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Paringa Resources provides operations update for Poplar Grove mine

Published by , Assistant Editor
World Coal,


Paringa Resources Limited (Paringa) is pleased to provide an update on activities at the Poplar Grove mine in western Kentucky.

Underground mining operations

An extended cut plan for Unit 1 at Poplar Grove has been approved, enabling the CMs to increase the depth of each cut into the coal seam from 20 ft to 40 ft. The first shift of mining with the extended cuts highlighted an immediate increase in mining productivity, with Unit 1 running at 517 ft for the shift. A new single shift mining record, which previously stood at 408 ft, was set shortly following the extended cut approval, with Unit 1 running 644 ft in a shift.

The Unit 1 mining operation was subject to various regulatory tests in order to receive the extended cut plan approval, including assessment of the safety of the company’s roof bolting practices and respirable dust generation during mining.

The extended cut plan allows the CMs and roof bolters to spend significantly more time mining and bolting in the coal seam, and less time moving between mining faces. This is a key milestone in progressing towards planned steady state productivity rates of approximately 560 ft/shift for each mining Unit.

Testing activities for the Unit 2 extended cut plan have commenced, and the recent Unit 1 approval bodes well for a timely Unit 2 approval.

Mining in Unit 2 has encountered a pre-determined geological fault in the #1 North Submain of the mine, marginally earlier than core drilling and mapping predicted. Unit 2 will complete mining in the #1 North Sub-main over the coming weeks and will be relocated to the #1 South Main over an estimated five day period.

The occurrence and location of geological faults in the region are well mapped and understood, and are factored into the Poplar Grove life of mine plan.

The company remains on target to achieve steady state productivity rates of 560 ft/shift for each of the Unit 1 & Unit 2 operations before year end 2019, equating to the production of 1.8 million tpy saleable product on an annualised run-rate basis.

Opencast operations & coal sales

Operations at the coal handling and processing plant (CHPP) continue to ramp up well, and plant yields are expected to continue to increase as underground out of seam dilution declines with the continued ramp up. The temporary raw coal stacker put in place after the severe storm during the week of 24 June is scheduled to be replaced with a permanent stacker in the coming weeks. A replacement stacker has been fabricated and is on site ready for installation.

Approval for extended truck weights for the transport of coal between the Poplar Grove Plant and the Ainsworth Dock was recently approved, allowing truck payloads to double. This change will result in reduced truck traffic on state-maintained highways and a lower transportation cost for the company.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/21082019/paringa-resources-provides-operations-update-for-poplar-grove-mine/

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