Ground Control Design for Highwall Mining

Author

R. Karl Zipf, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Highwall mining is an important surface coal mining method, and it may account for approximately 4% of total U.S. coal production. Highwall stability is the major ground control related safety concern. Ground control plans for highwall mining should specify hole width, web pillar width, barrier pillar width and number of holes between barriers. This paper offers simple design charts for these parameters aimed at providing "ball park" checks. Web pillars containing pre-existing auger holes are analyzed and a design chart for estimating their minimum width is also presented. Finally, close proximity multiple seam highwall mining, which may have caused several serious highwall failures, is analyzed. Web and barrier pillar recommendations for this special situation are presented. Copyright © 2005 by SME.

Recommended Citation

R. K. Zipf, "Ground Control Design for Highwall Mining," Proceedings of the 2005 SME Annual Meeting (2005, Salt Lake City, UT), Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME), Mar 2005.

Meeting Name

2005 SME Annual Meeting: Got Mining! (2005: Feb. 28-Mar. 2, Salt Lake City, UT)

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2005 Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

02 Mar 2005