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Coal Production from opencast mines in India (FY 1998-99 to 2016-17) Source: Coal Directory of India, FY 1998-99 to 2016-17
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Coal is one of the most essential resources of a country. It is widely used for power generation and as a raw material in the industries. India ranks third in coal production. However, the country has to import coal in order to meet the rising demand for coal. In India, coal mining is conducted using two methods: underground and opencast methods. T...
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Citations
... These massive structures can cause loss of life, disrupt production, and negatively impact the surrounding environment [3]. The opencast mines account for over 90% of the overall coal output [4]. Overburden layers and other loose materials are removed during opencast coal mining to uncover coal seams. ...
... I n an effort to reduce financial losses and meet the country's substantial energy demands, Coal India Limited (CIL) transitioned from underground mining to open-cast mining, a simpler and more profitable extraction method where coal is mined from the surface [1]. This shift resulted in the stripping and blasting of vast areas of land into pits as deep as 400 feet. ...
... According to statistics [13], the average stripping ratio for all surface coal mines in India is above 2.0. As mines become deeper and geo-mining conditions get complex, stripping ratios are anticipated to rise even more [14]. Figure 1 shows the growing significance of the overburden removal trend (in a million m 3 ). ...
Increasing demand for power supply in the country has put pressure on producing more coal at a faster rate. A tandem dragline system has become popular in recent times and is used to remove overburden from opencast coal mines. The amount of overburden removal and coal production are directly proportional. Overburden removal typically makes up more than 60% of the total mining costs in surface coal mines. As the cost involved in the tandem dragline system is thousands of millions of rupees, proper planning and seating arrangement of draglines are the most important to optimize efficiency and manage project costs. Tandem dragline operations involve two draglines to work together in horizontal tandem or vertical tandem to maximize overburden removal and coal exposure while minimizing rehandling. To simplify complex tandem dragline operation planning and various calculations, an interactive, graphics-based program was developed in C + + using graphics API to help generate three-dimensional balancing diagrams for draglines operating in horizontal and vertical tandem. This program can be adopted for all decision-making parameters, such as deciding the bench height for stripping, the width of cut, the rate of coal exposure, percentage rehandle, and annual advancement of each dragline in tandem dragline operation. Bench height and cut width are the most important parameters in planning dragline operation. Hence, this research paper critically analyzes the effect of dragline bench height and cut width in different modes of tandem operations on the performance of draglines by evaluating the rehandling percentage of overburden, coal exposed by the dragline, and the annual advancement of draglines.
... These locations commonly suffer from a range of detrimental eAects, including subsidence, water pollution, and land instability Dobos et al. 2022;Wang et al. 2022a;Ji and Ma 2022;Sekkeravani et al. 2022;Radutu and Vlad-Sandru 2023). Opencast coal mining provides an opportunity to reclaim and remediate these areas, addressing issues left behind by previous underground mining activities (Scott et al. 2010;Mukherjee and Pahari 2019). By removing old infrastructure and Blling in voids left by underground mining, the land can be restored to a more stable and environmentally friendly state (Karan and Samadder 2016;Du and Burke 2023). ...
This study explores the comprehensive approach of utilizing physiographical and geophysical electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) investigation to evaluate and address the challenges associated with abandoned, unplanned water-Blled galleries in Chasnala Colliery, located in Jharkhand, India. The integrated methodologies facilitate a thorough examination of subsurface conditions, encompassing factors such as geological stability, hydrological Cuctuations, and environmental considerations. Utilizing physiographical analysis is of utmost importance in identifying locations with potential risks and developing appropriate site-speciBc reclamation procedures in the study area. The ERT analysis has successfully conBrmed the Bndings of the physiographical study, revealing the presence of Bve distinct underground galleries, namely, GL1, GL2, GL3, GL4, and GL5, that are likely submerged in water. These galleries establish connections between the underground spaces and the groundwater, as indicated by their low resistivity values of *50 Xm or less. The resistivity measurements exhibit variations that can be attributed to Cuctuations in the underground water content. The Wenner, Schlumberger, and dipole-dipole arrays have adeptly discerned the existence of water-Blled underground galleries with commendable accuracy. However, the joint array conBguration stands out as the pre-eminent choice among these standards due to its unparalleled technical robustness. The Bndings concurred with the notable correlation between water-Blled galleries' spatial arrangement and shallow groundwater level. The integration of physiographical and ERT data improves the precision of subsurface characterization, facilitating informed decision-making for eDcient water management and site rehabilitation in the context of opencast mining.
... Ansari and Singh [2] reported that the overburden (OB) production in the private sector has increased in the financial year (FY) 2013-2014 from 1138 million m 3 to 1599 million m 3 with an enhancement in stripping ratio to 3. 46-4.96 in comparison with public sector which is having stripping ratio of 2.15 in FY 2013-2014 to 2.56 in FY 2018-19. According to Mukherjee and Pahari [3], India has produced over 613.518 million tons of coal in the FY 2016-17 with a stripping ratio of 2.67 and overburden generation of 1617.378 million m 3 . According to Ansari and Singh [2], the production of CMOW has reached to 730 million m 3 , and 1750 million m 3 with the stripping ratio falling to 2.56 in FY 2018-2019. ...
... According to Ansari and Singh [2], the production of CMOW has reached to 730 million m 3 , and 1750 million m 3 with the stripping ratio falling to 2.56 in FY 2018-2019. The overall overburden production scenarios by Coal India Limited (CIL) and others sector in India and throughout the World are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Therefore, production of OB having contribution from public and private sector will eventually rise in India according to Ansari and Singh [2] and Mukherjee and Pahari [3]. Moreover, a sustainable approach has been taken by its utilization in brick manufacturing [4] and needs to be find out another suitable options for its bulk utilization. ...
... Deforestation and habitat loss are also closely tied to coal mine overburden waste. Land clearing for mining operations can lead to extensive deforestation, destroying Table 1 Overview of overall overburden waste production by Coal India Limited and others [3] Name of company Total annual production of coal million tons vital habitats for various species [16]. This habitat loss can further threaten to endangered species and lead to the brink of extinction [17]. ...
The paper reviews the different strengthening techniques to control the displacement of piles of coal overburden wastes. In the present era, the urge for power and minerals is increasing due to rapid growth in industrialization. Thus, extracting minerals buried in the earth require the removal of topsoil or cover if the method involves open-cast mining. This method is only being applicable to minerals that are at shallow depths. Therefore, this method has been active in the industry for the past six decades, which lead to dumping overburden in nearby areas or in-pit. Hence, due to the scarcity of land, the concerned organization is forced to optimize the prior dumping site by increasing height and slope angle. Therefore, strengthening is very important, so it can withstand the additional imposed load generated by coal mine overburden wastes (CMOW). On the other hand, failure of CMOW is a major problem in mining sites, leading to soil erosion, air pollution, and acid mine drainage in those areas. Previously, researchers have proposed various methods of strengthening the CMOW dump using techniques like growing plants on the surface and anchoring the ground due to roots, geosynthetics, lime, cement, and fly ash mixture, etc. Further, the microbial-induced calcite precipitation technique has been established as a natural and beneficial technique in slope stability but has yet to be researched for its applicability in strengthening CMOW dumps in mining areas. Hence, the key motive of this review paper is to bring out various aspects of CMOW, such as status, scenarios, associated challenges, engineering properties, techniques to strengthen, and future action plans to adopt a novel method to overcome issues.
... India produces more than 700 million tonnes (Mt) of coal annually, making it the second-largest coal market in the world (PIB 2020). Opencast coal-mining provides the majority of this production (Mukherjee and Prakash Pahari 2019). However, opencast coal-mining is considered one of the primary causes of ambient air pollution in coal-rich areas of the world. ...
This study assessed the air quality status in different functional zones of Dhanbad—a coal-mining and industrial hub, based on the measurement of aromatic and halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using gas chromatography. The study encompasses source apportionment of VOCs and their chemical reactivity in terms of OH radical loss rate (LOH), ozone-forming potential (OFP), and their secondary organic aerosol forming potential (SOAp). Furthermore, prioritization of VOCs based on a fuzzy-analytical hierarchical process (F-AHP) has also been done. The results found xylene species to have the highest concentration in all three seasons across traffic-intersection and industrial zones and toluene at the institutional zone. The study identified four sources using positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, viz., mixed traffic exhaust (35%), coal combustion sources (30%), industrial (26%), and solvent usage (9%). LOH and SOAp were ~ 16 times more at the industrial and traffic-intersection zone than the institutional zone. The aromatic species contributed 97% to the OFP, and many species exhibited less contribution to the mixing ratio of VOCs but displayed a high contribution to LOH, OFP, and SOAp, suggesting the need to prefer reactivity-based strategies in addition to concentration-based strategies in the future for their regulation. The F-AHP-based priority component analysis identified 16 species out of 29 in the priority watch list (nine in tier-1, four in tier-2, and three in tier-3). The paucity of data and lack of ambient air quality standards on VOCs (except benzene) make it difficult to determine which aspect should be dealt with first and which species require more attention. Therefore, the F-AHP method used in this study could help identify the influencing parameters to be considered while devising efficient VOC management policies.
... Coal, a vital non-metallic resource in India, plays a crucial role in generating over 75% of the country's power (Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India). Open cast (OC) mining is the preferred method for coal extraction due to its high productivity and lower production costs (Mukherjee and Pahari, 2019). This mining approach involves excavating and removing the overlying strata, resulting in the formation of large overburden dumps (OB dumps). ...
Failure of in-pit overburden dumps in open-pit coal mines triggers the flow of debris toward the active working face, posing threats to personnel and equipment safety. The heterogeneous nature of these dumps and the limited understanding of their engineering behavior contribute to frequent failures. To mitigate the risk of unwarranted failures and enhance safety measures, the establishment of a buffer zone surrounding the periphery of in-pit dumps is necessary, restricting or prohibiting worker and machinery movement. Determining the size of this buffer zone depends on the potential mobility of the failing mass, determined by its runout length and runout area. Although pre-failure deformational behaviors have received significant attention in scientific literature, the need for comprehensive post-failure runout studies has only recently been recognized, driven by the increase in waste dump failure accidents. To address this knowledge gap, a laboratory-scale debris flow flume was developed to investigate the influence of material gradation and slope angle on the runout characteristics of overburden (OB) material. Experimental investigation reveals a strong correlation between runout characteristics and the Fines/Coarse ratio in the debris mixture. Notably, a critical limit of Fines/Coarse exist before and after which the general trend in runout length contradicted each other.
... Coal production in India is dominated by opencast mining due to ease of extraction, less production cost and less wastage. During the financial year 2016-2017, the production from opencast mines was 93.26% of the total production (Mukherjee and Pahari 2019). ...
Coal is the major source of power in India and world over. Coal mining is an essential industry which has a major role in the economic development of the country. Most major mining activities contribute directly or indirectly to air pollution. Coal dust is a major air pollutant which affects the personal working in the mines and also people residing in villages near the mines. Air pollution due to coal particulates can affect human health and cause damages to the environment. Hence effective pollution control mechanisms are needed to keep the pollution levels within permissible levels. The easiest and most common method employed for dust suppression worldwide is sprinkling of water. In majority of mines, water sprinklers are operated manually and can lead to wastage of water due to over sprinkling. It can also prove to be ineffective in dust suppression if sprinkling is not done properly. The paper proposes a system which can be deployed to automate the dust suppressions sprinklers. The system will monitor the concentration of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in the air and initiate sprinkling operation when the particulate matter content exceeds preconfigured limits.
... Over the last decade, coal production in India has increased by a compound annual growth rate of 3.58 %, as per the (Energy Statistics, 2022) India report. In India, opencast mining is the predominant way of extracting coal (93.26 % of the total production in the financial year 2016-17) (Mukherjee & Pahari, 2019). Since opencast mining causes a lot of air pollution, particularly the PM, many studies in the Indian subcontinent have focused their attention on studying ambient air pollution and associated health risks in the subcontinent's coal mining areas (Table 1). ...
This study evaluates the non-cancer risks (NCR) and cancer risks (CR) in outdoor working personnel in Dhanbad city, exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) present in the ambient air. Dhanbad is known for its coal mines and is one of the most polluted cities in India and the world. Sampling was conducted in different functional zones; namely, traffic intersections, industrial, and institutional areas, to estimate the concentration of different PM-bound heavy metals and VOCs in the ambient air using Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and gas chromatography (GC) respectively. Our results show that the concentration levels (of VOCs and PM) and health risks were maximum at the traffic intersection area, followed by the industrial and institutional areas. The major contribution to CR came from chloroform, naphthalene, and PM-bound chromium, while the contribution to NCR mainly came from naphthalene, trichloroethylene, xylenes, and PM-bound chromium, nickel, and cadmium. It was observed that CR and NCR from VOCs are quite comparable (average CRvoc 8.92E-05 and NCRvoc 6.82) to that from the PM-bound heavy metals (average CRPM 9.93E-05 and NCRPM 3.52). According to the sensitivity analysis performed using Monte-Carlo Simulation, it was also found that the output risk is most significantly influenced by the pollutant concentration followed by exposure duration and exposure time. The study reveals that Dhanbad city is not only a critically polluted area but also a highly hazardous and cancer-prone area due to the pollution arising from incessant coal mining activities and heavy vehicular movement. Given the paucity of data on exposure to VOCs in ambient air and their risk assessment pertaining to coal mining cities of India, our study provides useful information and insight for the regulatory and enforcing authorities to devise appropriate strategies for air pollution and health risk management in such cities.
... Output per man-shift (OMS) is another measure of the efficiency and productivity of a mine or a particular mining method. It gives an idea about the efficiency and feasibility of a specific method of Mining (Mukherjee and Pahari, 2019). OMS is the simple ratio between input and output of mines. ...
