What started as a what-if conversation at CONSOL Energy about 2,000-ft longwall faces may someday become a reality
By Steve Fiscor
Last year at the Longwall USA 2017 Conference & Exposition, three managers from CONSOL Energy gave a presentation dubbed “Monster Wall.” Rather than a proper, academic presentation, this was more of a general discussion on the feasibility of moving from 1,500- to 2,000-ft-long longwall faces.
The three speakers know their business well and had put pen to paper after talking to CONSOL Energy engineers, industry experts and equipment vendors. Andy Yackuboskey, longwall shift foreman for the Enlow Fork mine, kicked off the presentation, covering a brief history and the more recent evolution of longwall mining and providing some round figures as to the potential benefits. Chris Popp, mine production shift manager at Enlow Fork, answered the question: Why? The Bailey mine’s longwall shift maintenance manager, Jamie Wilson, addressed the technical aspects as far as whether or not this could become a reality.
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