2 | Thursday, December 17, 2020 CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO Four years of progress made deep underground
ZHAO RUIXUE Reporter’s log
n a visit to a coal mine four years ago, I inter viewed a group of college graduates who decided to Obecome miners. They were working underground in grim conditions. In contrast, the mine I visited recently showcased the advantages brought by a range of smart tech nologies. In the middle of last month, I joined miners as they descended to a coalface at the Baodian Coal Mine in Shandong province, which is operated by the Shandong Energy Group. The miners’ faces were scanned as they opened lockers containing their work clothes, shoes, helmets, helmet lamps and selfrescue devices. They told me that a system pro viding realtime location monitor ing is built into their helmet lamps. Meng Zhan, who works at the Gaozhuang Mine in Jining, Shandong province, demonstrates how facilities at the coalface are used. ZHAO RUIXUE / CHINA DAILY Workers can be located from the control room by smart monitoring software, which provides vital data for search and rescue teams in the event of an emergency. After changing into work clothes and collecting their equipment, the Collieries: Output miners scanned their faces again to pass through a security gate. From that moment on, the names, location and number of miners at the coalface are displayed on a screen in the control room. If capacity increases the smart system finds that any of them have been drinking alcohol, they are denied entry. From page 1 The tragedy led to the wide leagues had to carry heavy picks After negotiating the security spread adoption of automated and dig coal from tunnel walls. gate, we took an elevator and Meng works at the Gaozhuang machinery in mines throughout Now, they operate automated drill descended for about four minutes Mine in Jining, which is owned the province. ing machines. to a depth of 430 meters, where we by Zaozhuang Mine Group Co, Yu said, “There are unmanned Miners also used to carry large found ourselves in a brightly lit pas part of the Shandong Energy operations in many areas of a sacks of coal waste on their backs, sageway. Group. The company is the sec smart mine, so the number of but now machines place the waste Here, we encountered strong ondlargest coal production con people working underground is on conveyer belts, which carry it to gusts from the smart ventilation glomerate in China in terms of reduced.” the surface. system, which Niu Qingjun, the annual production. According to the Shandong “We just click a button to start all team leader working at the coal Meng said: “When our mine Administration of Energy, all pits the operations, including tunnel face, said was installed at the mine was equipped with the smart sys in the province at risk from rock ing, cutting coal and transporta in August. tem last year, I made a video call to burst have been turned into smart tion,” Meng said. Ventilation is crucial to working show my parents how the coal was mines, cutting the number of work He added that 30 workers used underground. To provide the min collected and transported to the ers needed at a drilling site to a to be required at the coalface for ers with a safe operating environ surface with automated machin maximum of 16. Previously, more one shift, but now only seven are ment, the smart system enables the ery. They were so impressed. than 30 were required. needed. realtime provision of fresh air and “They brought my grandpa to The automated systems send The machinery also means that disperses hazardous gases. It can watch the call. They could not warnings when there are 16 work employees such as Meng work just also supply air according to believe that the jobs previously ers at a site and more attempt to six hours a day. “I get to spend every requirements at the mine, resulting done underground by many work enter it. weekend playing with my two chil in significant savings in both ener ers can now be carried out by dren. It’s impossible not to remain Automated machinery in operation at the Baodian Coal Mine in gy and cost. machines.” Sunny disposition in a good mood,” he said. Jining, Shandong. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Niu said if hazardous gases The Gaozhuang Mine was In addition to reducing the num In 2017, the Fucun Mine in underground reach the maximum equipped with smart machinery ber of workers, the systems have Jining, Shandong, which is also level, the system sends warnings last year, and nationwide, the min shortened the time miners have to owned by the Zaozhuang Mine and cuts the electricity. ing industry is adopting technolo remain underground. Group, became the first in China to tored through a video surveillance network’s highspeed transmission Before the system was installed, gies, including remote control Meng, from the Gaozhuang cancel underground night shifts. system. Constant seepage from enables workers on the surface to workers used to check the air by systems, realtime monitoring and Mine, said that he is now always in No workers are sent into the rock formations results in water control mining equipment over using manual devices. data analysis, to protect workers a good mood, as he has time to shafts after midnight, the time pre accumulating, which could cause 500 meters underground with Walking along the passageway, and increase production capacity. enjoy the sunshine. viously when a new shift began. flooding. more precision than previously. we entered a room where the min During a visit to Shandong in “Years ago, I went to work under Tunneling, power supply, trans Yu, from the Shandong Adminis The network is resistant to explo ers wait for trucks to take them to September, State Councilor Wang ground early in the morning before portation, water drainage and ven tration of Energy, said, “It’s difficult sions and damp, Niu said, adding, the coalface. Yong said China aims to install sunrise, returning home after sun tilation at the mine are all remotely to monitor workers and machinery “It can also resist electromagnetic We used a car, and it took us automated machinery at more set. I seldom saw daylight,” he said. controlled from the surface. aroundtheclock, but the smart interference caused by equipment about 20 minutes to travel the 3.5 than 1,000 coalfaces by the end of “With a tough working schedule The colliery’s deputy manager, system can help with this and send used in the mine.” kilometers to the coalface, which is 2022. and little sunshine, I felt life was so Wang Shikui, said miners who are immediate warnings to us.” In Shanxi, the Yangquan Coal more than 500 meters under As of August, 61 of Shandong’s 102 boring and exhausting. I didn’t no longer required to work under At the Baodian Coal Mine in Industry Group installed a 5G net ground. coal mines had started constructing have time to take care of my family, ground are now employed at plants Jining, which is owned by the work at one of its mines in May. At the mine I visited in 2016, smart collieries, with such technolo and my wife regretted marrying a built to maintain the new facilities. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co, part of the Wang Guofa, an academician workers used seats on a conveyer gy installed at 85 coalfaces, with miner.” Shandong Energy Group, an under from the Chinese Academy of Engi system nicknamed the “monkey work in progress at a further 56. In 2017, the Gaozhuang Mine Immediate warnings ground 5G network is in operation. neering, said: “The 5G network is car”, before walking a long distance In May, Shanxi province, which is began to install automated facili At the Jiangzhuang Coal Mine Niu Qingjun, a shift leader work the new highway for smart mining. to the coalface. also a mining hub, released a blue ties. Before the machinery was in Zaozhuang, water levels in dif ing at the coalface where the sys It is ushering in a total revolution As our car came to a halt, I print aimed at realizing smart introduced, Meng and his col ferent areas of the pit are moni tem is installed, said the new for the ancient industry of mining.” noticed a control room, where operations at all its mines by 2030. screens on the wall monitor Yu Xiuzhong, deputy head of the machines digging, collecting and Shandong Administration of Ener transporting the coal. gy, said, “Miners’ safety is our top Cutting machines used at the concern in building smart mines.” coalface have memory and the abil Working underground comes with ity to restart their work at the point risks, including explosions, fires, where they stopped. flooding and dangerous concentra Niu said there used to be more tions of toxic gases. Smart mining than 20 workers at the coalface, but reduces the number of employees now only seven are required, required underground and frees thanks to the automation and them from dangerous work. smart operations. Yu said, “The major risks in In addition to the control room, I Shandong’s mines are fire, flooding saw an area where 5G technology and rock burst.” enables smart equipment to work A total of 41 mines in the in real time. province are at risk from rock burst Niu shared the 5G network on — violent expulsions of rock from his phone with me. Even though the walls of a mine opening. These we were underground, the images expulsions are caused by heavy I sent to a friend were transmitted pressure on brittle rocks in deep faster than using 4G above mines where work has left the ground. rocks without support on one side. I believe that 5G technology, In October 2018, an accident at a which offers faster data transmis mine in Heze, Shandong, killed 21 sion, will contribute to safe produc workers. The incident was later tion at mines, because in the event found to have been caused by rock of an accident, every second counts burst. A worker operates remotecontrolled facilities at the Baodian Coal Mine. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY for rescue workers.