Engineering and Geocryological Conditions of the Elginsky Deposit

The paper analyses engineering and geocryological conditions of the Elginsky coal deposit in terms of their impact on the development technology. Based on the analysis of the temperature and humidity conditions of rocks at the Elginsky deposit, it was established that the blasted rocks may re-freeze during the drilling and blasting stage, which is also confirmed by practical experience. Groundwater is present throughout the field, and the water content of the lower levels in the central part of the deposit may impede mining operations and require advance measures to lower the water table. Isomorphic maps of permafrost and glacial sediments in the northwestern part of the Elginsky coal field were created using the Mineframe software. Distribution patterns of these zones were established within the rock mass along the strike and in depth, which will make it possible to make reasonable adjustments to the field development technology.

Analysis and Forecast of Mining Fatalities in Cherat Coal Field, Pakistan

Mineral exploitation contributes to the economic growth of developing countries. Managing mineral production brought a more disturbing environment linked to workers' causalities due to scarcities in the safety management system. One of the barriers to attaining an adequate safety management system is the unavailability of future information relating to accidents causing fatalities. Policymakers always try to manage the safety system after each accident. Therefore, a precise forecast of the number of workers fatalities can provide significant observation to strengthen the safety management system. This study involves forecasting the number of mining workers fatalities in Cherat coal mines by using Auto-Regressive Integrating Moving Average Method (ARIMA) model. Workers' fatalities information was collected over the period of 1994 to 2018 from Mine Workers Federation, Inspectorate of Mines and Minerals and company records to evaluate the long-term forecast. Various diagnostic tests were used to obtain an optimistic model. The results show that ARIMA (0, 1, 2) was the most appropriate model for workers fatalities. Based on this model, casualties from 2019 to 2025 have been forecasted. The results suggest that policymakers should take systematic consideration by evaluating possible risks associated with an increased number of fatalities and develop a safe and effective working platform.

Characterization of Cleaning Potential of Khokhar-Bala, Punjab (Pakistan) Coal and Simulation-Based Study for Identification of Best Strategy for its Cleaning

This study involves the characterization of Khokhar-Bala coal of Punjab (Pakistan) coal field to establish its particle distribution data for size, density and floatability through sizing, float-sink tests and release analysis. Khokhar Bala coal contains high amounts of unwanted impurities like ash (35.22%) and sulphur (8.38%). Over 93% of its mass consists of +1.00 mm particles, when run-of-mine coal is crushed to 38 mm. Washability curves, degrees of washing and the S-values show that the coarser fractions (-38+25 mm; -25+13.33 mm; -13.33+3.35 mm) are extremely difficult to clean, whereas the cleaning potential is high for size fractions -3.35+1.00 mm (moderately difficult) and -1.00+0.15 mm (relatively easy). Modelling and simulation of several processing configurations indicate that at 16% target ash content, dense medium cyclone treating 38 x 1 mm coal particles will provide the maximum clean yield of 37.39% with sulphur content of 4.80%.