Modern Coal Related Technology
Underground Mining Equipment

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuous Miners

A machine with a large rotating steel drum equipped with tungsten carbide teeth that scrape coal from the seam. Operating in a “room and pillar” system – where the mine is divided into a series of 20-to-30 foot “rooms” or work areas cut into the coalbed – it can mine as much as five tons of coal a minute – more than a miner of the 1920s would produce in an entire day. Continuous miners account for about 45% of underground coal production, and also utilize conveyors to transport the removed coal from the seam. Remote controlled continuous miners are used to work in a variety of difficult seams and conditions and robotic versions controlled by computers are becoming increasingly common.

cm1.jpg (164124 bytes) James River Coal Service Co. - A continuous miner at Royal Diamond Mine.
cutter.jpg (182451 bytes)
cutter2.jpg (94082 bytes)
Joy Mining Machinery - 12CM27 Continuous Miner.
Joy Mining Machinery - L to R - 14CM10 and 14CM15.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 1996-2007 Kentucky Foundation
All rights reserved. 
E-mail webmaster@miningusa.com 
  Hosted and designed by
Mining Internet Services, Inc.