximum rations per person per day, supplemental training, or packaging food and water rations by miner per day could help with allocating rations. Food ration ingredients — The ingredients in food rations could pose an issue if miners are known to have certain allergies or require gluten-free food. Only one food ration identifies allergens and states “Allergens: Contains Soy and Wheat,” and another only states “Contains: soy, wheat.” All of the main brands of rations con- tain wheat and soy (as they increase shelf life), while only one names coconut as an ingredient. Although it may be impractical to outfit all RAs, it may be possible for mines to supplement with oth- er types of food sources if miners are known to have allergies. Figure 4: Examples of toilets in a bag that can be used on their own or with a col- Dehydration — There is a serious concern of heat and humidi- lapsible toilet (left). Separate toilet room constructed by the mine (right) with ty buildup inside an occupied refuge alternative. The heat and marine-type flushable toilet and associated flushing and sanitizing products. humidity generated by the occupants and the carbon dioxide scrubbing system could lead to severe discomfort or heat stress depending on the starting mine ambient temperature. The Potential Issues With Refuge Alternative Supplies National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Food and water package instructions — Many RA manufacturers and other studies have documented that high heat and humidity use food and water products intended for emergency survival and will be present inside occupied RAs. These conditions put miners mostly include products manufactured to comply with in RAs at an increased risk of heat stress. If fluids lost in sweat are International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International not replaced, dehydration can occur. Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements for life-saving appliances. These products meet standards that are Quantity of water approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and the International Humans would die in a few days without water, as all cells and Organization for Standards (ISO) 18813 and include specific organs need it to function. Total body water has a critical influ- instructions for marine use. One concern is that instructions on ence on core body temperature, as dehydration can increase core packaging for using these food and water products may be con- temperature. Considering the heat- and humidity-related water

September 2015 www.coalage.com 41 refuge alternatives continued loss that may occur in a RA underground, miners taking refuge may need more than the MSHA-recommended minimum of water per miner per day of 2.25 qt. The 2005 Institute of Medicine’s dietary reference intake (DRI) reports for water list 3.9 qt per day as the recommended daily average intake of water for men 18 to 50 years old and 2.9 qt per day as the average intake of water for women 18 to 50 years old. DRIs are set to optimize health and therefore are likely well above the amount required in an emergency situation. In the context of Table 1: Fluid replacement and work/rest guidelines for warm weather training this article, it is important to note that these guidelines account conditions for the average-sized and heat-acclimatized soldier wearing battle for water from foods and fluids; the food ration bars are likely dress uniform performing easy work. very low in water, but do contribute to an individual’s fluid needs. The IMO requires 1.59 qt of water per person to be stored on life food rations varies considerably for sodium, which is the primary rafts while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization requires a min- electrolyte lost through sweating. imum 1.06 qt per person per day in distressed submarines. The samples of emergency rations have very low amounts of Chilean researchers reported in Safety Science that partici- sodium, ranging from 10-69 mg per daily serving. Since the food pants in a 2014 study perceived the 1.06 qt water as acceptable. rations are intended for emergency marine survival, they con- Their study included 20 participants sheltered in an RA for 48 form to maritime emergency ration standards, which state that hours where humidity and temperature were controlled. the maximum sodium content be 0.2% of the food ration. The Army’s Heat Stress Control and Heat Casualty Many factors influence sweat composition such as sweat rate Management publication indicates guidelines for water intake (which depends on clothing, climate and work intensity), and work/rest cycles, given various temperature ranges for sol- diet, hydration and heat acclimation. For those performing diers performing easy work such as weapon maintenance or sedentary activities in very hot climates, sodium intake is sug- marksmanship training (Table 1). These guidelines are for the gested to be around 6 to 12 grams per day. At 6 grams, the emer- average-sized and heat-acclimatized soldier wearing battle dress gency rations contain 0.2% to 1.2% of the suggested sodium, uniform. In temperatures above 90˚F, the guidelines suggest 1 qt while at 12 grams, emergency rations contain 0.008% to 0.6% of of water per hour. (Note: hourly fluid intake should not exceed 1.5 the suggested sodium. qt and daily fluid intake should not exceed 12 qt.) Daily water Since the emergency rations have such low electrolyte content requirements for heat-acclimated sedentary soldiers range from and miners in refuge may sweat profusely due to the high heat 5 qt to 8 qt per day at apparent temperatures of 80˚F to 95˚F. and humidity, it is likely necessary to provide miners with some These recommendations from the U.S. Army Research type of electrolyte replacement in order to maintain important Institute of Environmental Medicine, although not directly appli- bodily functions. Commercially available sports drinks are an cable to underground mine RAs, may be considered when assess- effective source of electrolyte replacement, but should not totally ing miners’ needs for emergency water rations within a mine RA. replace water. Salt tablets are not recommended as they do not Based on this comparison, it could be argued that the MSHA address water replacement needs and can irritate the stomach, standard of 2.25 qt of water per day per person may not be leading to vomiting, which can exacerbate fluid losses. enough to prevent dehydration and heat-related disorders if the RA interior temperature is high. Further, miners in refuge will be Quantity of Food wearing their mining clothing and will also have to perform The four main criteria that affect ration levels are: activity level, minor tasks to keep the refuge alternative functioning, which will weight, demographic composition and environmental tempera- raise their need for water intake. ture. For miners taking refuge, the most applicable variables are activity level and environmental temperature. Miners in RAs will Electrolytes not be engaging in much activity; therefore, fewer calories are Maintaining the correct balance of electrolytes affects hydration needed. If the RA has no cooling device, the high temperatures of the body and is extremely important for regulating the acidity diminish the body’s craving for food. Moreover, the aforemen- of blood (pH), muscle function, and other important processes — tioned 2014 Chilean study also found that the 2,000-Cal diet was as electrolytes are critical for fluid movement between and inside acceptable. Therefore, the 2,000-Cal per-miner, per-day food cells. When the body sweats, water and electrolytes are lost. requirement seems sufficient, if not excessive for the survival of Excessive sweating can cause electrolyte imbalances and dehy- miners in refuge. With the potential for reducing food rations, the dration, which increases core body temperature during work in amount of space required for food storage could be reduced to hot environments. make additional space available for potable water. Normally, water alone is sufficient for hydration, however, electrolyte replacement may be necessary. The Army and Navy Sanitation both report that sports drinks are an effective source for elec- Coal mines with sufficient vertical height (head clearance) should trolyte replacement during prolonged periods of profuse sweat- be able to accommodate RAs equipped with toilet facilities such as ing in hot weather, especially when a normal diet is not current camping or marine-type devices. But in low-coal mines, consumed. such devices would require awkward postures. The best choice for MSHA regulations only address quantities of emergency food these mines may be the simple toilet-in-a-bag products. Moreover, and water. They do not take into account electrolytes or other an additional liberal supply of sanitation items should be consid- nutrients and their importance for individual health. Figure 2 ered for use at the refuge communal toilet, including antibacterial shows that the information printed on the packaging of different liquids/sprays for cleaning up bodily fluids.

42 www.coalage.com September 2015 refuge alternatives continued

Some RA manufacturers choose a waste disposal system that discharges human waste to the floor environment outside the chamber. Discharging waste to the immediate exterior of the RA ^ƉĞĐŝĂůŝnjĞĚ^ƚĞĞů^ŽůƵƟŽŶƐĨŽƌƚŚĞ is undesirable, since it will foul the immediate surroundings of DŝŶŝŶŐΘZĞĐLJĐůŝŶŐ/ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĞƐ the RA and serve as a potential source of contamination for indi- viduals yet to arrive at the chamber, including mine rescue teams.

Personal Factors An individual miner’s health is crucial to how well he or she can survive in a refuge situation. If miners are fit and in good health before going into refuge, they will likely be fine as long as there are adequate rations. If miners have chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or obesity when going into an RA, electrolyte depletion can distress the heart and renal function, complicating existing conditions. According to the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, poor physical fitness, skin disorders, certain medications, alco- hol use, flu and fever are notable risk factors that can negatively impact the regulation of body temperature. Miners in refuge with any of these conditions, combined with hot climates and high humidity conditions, are at increased risk of heat-related disorders.

Conclusions Considering the information received from RA manufacturers and the makers/distributors of emergency food/water rations and products, NIOSH researchers found that the food, water and sani- tation products supplied by RA manufacturers meet the MSHA standards set forth in 30 CFR 75.1507. However, most food and water rations provided by RA manufacturers are intended for emergencies at sea; consequently, the instructions for such prod- ucts may be confusing to miners taking refuge. Eliminating multi- ple directions for how to use products in different scenarios could For more than 50 years, Astralloy Steel Products has been ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐŝŶŶŽǀĂƟǀĞĂŶĚĐŽƐƚĞīĞĐƟǀĞǁĞĂƌ͕ŝŵƉĂĐƚĂŶĚĂďƌĂƐŝŽŶ mitigate any misunderstandings with food and water servings. ƌĞƐŝƐƚĂŶƚƐƚĞĞůƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ͘tĞŽīĞƌƐƵƉĞƌŝŽƌĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐĞƌǀŝĐĞǁŝƚŚ Also, the environment inside the RA is likely to have high humidity readily available inventory of proprietary and quenched and and heat; therefore, electrolyte and water loss may initiate dehy- tempered steel grades. dration and other heat disorders. Increasing water supplies and electrolyte replacement are worth considering, whereas MSHA’s ASTRALLOY PRODUCT LINE 2,000-Cal per-person, per-day food ration guideline seems appro- Specialized Plate Alloy Plate Round Alloy Bar priate. Sanitation systems in RAs should be adequately supplied Astralloy-V® ƐƚƌĂtĞĂƌϱϱϬ Astralloy-V® Round Bar with antibacterial wipes and nontoxic, antibacterial products for Astralloy 8000® ƐƚƌĂtĞĂƌϱϬϬ& 4330 V-Mod Round Bar cleanup, and discharge should be directed away from travelways. Astralloy 4800® ƐƚƌĂtĞĂƌϰϱϬ& 4145 H-Mod Round Bar EB-450® ƐƚƌĂtĞĂƌϰϬϬ& Acknowledgements dƌŝƉͲ>ͲdƵī® A-514 The authors thank CAPT April Shaw, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.E., of the Rol-Man® U.S. Public Health Service and Centers for Disease Control and KƵƌĐůŝĞŶƚƐĂůƐŽďĞŶĞĮƚĨƌŽŵŽƵƌƵŶƉĂƌĂůůĞůĞĚĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞǁŝƚŚ Prevention, and Elizabeth Ruder, Ph.D., R.D., M.P.H., assistant ƚŚŽƵƐĂŶĚƐŽĨĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶƐĂĐƌŽƐƐǀĂƌŝŽƵƐŵĂƌŬĞƚƐĂŶĚŝŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĞƐ͘ professor and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, for their contributions.

Disclaimer Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIOSH. www.astralloy.com Author Information A.G. Mayton is a mining engineer and J.R. Heberger is an epidemi- Toll-free: 1.866.587.6970 ologist. Both work for the National Institute for Occupational ƐƚƌĂůůŽLJ^ƚĞĞůWƌŽĚƵĐƚƐŝƐĂǁŚŽůůLJͲŽǁŶĞĚƐƵďƐŝĚŝĂƌLJŽĨEƵĐŽƌŽƌƉŽƌĂƟŽŶ͕ Safety and Health’s Office of Mine Safety and Health Research in the largest producer of steel in the United States. Pittsburgh. Mayton can be reached at [email protected].

September 2015 www.coalage.com 43 blastholeground control drilling report On Solid Ground 34th meeting of International Conference on Ground Control in Mining spotlights top research and best of the sector’s experts

BY DONNA SCHMIDT, FIELD EDITOR

The annual global meeting of the minds about the literal founda- tions of mining, ground control, has again adjourned. Like the many years before it, the International Conference on Ground Control (ICGCM) was again a barometer of both today’s most significant industry concerns as well as what the future holds. Longtime chairpersons and organizers Gerry Finfinger of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)(retired), Orica/Minova’s Steve Tadolini, West Virginia University (WVU) educator Syd Peng and NIOSH’s Tom Barczak (retired) recently told Coal Age that the annual Morgantown, West Virginia, event attracted an impressive cross-section for its 34th convening. Of the 240 total guests, seven international coun- tries were represented by 34. Of the many papers submitted for consideration in this year’s More than 200 attended the ground control conference in Morgantown in late July. ICGCM, 57 were selected to be published in the meeting’s pro- ceedings. Of those, 48 were presented by their authors. The conference enjoyed a notable turnout from mining engi- neering students specializing in ground control and other disci- plines; in addition to 35 professors registered, 42 students also made up the audience.

The Best of the Best After careful thought and consideration, the ICGCM committee selected a group of six papers it has called “Best of Ground Control.” In addition to each paper’s presentation at ICGCM 2015, the collection will be offered in the ground control technical sessions of the 2016 Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Annual Meeting and Expo next February in Phoenix. The selected papers include “Void Fill Techniques for WVU’s Syd Peng takes the podium at ICGCM 2015. Stabilizing Roof Conditions During Longwall Recovery” by Robin Oldham of GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance along with Craig along with James Sumner and Michael Sloan of Loan Mountain Dickerson and Rusty McHenry of CONSOL Energy; “Evaluating Processing; and “Analysis of Roof and Pillar Failure Associated the Risk of Coal Bursts in Underground Coal Mines” by the Mine With Weak Floor at a Limestone Mine” from NIOSH’s Michael Safety and Health Administration’s Christopher Mark and Murphy, Gabriel Esterhuizen and John Ellenberger with Tim Michael Gauna of the Pittsburgh Safety and Health Technology Miller from East Fairfield Coal Co. in Ohio. Center; “Energy Concepts in the Analysis of Unstable Coal Pillar Details on the time and order of appearance at SME 2016 is still Failure,” research by Eric Poeck, Kun Zhang, Ryan Garvey and being organized. The event itself, which includes sessions as well as Ugur Ozbay from the Colorado School of Mines; “Dynamic a large exhibitor hall and networking opportunities, has been Failure in Coal Seams: Implications of Coal Composition for scheduled for February 21-24 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Bump Susceptibility” from the NIOSH Office of Mine Safety and Health Research’s Heather Lawson as well as Andrew Weakley of Creating a Buzz at ICGCM the University of Idaho and Arthur Miller of NIOSH. Finfinger and the fellow co-chairs noted two papers in particular Also included in the “Best of Ground Control” group is “A that seemed to return the most feedback from attendees as well Case Study of Multiseam Coal Mine Entry Stability Analysis Using as comments and additional questions. the Strength Reduction Method” by Ihsan Berk Tulu, Gabriel S. “Each of the presenters did an exceptional job of presenting Esterhuizen, Ted Klemetti and Michael M. Murphy from the the highlights from their published papers, and the informa- NIOSH Office of Mine Safety and Health Research in Pittsburgh tion contained within the papers is worthy of being highlighted

44 www.coalage.com September 2015 ground control report continued for those interested in ground control in underground mines,” Finfinger said. “Ihsan Berk Tulu did a noteworthy effort in presenting the engi- neering concept of using the strength reduction method for entry stability analysis of multiple seam mining environments. This approach has been recently pioneered by the ground control researchers at NIOSH, and the paper was prepared by Ihsan Berk Tulu, Gabriel (Essie) Esterhuizen, Ted Klemetti, Michael Murphy (all of NIOSH) along with James Sumner and Michael Sloan of Lone Mountain Processing.” Another much-talked-about presentation was Peng’s “Research Visions for Ground Control,” which identified several areas of mine ground control worthy of further research and study. Some of these specific topics include mine geology (per- Steve Tadolini of Orica/Minova discusses his work before the audience. haps the most important, according to Finfinger), rock characteri- zations, overburden disturbances, computer modeling, stress research performed using back analysis of a previous mine collapse. measurements, research methodologies, a number of support “Consideration of the properties of the coal and the interface condi- topics including roof bolting, coal pillars and shield supports, and tions of the coal and rock interface was nicely handled and the ground movement considerations. resultant energy releases from the mine failures were interesting “The importance of these topics is evident since they are rou- and stimulating,” he said. tinely covered at each year’s ground control conference,” he said. “Overall, the quality of the presentations and publications was “While progress has been made in each area, there is still consid- exceptional at this year’s conference and is a good sign for the erable work to be done.” next year’s event.” Another paper of particular note, from the perspective of the chairpersons, included Eric Poeck’s presentation on “Energy Sharing Experiences Concepts in the Analysis of Unstable Coal Pillar Failures,” which Mine case studies and operator experiences was one of the most Finfinger called “an interesting and fascinating discussion” of insightful sessions of ICGCM 2015, each describing real field

September 2015 www.coalage.com 45 ground control report continued

issues and solutions from across the globe. The first, by Strata The paper presented the details of the installation, the results Control Technology and Whitehaven Coal in Australia, was enti- of the inclinometer monitoring at both sites, and the insights that tled “Measurements of Horizontal Shear Movements Ahead of these measurements provide for overburden behavior about Longwall Mining and Implications for Overburden Behavior.” longwall panels. The group shared the details of an underground coal mine in Another, “In-Situ Stress Measurement and Stress Change New South Wales that had been associated with significant peri- Monitoring in a Longwall Ming to Monitor Overburden Caving odic weighting events on the longwall face. Part of the probe to Behavior and to Design a Hydraulic Fracture Treatment better understand the causes of periodic weighting included the Program,” was presented by Strata Control Technology of pre-mining installation of inclinometers capable of measuring Australia as well as CSIRO Energy of Melbourne. It focused on a horizontal shear movements through the full section of the over- New South Wales longwall mine examining a strategy to use burden strata in two locations about 1 kilometer apart; the incli- hydraulic fracturing to manage potential windblast and periodic nometers were monitored as the longwall approached each site. caving hazards associated with the mine’s conglomerate strata. The researchers measured the in-situ stresses with ANZI strain cells and the overcoring method of stress relief. In the group’s work, changes in stress associated with abut- ment loading and placement of hydraulic fractures were also measured using ANZI strain cells installed from the surface and from underground; it presented the results of its measurements as well as the stress change monitoring it conducted as part of the hydraulic fracturing program. “Overcore stress measurements have indicated the vertical stress is the lowest principal stress so that hydraulic fractures placed ahead of mining form horizontally and so provide effec- tive pre-conditioning to promote caving of the conglomerate strata,” the paper authors noted. “Monitoring of the full-scale hydraulic fractures has confirmed the hydraulic fractures grow Gregory Hasenfus engages the ICGCM audience. horizontally.” Back on U.S. shores, researchers from the University of Kentucky and Alliance Resource Partners presented “Floor Heave Control Outby the Seal Line in the No. 11 West Kentucky Seam,” MINING AND AGGREGATE APPLICATIONS ROSTA describing a project at one of the operator’s complexes where Horizontal & Inclined Vibrating Screens, Vibrating Feeders floor heave had overridden seals installed in two mined-out pan- • High isolation >96% vibration isolation els. According to the paper, a third seal location was planned that • Shock load proof would isolate that area from the mains, and a plan of support was • Absorbing high dump loads developed to prevent future issues outby, including heave. • Heavy-duty Applications The research and ground control measures, which also includ- ed a mitigation ground control system application and first-stage numerical modeling, were successful; an attempt of a 3-D numer- AB 50 ical modeling was also made. Representatives from the Central Mining Institute in Poland ESL shared their experiences on the other side of the pond in AB 50/ ESL 50 “Underground Measurement of Gateroad Stability at [a] Depth Belt Drives for Vibrating Screens, Rock Cusher Drives, Around 1,000 Meters.” That work focused on Carboniferous Slurry Pump Drives coal measures, which is mined across Europe, including the • Preventing V-belts from slipping or jumping major European underground coal mining countries of Poland, • Avoid excessive tension on v-belts • No realignmet needed the U.K., Germany and Czech Republic, and suffers from • Longer life of belts and bearings increasing extraction depth. As a result, many have major • Maintenence free geomechanics problems associated with ground control and MB 100 • Available to 500 H.P. support design. “With production being concentrated into ever fewer high- performance longwalls, located at greater and greater depth, pressure to ensure the roadways’ functionality (required dimen- sions) continues to increase,” the group noted. MB 100 MB 50 “Mining in deeper and more highly stressed mining environ- For More Information contact: ments creates several problems. The high stress and deteriora- USA CORP. tion in geological and mining conditions, in many cases, causes South Haven, MI 49090 Richard Kasprzyk- 708-479-7965 Toll Free: 888-506-1634 0RQW\3URIÀWW problems with gateroads maintenance due to excess convergence www.rosta.com • email: [email protected] 5RVWD86$&RUS [and] that leads to costly production gaps, longwall slowing,

46 www.coalage.com September 2015 ground control report continued transport problems, an increase in the methane hazard, and in “Thus, the best possible engineering calculations and designs the general health and safety of the workforce, and deterioration are imperative to assist in ensuring the safety of the mining oper- in climatic conditions with major economic risk associated with ation and the miners, while still allowing for the extraction of oth- interruption of the revenue stream.” er coal reserves,” the Rosebud engineer said. “Fortunately, while The work, performed at a longwall panel with roof caving multiple-seam interactions cannot always be avoided, they do within the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland, showed in part not always produce catastrophic results; when properly antici- via measurements that gateroad fractures in roof strata began at pated and designed for, multiple-seam interactions can be iden- the mine to occur at the distance of about 1,000 m ahead of the tified and occur without threatening the safety of miners or face, and also that the load on support and gateroad convergence otherwise disrupting mining operations. The key is to identify the increased as the longwall face got closer. high-risk multiple-seam interactions [and then make a] decision “It is very important for coal mining research institutes and to avoid these areas or to engineer safe development.” mine operators to investigate and develop practical solutions and The final paper in the operational and mine case study session apply innovative support technologies at a great depth (particu- was also one selected for SME 2016: “Analysis of Roof and Pillar larly for reinforcement and stabilization of roadways and other Failure Associated with Weak Floor at a Limestone Mine” by openings),” the researchers said in the report. “Underground members of the NIOSH ground control team and East Fairfield measurements of stability conditions around the gateroad is of Coal Co. in eastern Ohio. great importance to [the] mining practice, especially in planning The group’s work focused on a limestone mine in Ohio that and designing supports for longwall gateroads.” had instability problems that led to massive roof falls extending A Pennsylvania operator, Rosebud Mining, compiled its project to the surface. Specifically, the researchers examined how weak, work in multiple-seam mining into a white paper entitled moisture-sensitive floor had an impact on instability issues. “Multiple-seam Mining in the United States: An Analysis of As the report noted, previous NIOSH research on the topic Multiple-seam Stability in Northern Appalachian Coal Mines with had not touched on any analyses for weak floor or weak bands; Minimal Depth of Cover and Interburden.” The project’s engineer in fact, the agency recommended that when such issues would notated the mission and findings along with some vital points on arise they should be investigated further using a more the topic. advanced analysis. “Currently, coal mining in the United States has progressed to The International Conference on Ground Control in Mining the point that a growing number of mining companies are operat- will return to West Virginia for its 35th event July 26-28, 2016. A call ing in coal seams located above, below and/or adjacent to previous- for papers will be released later this year. ly mined-out coal seams,” Michael Castner noted. “As a result, the state and federal governments are enacting higher safety standards on mining operations. For example, in years past, pillars may have been properly designed to handle single-seam interactions for a particular mine or mines; however, today, where mining is now being considered above or below a previously mined area, these loading conditions may not be adequate to handle the removal of additional seams above or below the previously mined reserve.” Rosebud Mining Co., headquartered in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and Western Allegheny Energy have a combined 23 actively producing underground mining operations and at least four new mines under or ready for development. All are located in Northern Appalachia coal seams including the Upper and Lower Freeport and Upper, Middle, and Lower Kittanning seams in Pennsylvania and Ohio. At this time, more than half have multiple- seam interactions. “Seven mines are undermining previously mined-out coal seams, and five mines are overmining previously mined-out coal seams,” he noted. “Also, between these companies, five mines have inner-seam sloping possibilities (two completed, three planned), most of which will result in mining over or under previ- ously mined areas. Because Rosebud’s position is not unique, it is increasingly popular by mining operators to spend an increasingly higher lev- el of time and resources on understanding multiple-seam mining implementation, as well as the effects that previously mined-out seams have on current and future mining operations. Enter AMSS, or NIOSH’s Analysis of Multiple-seam Stability software program, that was first developed by agency researcher Chris Mark.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 47 blastholecoal preparation drilling Tracing the Best Outcome for Dense Media Cyclones

DMC monitoring and optimization based on immediate, precise partition curves from radio density tracers

BY C.J. WOOD AND R.F. WOOD

vessels, nor to jigs. To facilitate manual retrieval of conventional tracers from drain-and-rinse screens, it is common to use large density tracers: 32 mm for DMCs with feed topsize up to 80 mm (see Figure 1), and 32 mm or 64 mm in dense medium baths and vessels. Fine-density tracers are used for spi- rals and for elutriation-based separators. They are irregularly shaped, with appro- priate shape factors, color-coded for density, and available in a range of sieve size fractions.

Retrieval and Counting For dense medium applications, conven- tional density tracers may be retrieved by hand (or by scoop), and the partition curve is defined in less than one hour. Lightweight magnet panels, installed in Density tracers offer fast and accurate partition curves. drain-and-rinse screen launders, proved effective for recovering ferromagnetic The first density tracers probably took the density intervals of 0.05 RD and, for statis- tracers as small as 2 mm, but the technolo- form of ore, coal or stone particles, paint- tical reliability, with 100 tracers at each gy was not widely adopted. ed in colors to represent their approxi- selected density over a range to encom- As an example of a small coal applica- mate densities, which had been pass the entire partition curve. tion, consider spirals. A steady stream of predetermined by float/sink or other tracers (usually a mixture of size and den- means. Coal Processing sity fractions) is metered into the spiral The South African diamond industry The first author and colleagues developed advanced the concept with the develop- density tracers for coarse coal DMCs and ment of synthetic tracers in the 1970s vessels or baths (Davis et al, 1985). The (Napier-Munn, 1985). The concept was interval between adjacent densities was considered proprietary, and was not pub- 0.02 RD. This was reduced to 0.01 RD, as licized until after the independent devel- tracers revealed the excellent partitioning opment, at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral of which dense medium separators (DMS) Research Centre in Australia, of density are capable, and it is normal to use 30 trac- tracers for coal processing operations ers at each selected density. Typically, (Davis et al, 1985). Partition Enterprises is tracers are cubes. Conjecture may suggest now the principal manufacturer of tracers that in situations of high cut-point, slabby for the diamond and other minerals indus- sinks and high loadings, there may be a tries. tendency for sinking particles to be Tracer properties can include ferro- entrained with floats and carried to over- magnetism, as an aid to tracer retrieval; flow. (Note that the residence time for and X-ray luminescence, as an aid to auto- most floating particles in a DMC is only matic retrieval by the X-ray machines, about a second). which commonly recover diamonds from The authors are aware of no clear evi- gravel which have been preconcentrated dence for such entrainment under normal Figure 1: Tracers are retrieved manually and sorted in dense medium cyclones (DMCs). operations. Similar comments do not by density to reveal the partition curve. Diamond operators commonly work with always apply to dense medium baths and

48 www.coalage.com September 2015 coal preparation continued

Figure 2: Fine-density tracers may be used with spi- rals and elutriators. These densities range from 1.3 (yellow) to 2.1 (white). feed over a period sufficient to ensure that even the slowest-traveling particles are being consistently discharged. Product, rejects and middlings are then sampled or, for greater spatial resolution across the trough, a “mouth-organ” sampler may be employed. The samples may be dried, sieved, and representative images may be captured for tracer sorting by color and counting. These procedures can be tedious, and they tend to be used only for research and equipment design purposes. In one case, comparable techniques Figure 3: An excellent audit result for a large DMC (13-mm radio tracers). were used to develop small-particle parti- tion curves for DMCs in an operating prep plant.

DMC Audits Procedures for generating a DMC parti- tion curve vary depending on the selection of the sizes, densities and numbers of trac- ers; the tracer partitioning test; interpreta- tion of the results; and operating and other parameters, which should be recorded to facilitate diagnoses and development of recommendations for yield optimization. Figure 4 shows the partition curve for a plant suffering surging discharge to underflow, caused by unsustainable Figure 4: A very poor partition curve (13-mm radio tracers). In this case, recommendations included an increase in spigot diameter to eliminate surging. buildup of middlings in the DMC. Actions, which could correct the problem, include fitment of a larger spigot; use of finer mag- Advantages & Shortcomings (i.e., density tracers). One should not netite; increased contamination of the The objective of a DMS is to partition par- expect conventional sampling and medium; increasing feed medium density; ticles by density. To determine the effi- float/sink analyses to provide such accu- and reducing inlet head. ciency of separators, and whether parallel rate results, because those techniques Figure 5 presents results of an audit units are partitioning at the same cut- introduce errors, which lead to Ep esti- conducted at a West Virginia plant in 2001 point, it is wise to use impervious robust mates that can be several times the true (Luttrell et al, 2005). particles of precisely known densities values.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 49 Where the Coal Prep Community

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April 25-27, 2016 Kentucky Exposition Center Louisville, KY coalprepshow.com coal preparation continued

Figure 5: Partition curve for a West Virginia DMC circuit (after Luttrell et al, 2005) (32-mm tracers, manually retrieved). The Ep value of 0.021 is poor. Figure 6: Small coal density is altered by absorption of a dense liquid. Over two hours, the percent floats in Suppose a piece of coal has dried on a low cutpoints. The apparent Ep, even for this sample decreased from around 70% to 50%; by stockpile. It encounters water just ahead a narrow-size fraction of large particles, 18 hours, a plug of coal is gradually sinking, leaving of a sizing screen, and is partitioned by a will likely be two to three times the true only about 20% floats. (Image courtesy R.L. Stainlay.) DMC a few minutes later. During that value. period, it progressively absorbs some In density tracer audits, it is common one may invoke the “pivot point” concept water — sometimes a considerable to use tracers of a single size and shape; (Scott, 1990, Wood et al, 2014) to estimate amount. Its density at the time of parti- 32-mm cubes for manual retrieval or 13- the family of partition curves for any nom- tioning will depend upon its initial mm cubes for radio detection. This need inated size fractions of feed. degree of saturation and on its porosity. not be seen as a drawback of density trac- Those characteristics depend on factors ers. Tracers can show if there is middlings Development of Radio-detected such as coal seam, aquifers, weather, and retention, which could trigger surging and Density Tracer Systems raw coal stockpiling and handling prac- major loss of yield (Figure 7). Sampling As radio-frequency identification (RFID) tice. Samples for float/sink analyses are and float/sink analyses will not identify devices were developed, their potential air dried to a poorly defined degree of retention, and thus cannot provide the for tracking of ore and of density tracers saturation. They are then densimetrically warning that a modest change in coal or was recognized, but it was not until the separated. Throughout that process, the medium could suddenly and seriously late 1990s that ground-breaking work was density of a particle varies depending reduce yield. If, during an audit, the densi- conducted by the CSIR of South Africa. upon its degree of saturation after air- ties of all three medium streams (feed, RFID “tags” developed for livestock were drying; absorption characteristics of the overflow and underflow) are determined, inserted into density tracers in the form float/sink liquids, and how they vary with temperature (see Figure 6); the order of progression through the float/sink den- sities; the duration of immersion at each density; and the degree of draining/ drying between each immersion. The densities of coal particles, even of partic- ular individual coal particles, are moving targets. Other uncertainties should be noted, such as those introduced by sampling errors, particle breakage, imprecise main- tenance of float/sink densities, and the wide spacing of float/sink densities (by comparison with achievable Ep values). The entire procedure generates an apparent partition curve. The estimated cutpoint will probably come within Figure 7: Density tracer retention in a West Virginia DMC (after Luttrell et al, 2005) (32-mm tracers, manually about 0.03 RD of the true value, but an retrieved). A significant portion of robust 32-mm tracers in the RD range 1.65 to 1.71 were retained in the error of 0.03 RD can cause a large yield DMCs for more than 30 minutes. difference for coking coal partitioned at

September 2015 www.coalage.com 51 coal preparation continued

Figure 8: Radio tracer selection (by RD) and insertion Figure 9: Portable RFID antenna deployed at a drain-and-rinse screen, and a robust antenna, permanently fit- at a desliming screen. ted under a plant product conveyor. of weighted plastic balls (de Korte, 2000). a typical potential yield increase around and drop them into module feed over A collaborative study by Virginia Tech 2.5% (exceptionally poor results, such as any desired period. As tracers are detect- and Partition Enterprises developed 30% in the case referenced in Figure 4 ed, the developing partition curve is radio density tracers of more precise den- above, raised the average to 6%). updated on the base station screen, and sities, and demonstrated the concept in- Specific recommendations were pre- by the time the operator returns from the plant (Luttrell et al, 2005). Radio density sented for correction of the problems. plant, the accurate curve will be com- tracers are designed to be disposable. If They ranged from immediate re-calibra- plete. Operating conditions and other they were to be retrieved (as are the earli- tion of Marcy gauges or of nucleonic parameters may be added before perfor- er style tracer), there would be little point density gauges, to changes of spigot mance analysis, corrective actions in radio tracking. This calls for low com- diameter, magnetite grade or operating (Wood, 2013) and archiving. An automat- ponent and production costs, as well as pressure, or tightening control of feed ic tracer dispenser is being developed to development of detection antennas with medium density. Large DMCs were cater for long-duration partitioning sufficient range and high reliability. demonstrated to be capable of excellent audits, or for use of the system to track Developments in RFID technologies partitioning, but this may not hold if ore through stockpiles for improved con- were monitored, and in 2011, further manufacturers have substantially trol of trainload quality. Patents are research & development (R&D) was com- increased the ratios of vortex finder pending. menced with the objective of bringing diameter to cyclone diameter, or of this technology to commercial fruition. equivalent inlet diameter to cyclone DMS Optimization and KPIs The first of these systems used 13-mm diameter, in a quest for higher capacity. As noted above, the use of density tracers cubic tracers (see Figure 8) with density In cases where post-modification at small density intervals, and in suffi- intervals as small as 0.01 RD and with tol- audits were conducted, the observed val- cient numbers, allows unambiguous erance as small as 100% within +/- 0.006 ues of Ep were close to those predicted determinations of the efficiencies of den- of nominal RD. These were detected when the recommendations were made sity separators. Using 13-mm radio den- using flexible temporary antennas (Wood et al, 2014). sity tracers in DMCs, Ep75/25 values as deployed in drain-and-rinse screen laun- The next major technical develop- small as 0.004 RD have been recorded, ders (see Figure 9a). As tracers passed the ment was that of robust antennas capa- and it is believed that coal-washing various antennas, their IDs, densities, ble of detecting 13-mm radio tracers in DMCs of suitable design are generally and locations were logged for subsequent coal or stone on conveyors (Figure 9b). If capable of 0.008 RD or better, whether downloading and processing to produce detectors are permanently installed on operating at low or high cutpoints and the partition curve. Further development plant product and rejects conveyors (and with high or low proportions of “near- included Bluetooth communications so on a second product conveyor, if pre- gravity” material. It should be remem- that the developing partition curve could sent) they can be used to audit the per- bered that the conventionally derived Ep be displayed on a portable computer formance of any coarse coal separator estimate, for a feed, which covers a broad screen. module in the plant, at any time. With size range, may be around three times A total of 86 such audits were con- radio data telemetry, from a base station that level. ducted on a commercial basis in 13 in a control room or office, an engineer Conventional simulation procedures Australian plants. In nearly all cases, sig- or operator can activate the detectors, are inadequate. DMC optimization relies nificant yield losses were identified, with then take selected tracers to the plant on minimizing Ep values and equalizing

52 www.coalage.com September 2015 coal preparation continued cutpoints for separators, which operate in parallel. Prediction of yield and of yield improvements relies on simulation, but conventional simulation procedures are seriously inadequate if Ep values are small. Apart from the shortcomings of float/sink analyses, consider a situation where feed washability has been deter- mined using float/sink intervals of 0.05 RD, including 1.35 and 1.40. Conven- tional simulation implicitly assumes that all of the mass in that fraction (and its quality parameters) are concentrated at the midpoint, 1.375. If the simulation relates to a separator, which achieves Ep Figure 11: Conventional simulation techniques give erroneous yield/RD curves for efficient separators. The true 0.005, the simulated yield curve is clearly curve would not be stepped. (Each point shows predicted yield based on feed washability at 0.05-RD intervals, misleading (Figure 11). for a separation with Ep 0.005 RD. Such efficiencies may be achieved by well-designed and operated DMCs for An improved simulation has been the +10-mm fractions of a low-porosity feed.) developed that sets a KPI Target for Ep. The yield/ash curves of Figure 12 are based on plant feed for an Australian coking coal, and were developed using advanced simulation procedures (Wood, Wood and Hicks, 2014). They show the yield improvement to be realized through optimization of DMC perfor- mance, and provide a sound basis for setting an Ep value as a key performance indicator. Similar analyses for thermal coals and higher cutpoints usually show yield increases, which are smaller, but still indicate an outstanding return on investment. Equivalent studies show the value of ensuring that parallel separators partition at equal cutpoints. A cutpoint span of no more than 0.015 RD is sug- Figure 12: Yield/ash curves developed using advanced simulation techniques in relation to an Australian cok- gested as another KPI target. ing coal. Since the early 1980s, density tracers have allowed rapid, precise and inexpen- ers are encouraged to visit www.coal- Luttrell, G.H., Barbee, C.J., Bethell, P.J. and sive determinations of partition curves prepshow.com. Wood, C.J., 2005, “Dense Medium Cyclone for dense medium separators. Magnetic Optimisation,” Final Technical Report to the retrieval facilitated reductions in person- References USA Department of Energy under Award nel requirements, and techniques for Anon., 1985, “The Heavy Medium Number DE-FC26-01NT41061. radio detection and identification of Cyclone Washery for Minerals and Coal,” Scott, I.A., 1990, “A Dense Medium Cyclone tracers allow an audit to be conducted by Stamicarbon B.V., (unpublished). Model Based on the Pivot Phenomenon,” : one person in as little as 30 minutes. Davis, J.J.; Wood, C.J.; and Lyman, G.J., Ph.D. thesis (unpublished), University of Developments in DMC performance 1985, “The Use of Density Tracers for the Queensland. modeling and simulation can now utilize Determination of Dense Medium Cyclone Wood, C.J., 1990, “A Performance Model those data to determine very specific rec- Partitioning Characteristics,” Inter- for Coal-Washing Dense Medium Cyclones,” : ommendations for partitioning (and national Journal of Coal Processing, 2(2) Ph.D. thesis (unpublished), University of yield) improvement in individual plants. pp 107-126. Queensland. This article was adapted from a presen- de Korte, J., 2000, “An overview of dense- Wood, C.J., 2013, “Coal Washing Dense tation the authors, who represented medium plant efficiency testing with the Medium Cyclones,” in Mathewson D. and Ryan Partition Enterprises Pty Ltd., delivered at emphasis on rapid efficiency testing with the G. (Eds), ACARP Dense Medium Cyclone Coal Prep 2015, which was held in aid of radio tracers,” South African Institute Handbook, Australian Coal Preparation Lexington, Kentucky, during April. For of Mining and Metallurgy 12th Int. Conf. on Society. more information on this technology, Coal Research. Wood, C.J., Wood, R.F. and Hicks, readers are encouraged to visit www.parti- Napier-Munn, T.J., 1985, “The Use of M.W.,2014, “Radio-Detectable Density tionenterprises.com.au. For more infor- Density Tracers for the Determination of the Tracers: Experience to Date,” in Sherritt, G. mation related to Coal Prep 2016, which Tromp Curve for Gravity Concentration (Ed), Proceedings of the 15th Australian Coal will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, read- Processes.” Trans. Inst. Min. Met., 94, C47-C53. Preparation Conference, Paper 2A.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 53 self-escapeblasthole drillingtraining

Training and Evaluation of Coal Miners’ Self-escape Competencies

BY EMILY J. HAAS, PH.D., AND ROBERT H. PETERS

Possessing the knowledge, skills, abilities, their subject matter expertise regarding evaluations, if possible (see NIOSH, 2015, and other attributes to self-escape from a safety issues in the coal mining industry. for examples). mine is critical. Thus, a primary focus of Based on the gaps these trainers identified, • Use individual-level evaluations, when mine safety trainings is the development of suggestions are offered to help those who possible. Although watching small groups miners’ self-escape competencies (SEC) so train coal miners improve the content and is sufficient for activities that would be they can quickly respond to any mine emer- evaluation of their safety trainings. performed in groups during an emergen- gency. National Institute for Occupational cy, such as tethering and walking out in Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers Question: How should you train miners on smoke, it is not preferred for evaluating compiled a fairly comprehensive list of 45 self-escape competencies? individual competence. One trainer said: self-escape competencies that were orga- Answer: Use realistic training environ- nized into the following categories: knowing ments to develop skills. “Individual demonstrations, in most something, where to find something, how to • Include simulated activities or hypotheti- cases, are better than group demonstra- use something, how to decide something, cal scenarios in trainings and individually tions, apart from escape routes, refuge and what to do before beginning an evacua- evaluate miners throughout these train- chambers, and tethering, which are tion (Peters & Kosmoski, 2013). Some of the ing activities. group decisions. The latter decisions critical self-escape competencies identified • Prioritize tasks and allow time for miners (escape routes, taking refuge, tethering) in this list are below: to participate in simulated or hands-on are made by groups and are best evalu- • Self-Contained-Self-Rescue (SCSR) don- trainings for the most crucial self-escape ated by observing a group. But more ning and switching. competencies, such as donning an SCSR. often than not, trainers should evaluate • Realistic expectations about using SCSRs Prioritization helps address the time on an individual basis. If miners are in a (e.g., breathing resistance). restraint often present in new miner and group, one can sit back and do nothing, • The five tactile shapes on a lifeline and annual refresher trainings. and absorb nothing.” what they mean. • Firefighting skills. Question: How should you evaluate min- Question: How can you improve your • How the mine ventilation system func- ers’ self-escape competencies? training evaluation methods? tions and ventilation leakage. Answer: Choose the evaluation method Answer: Use standard evaluation tools • Primary and secondary escape routes based on the competency being trained. across trainings and debrief all training from mines. • Orally question groups or administer a activities. • How to understand and read a mine map. written exam when evaluating whether or • Use robust evaluation tools such as • Communication systems. not a miner knows something or has profi- behavioral checklists or behavioral obser- • Barricading. cient knowledge. For example, knowing vation scales to help assess each individu- • Realistic expectations about using refuge the properties of mine gases can be evalu- al miner during trainings. chambers. ated by a written test and follow-up discus- • Create a cumulative sheet for each miner Knowing the best ways to train and sus- sion with an individual or group of miners. that documents scores for each activity to tain these competencies is fundamental to • Watch the miner or group perform a spe- provide to their respective mine. Note any ensuring the self-escape of mine workers cific task when evaluating whether or not a deficiencies that should be further devel- during an emergency. To that end, NIOSH miner knows how to use something. For oped during on-the-job training. researchers interviewed nine mine safety example, donning an SCSR is a task that • Encourage each individual to partici- trainers to learn more about the subject individual miners should be able to pate in every training activity, if possi- area of mine safety training, evaluation, demonstrate tactile skills in operating; this ble, to avoid overlooking deficiencies of what gaps exist in mine safety training, and would warrant individual-level assess- an individual. how they can be addressed to improve mine ment via watching a task demonstration. • Discuss and ask follow-up questions after workers’ SEC. Trainers were dispersed • Orally question each miner when evaluat- each activity that miners complete across four states and had a combined total ing how individuals make a decision dur- because simulated activities are not self- of 154 years of mine safety training experi- ing a particular emergency. For example, teaching. Discussion time allows miners ence. Six of the participants transitioned when deciding which escapeway to use to reflect on their decisions, hear what from a career in underground coal mining during an emergency, each miner should other trainees’ perspectives are, and to safety training and five had experience know what factors to consider. decide whether or not they would choose “ training mine rescue teams, showcasing • Use behavioral evaluations over written an alternative approach in the future. Knowing the best ways to train and sustain these competencies is fundamental to ensuring the self-escape of mine workers during an emergency.

“54 www.coalage.com September 2015 self-escape training continued

Standard evaluation tools (examples pro- begin closing some gaps in mine safety References vided in NIOSH, 2015) can be created for a training and evaluation, there are still sever- Peters, R., & Kosmoski, C. (2013). Are your coal variety of scenario-based activities that may al methods that should be explored and miners prepared to self-escape? Coal Age, be necessary during an emergency such as subsequently validated to further enhance 118(1), 26–28. taking refuge, wayfinding or reading a mine miners’ abilities to self-escape. NIOSH NIOSH (2015). Enhancing Mine Workers’ Self- map. In addition, they provide a more accu- Office of Mine Safety and Health Research escape by Integrating Competency Assessment rate assessment method for trainers who continue to address the issue of how to into Training. By Haas EJ, Peters RH and are not as active in the industry anymore improve miners’ abilities to self-escape Kosmoski CL. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department and thus, not as familiar with newer mining from mine emergencies so that in the of Health and Human Services, Centers for equipment and technology, such as using future, additional methods, tools and rec- Disease Control and Prevention, National refuge chambers. ommendations can be provided to the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, industry. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2015–188, RI 9699. Question: How can self-escape competen- cies be maintained after training? Answer: Increase frequency of assessment efforts after training.

For Trainers • Emphasize the importance of continuing discussions and asking questions on the job to support the maintenance of min- ers’ self-escape skills. For example, dis- cussing the importance of learning about their specific mine and even providing prospective miners with possible ques- tions to ask management and coworkers, such as what are the alternative escape routes and how to use communication devices specific to their mine. • Inform mine site leadership if a specific trainee had problems demonstrating expertise during a task, allowing the mine to work with the individual upon entering the workforce.

For Mine Sites • Conduct follow-up exercises at each mine to help new miners become more com- fortable communicating and making decisions with their coworkers to manage emergencies; maintain skills they acquired during training; and learn the nuances of their specific mine. • Communicate with mine organizations to inform management what skills new min- ers, in general, seem to have trouble with and how mine leadership can follow up to better instill specific skills. A standardized evaluation protocol or behavioral check- list, referenced earlier, could serve as a pri- mary communication tool between these two parties. Improving competency evaluation meth- ods may: better prepare miners for situa- tions that require self-escape, help identify gaps in current training protocols, and sup- port the need for additional training resources. They offered several suggestions that mine organizations and safety trainers can begin integrating into current mine safety trainings. Although these suggestions

September 2015 www.coalage.com 55 operating ideas

Increase Fuel Choices While Maintaining a Slagging and Fouling-Free Boiler

BY DR. MURIELLE PERRONNET, DR. ADAM CAMPEN, DAVID OSBY AND NICOLE RONEY

Fluctuating fuel prices, increasingly restrictive emission regula- The Aurora additive is a specially selected blend of aluminosil- tions, and an unpredictable economy are driving energy produc- icate minerals that is engineered to capture alkali vapors at the ers to make operational changes such as burning non-design point of combustion, thereby minimizing the ability of those coals to reduce SOx, NOx, Hg and CO, while also producing power vapors to participate in the binding of solid fly ash into deposits. profitably. That is possible because, both during and after combustion, the Many power plants, however, may not be rated to burn a dif- formation of alkali aluminosilicates is thermodynamically ferent fuel mix, which may include Powder River Basin (PRB), favored over the formation of alkali chlorides, sulfates, vanadates Illinois Basin (ILB) or Central Appalachian (CAPP) coals. Those and other salts. Although other fuel ash components certainly fuels can pose challenges because of high levels of alkalis that can form liquid at boiler temperatures, Aurora removes the portion cause damage to the overall system. The alkali metals found in caused by molten alkali compounds and disrupts the bonding of such coals are known to vaporize and form low melting tempera- ash particles. Aurora, therefore, is beneficial in preventing the ture compounds that condense onto cooler surfaces. cycle of condensation, particle entrapment, and sintering what Condensation initiates contact and develops into strong, dense would otherwise result in troublesome slagging and fouling deposits that subsequently lead to severe slagging and fouling in deposits and additional resulting problems. furnaces and boilers — conditions that can result in a decrease in heat transfer rate, boiler availability and megawatts (MW) far Case History No. 1 below boiler plate design. Combustion additives can be an effec- Furnace: 300-MW Opposed Wall PC furnaces tive, low-cost method to solve such performance-related prob- Fuel Blend: 26,000 TPD of 80/20 CAPP (high S & Fe)/PRB (high K & Na) lems by maintaining a clean firebox and convection pass, even Prior to the use of the Aurora additive, this plant was experienc- while burning more challenging fuels. ing a decrease in boiler efficiency and had to run as low as 60% Aurora, a patented mineral-based additive offered by Imerys, capacity (135 MWe) during the evening hours depending on the acts as a strong “alkali-sorbent” when introduced with the fuel into varying behavior of the unit. the furnace. Aurora mitigates slagging and fouling, reduces corro- The challenge was to decrease or eliminate the slagging at the sion, and improves the overall system to produce more megawatts superheater pendant tubes and the blockage at the bottom ash (MW), especially when burning non-design fuels. Commercial and removal area to enable an increase in load from 230 MW to 260 test burn results demonstrate that it dramatically increases the fri- MW. ability of the slag and bottom ash, facilitating easy removal with A test was performed without cleaning the unit beforehand. existing soot blowers, resulting in an overall reduction of mainte- Aurora was added to the coal and slag observations at the super- nance costs due to shorter and less frequent outages. heater were made twice daily then rated from 0 (no deposition) to Alkali metals such as sodium and potassium are found at 4 (severe). Boiler conditions were monitored continuously and fly some level in all fuels. When bound organically as in subbitumi- ash was collected for analysis. nous coal or as soluble salts in the case of many bituminous The capture of volatile alkalis by Aurora increased the ash coals, alkalis are released into the flue gas as vapor. Alkali vapors melting temperature and lessoned the slagging intensity. Smaller will condense onto fly ash particles and heat exchanger surfaces clinkers and ash flow out of the boiler easily (Figure 1). Less NOx as liquid salts of sulfur, chlorine or similar particulates, and begin was produced for a given load and a greater load produced a giv- to trap solid fly ash particles. Complex reactions then occur, en amount of NOx maintaining an acceptable level (Power gener- including dissolution, sulfation, and sintering, ultimately leading ation was increased 8.6% from 230 MW to 250 MW). to troublesome slagging and fouling deposits. Case History No. 2 Furnace: 950-MW Tangentially Fired Boiler for Pulverized Coal Fuel Blend: 7,800 TPD of ILB/CAPP Boiler: Supercritical During a previous test burn at this facility, using 100% ILB coal

Figure 1: Images of superheater tubes captured by furnace camera without Aurora (A) and with Aurora (B). Table 1: Coal quality sample data.

56 www.coalage.com September 2015 operating ideas continued without Aurora, slag growth continued to increase until the end of the 100% ILB burn. Some of the slag observed had a sticky appearance that can be indicative of slag that is harder to remove. There were also large chunks of hanging slag growing on many of the hanging pendants. The challenge was to convert to 100% ILB coal without experi- encing the slagging and fouling that led to decreased boiler effi- ciency and increased cleaning and maintenance costs. A dedicated feeding system of Aurora was put into place to ensure a controlled addition rate of the additive directly onto the coal belt feed. Analysis of the coal before combustion, with and without Aurora, shows little change in the feed coal except that the Reducing Ash Softening Temperature is increased, which indi- cates a lower potential for slagging (Table 1). Slag observations were performed twice daily and ash samples Figure 2: Contour plot of average slag observation. were taken throughout the test burn. Fly ash was tested for ash chemistry and ash fusion temperature (Figure 3). Fly ash fusion temperature increased, on average, 50°F (28°C), resulting in a dryer ash, eliminating much of the deposit typically seen in the superheater section. That is less of an increase than shown from the coal analysis, but is caused by the fly ash having a different chemistry than the fuel ash. Variations in the AFT softening tem- perature at any Aurora addition level are driven by local fluctua- tions in CaO and Fe2O3 content. The slag that formed with the 100% ILB and Aurora burn had a dry character, which could be easily removed as opposed to the 100% ILB burn without Aurora, which had a tacky character and was difficult to remove. Surveillance of furnace cameras showed that the large chunks of hanging slag that were seen during the test burn without Aurora did not form with the additive. That resulted in an improved heat transfer rate, decreased cleaning time and costs, increased power generation and the ability to suc- cessfully change fuels. Figure 3: Fly ash softening temperatures across several addition rates. Case History No. 3 Furnace: 300-MW Opposed Wall Pulverized Coal Boiler ability to initiate fouling and slagging deposits as they pass Fuel: PRB Coal through the unit. Any remaining deposits are weakened and Boiler: Supercritical Opposed Wall Fired more easily removed by conventional removal methods, there- For economical and emission control reasons, this power plant by reducing cleaning time, maintenance costs, and resulting in was evaluating the conversion from GLF Eastern Bituminous coal shorter and less frequent outages. This effectively allows for to Powder River Basin Black Thunder coal. During a previous test the combustion of a cheaper mix of fuels that are otherwise dif- burn using GLF Eastern Bituminous coal without Aurora, this ficult to use, making it possible to increase boiler efficiency and facility experienced slagging at the radiant Super Heater and fur- power generation at a lower fuel cost. nace walls as well as bottom ash clinker formations. Aurora is produced in three physical forms allowing flexibility The challenge was to convert to 100% PRB coal without expe- and ease in application to the fuel prior to milling and combus- riencing the slagging and fouling that led to decreased boiler effi- tion. Imerys has expertise in dosing the product to a variety of dif- ciency and increased cleaning and maintenance costs. ferent boiler types, adding it in the most technically efficient and Slag was significantly reduced and no bottom ash clinkers cost-effective manner. No negative effects of Aurora have been were reported with the addition of Aurora (Figure 2). Any slag seen or reported on feed systems, mills, scrubbers, ESPs, cata- deposits that did form were easily removed with sootblowers. lysts, baghouse operation or ash chemistry. There was less ash buildup between the wall tubes, which result- ed in decreased cleaning and maintenance costs. Aurora’s effec- About the Authors tiveness in reducing slag contributed to stable MW generation. Dr. Murielle Perronnet is the Aurora senior scientist for Imerys. Dr. Any precautions taken by the plant to reduce emissions were not Adam Campen is a combustion engineer for Imerys. David Osby is negatively affected. the commercial and development manager for Imerys. Nicole The Aurora additive effectively binds volatile alkalis into Roney is a global marketing analyst for Imerys. Readers can find higher melting temperature compounds, thereby limiting their more information at www.imerys-aurora.com.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 57 product news

Surface Miner Offers Practical Alternative for Australian Coal Mine

machine pass, producing an even and easily trafficable surface in the process. It was additionally established during the trial phase that, while offering the same performance, the surface miner replaces two bulldozers and one wheel loader. The result- ing savings, mainly in labor and fuel, lead to a significant reduc- tion in operating costs. Additional marks in favor of the 4200 SM include emission measurement results showing significantly reduced machine vibrations and noise levels. Paired with the ergonomically designed cabin, impacts on the operator’s health are thus minimized particularly in the long run. A camera system designed exclusively for this operation enables the machine operator to conveniently differentiate between coal and inter- burden, thus significantly improving coal quality. The strict safe- ty regulations and machine standards specified by the Australian coal industry were fully met by making the relevant machine One of the Wirtgen surface miners’ most important features is their ability to load the modifications prior to shipment. cut material directly onto trucks. The conveyor belt can be pivoted through 90° on The cutting drum has been specially designed for operation either side and adjusted in height. in soft rock and is ideally suited to mining not only coal (uncon- fined compressive strength = 20 MPa) but also the significantly Since opening, New Hope’s New Acland coal mine (NAC), locat- harder interburden layers (50 MPa). The 4200 SM mines coal in a ed near Acland, Queensland, has been extracting coal and inter- selective process at exactly the specified cutting depth, produc- burden by means of bulldozers fitted with ripper teeth and ing a clean cutting surface and guaranteeing high degrees of assisted by wheel loaders. However, a sharp drop in coal prices purity. As a result, there are less truck travels required to trans- compelled management to look for an alternative, more efficient port the material to a special coal-washing plant for further pro- mining method. cessing and to return the separated tailings to the mine. A solution was soon found. Wirtgen surface mining technolo- Compared to the mining method used to date, the 4200 SM also gy offers the ideal method for the challenging geological condi- produces a smaller percentage of fines (grain size < 2 mm) and a tions in the mine, which comprise up to 27 mostly thin coal higher percentage of the end product fraction (grain size < 38 seams interspersed by layers of interburden. Compared to con- mm). In the final analysis, this also improves the efficiency of the ventional methods, the selective surface mining technology sim- processing plant. plifies the mining process, thus reducing operating costs and “I am impressed with the economical, modern and environ- supplying coal of higher quality to the neighboring processing mentally friendly Wirtgen surface miner. New Acland saves hard plant. cash as soon as the miner is in operation,” said Andrew Wirtgen surface mining has proven its worth in numerous McDonald, managing director for New Acland, praising the coal mining projects and it was no surprise that a six-month trial highly productive giant machine. www.newhopegroup.com phase with defined target performance levels agreed upon between New Acland and Wirtgen was a resounding success. The Strata Partners With Grace to Develop Resin 4200 SM achieved the projected cutting performance of up to Strata Worldwide announced a new exclusive supply agreement 3,000 metric tons per hour (mtph) in the tough everyday mine with Grace Construction Products to introduce a new rock con- environment. The point-attack cutting tools used were subjected solidation injection product, Organosol 550 DT, a non-expand- to in-depth trials and optimized to fit the specific application as ing, two-component injection resin that offers mines an they were required to cut not only coal but also hard interburden advanced alternative to traditional urea-silicate glues. It is material. Cooperation with the Wirtgen customer service, which designed to consolidate and stabilize fractured coal, rock, and was on permanent standby, was also perfected at an early stage. gravel in underground roadways, shafts, coal faces and long- This enabled many areas that typically offer room for improve- walls. Organosol 550 DT is insensitive to water in the reaction ment when introducing an entirely new technology to be identi- and will not absorb, shrink, expand or foam when it comes into fied and optimized quickly. Since all of the targeted performance contact with water. It can be used to seal against water. rates were met during the trial phase, NAC decided to purchase Grace is a leading supplier of specialty construction chemi- the 4200 SM. cals and building materials. This new cooperation combines To maximize exploitation of the coal deposit, the high-per- Grace’s technical experience in consolidation and water-stop- formance 4200 SM cuts and loads the material in a single- ping materials with Strata’s mining experience. “We have con-

58 www.coalage.com September 2015 product news continued ducted thorough testing to refine the properties of Organosol Cat Launches Fatigue Monitoring Service 550 DT to ensure it meets the demands of the mining environ- Caterpillar recently launched a 24/7 equipment operator monitoring ment,” said Mike Fabio, an engineer for Stata. “It has proven to service to provide customers the power to see, mitigate and manage have excellent bonding properties and a compressive strength the primary variable impacting their operations — the human factor. reaching up to 5,000 psi.” www.strataworldwide.com Through industry-leading in-cab and wearable safety technologies, Cat now can provide customers with visibility to both machine and Conveyor Belt Tracking Systems operator information. Inside Cat’s 24/7 Monitoring Center, analysts A family of responsive conveyor belt tracking systems mitigates correlate data about the health and productivity of operators and misalignment, rather than correcting it after the fact — even on equipment to reveal the magnitude of conditions such as fatigue and reversing belts — to promote conveyor efficiency and safety. A distraction and their impact on operations. mistracking belt can contact the mainframe, seriously damaging “Our customers want better visibility to the interaction both the belt and the structure, resulting in excessive spillage between operators and machines, and how behavior impacts and even creating a potential fire hazard. Utilizing innovative safety and productivity,” said Tim Crane, Caterpillar Safety multiple-pivot, torque-multiplying technology, the Martin Services manager. Tracker detects slight misalignments initiated by unbalanced Caterpillar’s solution leverages industry-leading technologies loads and fouled rollers, using the force of the belt to immediate- to gain visibility to risk. The Driver Safety System (DSS), devel- ly adjust its position and realign the path. The trackers minimize oped by Seeing Machines, an alliance partner of Caterpillar, risk and material loss, decreasing downtime and operating costs includes an in-cab camera and alert system to notify the opera- by reducing cleanup and equipment damage. tor the moment a fatigue or distraction event occurs. Events are Rollers attached to the end of a sensing arm assembly ride tracked by analysts who also capture operator sleep quantity and both sides of the belt edge, detecting even slight variations in the quality information provided through the wrist-worn Cat belt path. Employing the force of the wandering belt, the arms Smartband, an actigraphy solution powered by Fatigue Science. automatically position a steering idler in the opposite direction The enhanced visibility to risks extends beyond front-line of the misalignment. Transferring the motion to the steering employees to expose improvement opportunities throughout idler through a unique parallel linkage requires less force to initi- the organization, including education and training, shift ate the correction, so fine-tuning of the path can be continuous, scheduling, leadership coaching and other cultural elements. active and precise. www.safety.cat.com/fatigue According to Dan Marshall, product engineer for Martin Engineering, “The biggest issue from a mistracking belt is spillage,” Marshall said. “If the belt is out of place, it’s not han- dling the load properly, and that will cause material to leave the belt. The buildup can be extremely rapid, especially from a high- speed conveyor, which drives up expenses due to wasted materi- al and added cleanup. It also introduces the inherent risk, which is always present when people are working around a moving conveyor.” The multipivot design of the Martin system corrects many of the problems exhibited by current trainer systems on the market such as belt switches, vertical guides, v-idlers, crowned pulleys and sensing-roll trainers. Some correction systems have a ten- dency to overcompensate, requiring a safety tether or lead line to catch the device when the force of the misalignment detaches the unit from the mainframe. Many of these systems correct mis- tracking after it has occurred, rather than constantly working to prevent it. By continuously mitigating tracking issues rather than reacting to them, the risk of failure is significantly reduced. www.martin-eng.com

September 2015 www.coalage.com 59 product news continued

Industrial Resources Receives Steel Certification

ings that show the fabricators how to manufacture it and erectors how to construct it. The AISC has standards for detailed drawings to have appropri- ate welding notes to ensure what is on the detailed drawing is what is to be fabricated. “When we deliver a steel construction pro- ject to a customer, we can provide certifications for all the material that went into the project with electronic copies of the Mill Test Reports for steel and the manufacturing lot numbers for all bolt assemblies. We can also provide elec- tronic copies of all welding, blasting, ambient temperature conditions, and dry film thickness inspection reports for the welding and painting Phillip Burnside, quality control manager (left), and Charles Miller, president, earn AISC certification for Industrial process. If a company has a specific paint thick- Resources. ness requirement, every piece will be measured and verified.” The American Institute of Steel Construction Resources. “This certification sets us apart from Industrial Resources is continuously measur- (AISC) recently certified Industrial Resources with the pack.” ing and calibrating the equipment they use. This a Standard for Steel Building Structures. “All the “There are so many things you have to do to certification holds them accountable and raises welding and fabrication that comes out of our maintain quality control associated with a steel their quality standards to a different level. shop meets the rigorous quality standards pub- construction project, apart from the paint and Industrial Resources has been providing lished by the AISC that is accepted all over the weld,” said Phillip Burnside, quality control man- engineering, design, fabrication and construc- world,” said Charles Miller, president, Industrial ager for Industrial Resources. “This accreditation tion to the coal industry since 1946, but they includes the whole steel construction process had to find a way to adapt and adjust to the from beginning of the project to the end. changing market and economy. “We had to “The process starts when a project is award- become more competitive, not just in the coal ed, the design engineering and detail engineer- industry, but for the aggregate, river terminal, ing begins and selecting suppliers for the steel ocean port and bulk material handling busi- components to start the fabrication. When the nesses,” Miller said. material is shipped and unloaded, it has to be “We have the ability to conduct any type of visually inspected by our receiving clerk, and he non-destructive testing,” Burnside said. Different has to sign a material receiving report to verify types of non-destructive testing can be conduct- that the material was conformant to what was ed, which include mag particle, ultra-sonic and ordered and there were no damages or non-con- dye penetration testing. These tests are advanced formities to the steel. We also receive Mill Test technical procedures to check welds to make sure Reports for all steel and bolts that are ordered. they are watertight and have no deficiencies “Extensive electronic records are kept, whatsoever within the weld. Matrix's MineOwl Light & Camera System which is required by the AISC. The process “This has been a significant training pro- Expanding on Matrix Design Group's successful then continues when the steel is picked up cess for our welders,” Burnside said. “The IntelliZone proximity detection system, the outside and starts through the shop for the welding test our welders have taken with the MineOwl Enhanced Low-Light Camera System pro- fabrication process.” various Welding Procedure Specifications and vides a superior LED light & camera solution in a All equipment and machines associated qualifications not only include visual exami- single industry-standard XP enclosure. MineOwl with the fabrication process have to be calibrat- nations of the weld, but also are comprised of has the ability to sync up to three (3) of these high- ed and maintained so when the AISC performs a tensile test, which is a test that tries to pull intensity LED light (infrared LED option also) & their audits, they can verify everything outlined the weld apart. When pulled apart, the break camera kits to a single In-Cab Hi-Resolution color in the code of specifications is being done. has to be in the non-welded area of the steel. display, with auto-switching depending upon the Now that Industrial Resources is accredited, The steel can fail, but the weld has to hold. machine status (forward, reverse, loading). Matrix's the AISC will perform annual external audits. They also conduct a bend test to the welded MineOwl system is rugged, mine-duty and provides metal coupon. Once again, the non-welded a cost-effective alternative to proximity detection There are only three accredited companies in part of the metal can separate in the bend, on underground haulage. For more information and West Virginia. surface camera solutions also, visit Matrix at “The certification also includes the detailing,” but not the weld itself.” Quality Management ww.MatrixTeam.com. Miller said. “After the engineers design the struc- Co. conducted the AISC audit. ture, we have to make detail and erection draw- www.Indres.com

60 www.coalage.com September 2015 COAL PREPARATION CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

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September 2015 www.coalage.com 61 CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

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62 www.coalage.com September 2015 CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

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ADVERTISING INDEX PAGE Afton Chemical...... IFC Allu Group ...... 45 Astralloy ...... 43 Baldor Electric...... 7 Brady Mining...... BC Caterpillar...... 11 China Coal & Mining Expo ...... 38 Coal Age Social Media Connections...... 55 Coal Handling & Storage ...... 27-30 Coal Prep 2016 ...... 50 EDI Resources ...... 59 Flexco ...... 23 Hitachi ...... 13 Imerys ...... 36 Innovative Wireless Technologies...... 19 Jennmar ...... IBC L&H Industrial ...... 37 Longwall Mining Services ...... 21 Matrix Design Group ...... 60 Rosta...... 46 Sandvik ...... 3 Somerset Coal International ...... 15 Tenova TAKRAF...... 17 US Tsubaki...... 25 Walker Machinery ...... 47 Wirtgen ...... 9

This index is provided as an additional service. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.

September 2015 www.coalage.com 63 legally speaking Is Handling Paperwork the Weakest Link in a MSHA Defense Strategy?

BY AVI MEYERSTEIN

You knew you would contest that Mine Safety what deadlines apply. Scanning a copy of the inbound docu- and Health Administration (MSHA) citation ment(s) and storing them electronically in an organized way is even before you saw it in writing. You would critical. fight it all the way to the Supreme Court if you Set up reliable reminders. Whoever in your company must act had to. If the inspector was right, you might on MSHA penalties needs a reliable system of reminders to have to change your mining methods mine- ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. This may mean wide to avoid future citations. At that moment, adding a calendar item in Outlook, Google calendar or on paper. only one thought provided comfort: “At least Attorneys can help track deadlines with their docketing system. I’ll have my day in court.” Send contests to the correct address with a reliable and trace- But, three months later, you wonder why you haven’t seen any able delivery method. MSHA has different mailing addresses for more paperwork about the case. You check MSHA’s citation penalty payments and for contests. Payments go to one address, database online and see that MSHA thinks you paid the citation. and citation/penalty contest forms go to another. Case closed. You frantically dig through your files and call every- In addition, copy or scan the final version you send out for one involved. Could this be right? your records. Use a delivery service like FedEx, UPS, or even USPS Sadly, it is. You learn your accounts payable department Priority Mail so that you have proof that you sent your contest, received a stack of citations from you — some to pay and some to proof that it arrived, and ideally, the name and signature of the contest — along with your contest form and check request. They person who signed to accept it. didn’t realize they had to mail in the contest form, and just sent a Pay penalties online. The problem with paying penalties by check to MSHA’s payment address (the bank). When the bank mailing a check is that the check just has a dollar amount on it. received money without any paperwork, it simply applied its Even if you send in paperwork, too, the paperwork can be lost, standard rules — paying the oldest unpaid citations first. separated or misunderstood by the bank. Now, that outrageous citation is a final order. Forget the Instead, consider using the www.pay.gov website to pay your Supreme Court. Your case was lost before it even began. Your MSHA penalties. The site allows you to pay with a credit card. lawyer explains that you can file a motion to reopen, which will Most importantly, you have to check a box for each citation you take months and often does not succeed. How could you have wish to pay so that both you and MSHA know what you are sub- avoided this mess? mitting. Paying online with a credit card may also mean that your safety department can pay citations directly, without involving Establish a Bulletproof Internal Contest System the accounting department. That means one less handoff in the The key is to create and train on a logical, clear standard operating process where something can go wrong. procedure (SOP). Trace the paper flow from the moment the mail Track your contests and payments until resolved. You cannot rest carrier delivers an envelope from MSHA to the company’s property, until you know that your contest arrived and was correctly logged and consider an SOP that addresses each of the following points: on time. Set a reminder to check on the status of your citation con- Have MSHA mail sent directly to the decision-maker. Ideally, tests and payments. Look them up on MSHA’s Document Retrieval the citation contests pass through as few hands as possible, System online (www.msha.gov/drs/drshome.htm). If you submit a which means fewer opportunities for losing paperwork or mis- contest early enough, you may even be able to find and fix any prob- communicating. Appoint someone to decide whether to contest lems before the deadline. Checking the database also helps identify citations and penalties, and consider asking MSHA to send mail errors, such as when MSHA logs a contested citation as paid or vice directly to that person. Sometimes, this person may have to con- versa. sult with others to make a final decision, but consider this point Document and train. As with any SOP, the MSHA contest pro- person to be responsible for shepherding all contests or pay- cess must be clear, understandable and accessible. Review it as a ments through to submission. group initially and periodically so that all participants under- Build in redundancy with a backup person and succession stand their parts. plan. Far too many penalty contests fall through the cracks Consult with your counsel. Experienced MSHA lawyers know because the primary decision-maker was on vacation or recently where internal contest processes have failed in the past and can left the company. offer advice on an SOP. Copy MSHA citations and penalty assessments for your file and Unfortunately, one can’t always prevent MSHA from issuing track their progress. Hopefully, you already have a system — even problem citations. But, one can preserve and protect their con- if that means a spreadsheet — to track citations your mine test rights with a little advance planning. receives. It is helpful to track penalty assessments, contests and Avi Meyerstein is a shareholder in the Washington, D.C., region payments, too. Record when the assessment arrives, who receives office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice is focused on workplace it, where it goes next and when, what action will be taken, and safety and health matters.

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