Battling the storms: How mines are adapting to increasing weather extremes

The climate crisis is altering the coal mining industry in productive and innovative ways. Its challenges, like extreme environmental conditions, force stakeholders to be creative. How are experts reimagining conventional practices for an innovative, resilient future?

Enhanced water management systems

Miners are experiencing more intense rainfalls, which are flooding underground mines and compromising soil stability. Heavy precipitation threatens everything, including the delivery of necessary materials, like timber and steel, and company budgets by investing more in environmental liabilities. Alternatively, droughts are drying out local water bodies, minimising access to sources workers may need for operations.

Advanced water systems are saving companies from this stress. They incorporate sensors and analytics to forecast dangerous conditions and water availability, improving operations in the driest quarries in Ethiopia. Additionally, they promote better drainage and recycling infrastructure, capturing large volumes from mines and repurposing them for other tasks. It lowers reliance on ecosystems and encourages circularity.

Organisations must have backup solutions to keep critical utility infrastructure active. Batteries and portable systems are crucial for supplying on-site electricity and powering water management systems. If using temporary renewable generators, like solar panels, consider how extreme conditions can impact performance and jeopardise accessibility. Their productivity can decrease by 25% in intense heat, despite needing the sun to perform well.

Slope stabilisation and erosion control

Erosion and sediment control (ESC) techniques have been around for years, ranging from simple structures to geoengineering. They are crucial to prevent landslides and other hazards for aboveground and subsurface staff. More companies are doing more in-depth geotechnical assessments before breaking ground, designing safer, more supportive environments.

Mining sites can leverage silt fences and sediment basins to control runoff and prevent soil mixing. Sites can also use vegetation, like riparian buffers, to absorb and filter pollutants. Additionally, geotextiles are permeable surfaces that line the work zone's most vulnerable and flood-prone sections. Complement these fixtures with terracing and benching, and the area can direct soil and water where they are most beneficial and balanced.

Dust suppression technologies

Dust has always been a problem on mining sites, but high-speed winds and storms are making air pollution and quality more menacing. The pollution can spread into nearby communities, further eroding miners' environmental control efforts.

Misters and dust cannons are some of the most common dust-suppression tools, but experts have created more comprehensive solutions. Automated dust management systems incorporate software and real-time analytics to observe the metric. Miners in dry climates need enhanced oversight to identify dangerous conditions before they exacerbate.

Fogging systems are also improving. Novel cyclonic pneumatic mist curtain machinery has been proven to have a 93.4% dust reduction efficiency overall. Businesses are installing them at the most prominent source points, like haul roads, because a lot of movement begins there. These transfer zones can also install conveyors with enclosures to stop as much dust from escaping as possible.

Adaptation can lead to resilience

Industrywide shifts to accommodate the climate are a time-consuming yet worthy effort for miners. Implementing climate-aware technologies and practices will make the energy transition smoother while enhancing productivity and quality of life on jobsites. As the planet's behaviours continue to change, stakeholders must embrace these strategies to combat the most prominent pain points.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/09092025/battling-the-storms-how-mines-are-adapting-to-increasing-weather-extremes/