Recently, the I010902 long-wall face at China Shenhua’s Luotuoshan Coal Mine of Wuhai Energy, completed a joint trial operation. This marks a new breakthrough in the combined mining technology for the ultra-close seams 9-2 and 10, injecting strong impetus into safe and efficient mine production while providing a replicable technical solution for mining similar coal seams.
This working face is a key intelligent long-wall caving face with a large mining height at the Luotuoshan Coal Mine. It has a length of 342 meters, a retreat length of 1,066 meters, a designed mining height of 9.5 meters, and estimated recoverable reserves of 4.27 million tonnes, with an expected mining cycle of approximately 3 years.
To address the challenges posed by the extremely small space between seams 9-2 and 10, the high cost of separate mining, and low resource recovery rates, the mine made a pioneering innovation by applying ultra-close coal seam combined mining technology for the first time. By optimizing the layout of the mining and excavation system, the two independent mining systems were integrated into one, significantly reducing the engineering workload of roadway development and effectively lowering systemic safety risks including roof management, fire prevention and control, and gas management. The successful application of this combined mining technology not only significantly improves coal resource recovery and extends the mine’s service life but also effectively reduces roadway excavation and coal pillar retention, lowers production costs per tonne, and enhances production efficiency and safety levels.
