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Stowing and Caving

The document discusses the bord and pillar mining method. It involves driving roads called bords separated by pillars of coal. The pillars are later extracted in the depillaring process. Factors like seam thickness, depth, strength, and gas content determine suitability for bord and pillar mining. Pillar size depends on depth, roof/floor strength, and coal strength. Depillaring can be done with stowing (packing voids) or caving (allowing roof to collapse), with considerations for each method. A case study of a mine in India using various extraction techniques over time is also discussed.

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Prabhu Prasad
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2K views14 pages

Stowing and Caving

The document discusses the bord and pillar mining method. It involves driving roads called bords separated by pillars of coal. The pillars are later extracted in the depillaring process. Factors like seam thickness, depth, strength, and gas content determine suitability for bord and pillar mining. Pillar size depends on depth, roof/floor strength, and coal strength. Depillaring can be done with stowing (packing voids) or caving (allowing roof to collapse), with considerations for each method. A case study of a mine in India using various extraction techniques over time is also discussed.

Uploaded by

Prabhu Prasad
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BORD AND

PILLAR
STOWING AND CAVING
Introduction
There are two basic methods of underground coal mining methods:-
1. Bord and Pillar method
2. Longwall method
Bord and Pillar method:-
• The development of mine by method of working known as bord and pillar consists of
driving a series of narrow roads, separated by blocks of solid coal, parallel to one
another, and connecting them by another set of narrow parallel roadways driven
nearly at right angles to the first set.
• The stage of formation of a network of roadways is known as development or first
working.
• The coal pillars formed are extracted after the development of the mine leasehold
and this later stage of extracting coal from pillars is called depillaring.
BORD AND PILLAR

• This is also called room and pillar mining


• It is commonly used for flat or gently dipping bedded ores or coal seams.
• Pillars are left in place in a regular pattern but the rooms are mined out.
• In many Bord and Pillars mines that are nearing closure, the pillars are
taken out, starting at the farthest [point from the mine haulage exit ,
retreating, and letting the roof come down upon the floor.
• Sometimes, in their eagerness to extract the maximum amount of coal,
the old miners left pillars that were too small to support the roof
indefinitely. In addition, they sometimes extracted the pillars on their
retreat from the exhausted coal faces.
The Bord and Pillar method is
adopted in following conditions:-
1. If seam is thicker than 1.5 m.
2. A seam is free from stone or dirt bands. If Stone or dirt bands are present in a seam
they can be easily disposed of for strip packing in longwall advancing method of
mining.
3.Seams must be at moderate depth.
4.Seams must not be which gassy.
5.Seams must be of strong roof and floor which can stand for long period after
development stage is over.
6.Coal must be of adequate crushing strength.
Classification of Bord and Pillar
mining system:-
a)The entire area is developed into pillars and then extraction of the pillars is done starting from
the boundary .
b)The area is developed into panels and extraction of pillars is done subsequently panel wise.
This is called panel system of mining.
c)The mine is opened out by a few headings only and thereafter development and depillaring go
on simultaneously.
 
Developement:-
• In case of Bord and Pillar, two sets of galleries are driven, perpendicular to each other forming pillars between them of size that currently
depends on depth and width of the gallery.
•The ultimate method of pillar extraction presently does not influence shape and size of pillar.
•However, the ultimate method of pillar extraction should also be taken into consideration while forming these pillars.
•In the present scene of underground mine development by Bord and Pillar system, mostly square pillars are being formed of size given only by
depth and width of galleries under the Coal Mine Regulations.
• A group of such pillars forms panel and one panel is separated from another panel by having solid coal barrier .
 
Design of bord and pillar working:-
The main elements of Bord and Pillar working:-
• Size of panel:- The main consideration in deciding the size of the panel is the incubation
period of the coal seam. The size is so fixed that the entire panel can be extracted within
their incubation period without the occurrence of spontaneous fire. The period in Indian
coalfields generally varies between 6 to 12 months.
• Size of barrier:- The width of the barrier depends on the load which it has to carry and its
strength. Greater the depth of working, wider is the barrier and also softer the coal, the
more,the width of the barrier. In practice, the width of the barrier enclosing pillars in a panel
is usually the same as is the width of the coal pillars which are enclosed within the panel.
• Size of the pillars:-
The size of pillars is influenced by the following factors:-

Depth from the surface and percentage extraction in the first workings or development.
Strength of the coal: Seams with weak coal require large pillars. Effect of atmosphere and
escape of gas also influence the size of pillars
The nature of the roof and floor. These influence the liability to crush and
creep. A strong roof tends to crush the pillar edges while a soft floor predisposes it to creep
and both calls for large pillars.
Depillaring:-

  After pillars have been formed on the Bord and Pillar system, consideration has to be given to the extraction of coal pillars; the operation is known as pillar
extraction. It is also referred to as depillaring.
There are two types of depillaring:-
1.Depillaring with stowing:- Depillaring with stowing is a method of pillar extraction in which the goaf is completely packed without incombustible material and
generally plasticized where it is necessary to keep the surface and strata above the seam intact after extraction of coal. It is the safe method after the depillaring as it
packs the goaf area so the chances of subsidence is decreased.
2.Depillaring with caving:- In this method , the coal of pillars is extracted and the roof is allowed to break and collapse into the voids or the decoaled area , known as
goaf. As the roof strata about the coal seam break, the ground surface develops cracks and subsides , the extent of damage depending upon depth , thickness of the
seam extracted , the nature of strata , thickness of the subsoil and effect of drag by faults.
 
Following circumstances should be adopted
while depillaring with stowing:-
1.Presence of water bearing strata above the coal seam being extracted. Enormous quantities of water beyond the economic pumping capacity may enter the mine
through cracks in the strata.
2.Railways, rivers, roads, etc. situated on the surface, which cannot be diverted.
3.Presence of fire in a seam above the seam to be extracted.
4.Existence of one or more seams of marketable quality extractable in the near future.
5.Restrictions imposed by local or Government authorities for the protection of the surface.
6.Extraction of the full thickness of a seam thicker than 6 m, as thicker seams cannot be extracted fully by caving method.
7.Extraction of seams very prone to spontaneous heating, of very gassy nature or liable to pumps.
8.Surface buildings which cannot be evacuated.
9.Tanks, reservoirs, etc. which cannot be emptied
.
Following circumstances should
be obtained while depillaring
with caving:-
•If there is a seam above, developed and filled with water, or “goafed” and water logged, it has to be dewatered.
•In case the top seam is developed, and abandoned temporarily, pumps can be installed in it for dewatering.
•The shaft may be equipped with a submersible borehole pump.
•In most of the cases of depillaring of top seam the shaft pillar might have been extracted and the access road to it on
the surface subsided.
•Under such circumstances pumps cannot be installed in the top seam and its dewatering is by boreholes drilled from
bottom seam workings.
GDK-11 INCLINE/RAMAGUNDAM-CASE
STUDY
• The GDK 11 Incline mine is located in the north central part of
Ramagundam area. Initially seam is extracted with conventional
method of Bord and Pillar mining. Later Long wall mining was
introduced in this seam.
• Presently, Continuous Miner is introduced for development and
depillaring of virgin area in the dip side of the block in the top portion
of the seam
REFERENCES
1. R.D. Singh, Bord and Pillar method of mining. Principles and Practices
of Modern Coal Mining.
2 .www.slideshare.net. Depillaring in coal mines
3. www.scribd.com .Bord and Pillar method of working
4. www.engineeringnotes.com. Depillaring : Arrangement, precautions
and pillar extraction method
5. National seminar on underground coal mining organised by Singreni
Collieries Company Limited.

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