Trying to fix poor mine layouts at existing operations can be difficult and subject to compromises. Elimination of mine geometries that “lock in” unfavourable stress concentrations is an opportunity available at the mine planning stage.
SCT has a team with extensive operational mine planning experience. An integrated approach involving understanding of ground behaviour, ventilation, gas drainage, coal quality, mining systems, material handling, coal transport and shipping requirements provides our clients with the best available opportunities to obtain best value from their resources.
SCT pioneered the understanding of coal pillar behaviour in an Australian Mineral Industries Research Association (AMIRA) funded project “Coal Pillar Design Guidelines” completed in 1995.
Open cast mining is one of the most common mining methods to extract ore from the ground. Excavation of rock slopes is common practice in civil engineering in road cuts for rail and road projects as well as in foundation cuts for dams and building projects.
Coal and rock bursts can occur from a range of energy sources within the rock mass. These typically relate to seismic events, localised areas of elevated gas pressure and strain energy about an excavation.
