Can old bord-and-pillar workings be mapped from surface?
Desktop review updating two earlier assessments, weighing borehole scanning, robots and unmanned aerial platforms as routes to locating old workings ahead of opencast drilling and blasting.
No surface geophysical method can map individual bords and pillars at the depths typical of the Witbank coalfield, a limit the review attributed to physics rather than to technology, since the targets are small relative to their depth and conductive layers often lie above the seam. Borehole laser scanning remains the workable option, with sonar suited to flooded workings.
R1500,00
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Masters research combining a review of rehabilitation guidance with South African industry interviews, for mine planners and regulators deciding what post mining land should become after closure.
What this report foundA framework for planning land use on rehabilitated coal mining land, built from a review of international and national regulatory and corporate guidance and...
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A framework for planning land use on rehabilitated coal mining land, built from a review of international and national regulatory and corporate guidance and from interviews with industry practitioners. The review found that existing guidance requires land to be returned as close as possible to its pre mining condition, while community needs are pushing rehabilitation towards alternative land uses that can sustain livelihoods.
The impact of cattle grazing on rehabilitated land
Two annual surveys of species composition, biomass and soil sampling inside and outside fenced plots on rehabilitated pasture at an opencast colliery near Ogies, with benchmark sites for comparison.
What this report foundGrazing pressure on the rehabilitated block ran at roughly three times the estimated carrying capacity.
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Grazing pressure on the rehabilitated block ran at roughly three times the estimated carrying capacity. The sward was dominated by low quality grasses with a high proportion of bare ground and a raised erosion risk. Fenced exclosures over one year changed the abundance of a few species, but the vegetation showed no clear direction of recovery.
More Effective Use of Disposable Dust masks
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What this report foundDust masks worn by load haul dump operators passed 200 mg of filter loading in an average of 1.7 hours, and continuous miner, shuttle car and roofbolt...
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Dust masks worn by load haul dump operators passed 200 mg of filter loading in an average of 1.7 hours, and continuous miner, shuttle car and roofbolt operators reached the same point within two to five hours. Every mask failed laboratory fit testing. An eight hour service life is too long.
National and Sector-Specific Social and Economic Implications of Selecting Capital or Labour Intensive Methods of Coal Production
2002
Scenario modelling of the sector wide and national employment and economic effects of production method choice in underground coal mining, for planners and policy makers.
What this report foundCompares labour intensive mechanised drill and blast underground mining with capital intensive bord and pillar using continuous miners, and adds the option of...
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Compares labour intensive mechanised drill and blast underground mining with capital intensive bord and pillar using continuous miners, and adds the option of substituting locally made goods for imported supplies. Input data came from two mines running both types of section under comparable geological conditions, covering worker numbers, skill profiles, cost structures and import dependence, then calibrated to industry totals to drive a socio-economic model.