Abstract

PEREIRA, S.P; COSTA, J.F.C.L; SALVADORETTI, P  and  KOPPE, J. Mining simulation for room and pillar coal operation. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. [online]. 2012, vol.112, n.6, pp. 473-476. ISSN 0038-223X.

The mechanized mining cycle using loaders and shuttle cars had its peak in terms of usage in the mining industry during 1950 through 1960. In Brazil, this system is still used at underground coal mines in southern Santa Catarina coal basin. With the aim of investigating the benefits of a new mining scheme using the room and pillar method for these local mines, a computational simulator model was developed in order to investigate the mining cycle. This paper presents the methodology used to develop the simulator and the results that the simulation shows regarding impact of the proposed new scheme on mining productivity.

Keywords : production simulation; underground coal mining.