Overall requirements for an advanced underground coal extraction system

This report presents overall requirements on underground mining systems suitable for coal seams exploitable in the year 2000, with particular relevance to the resources of Central Appalachia. These requirements may be summarized as follows: (1) Production Cost: demonstrate a return on incremental investment of 1.5 to 2.5 times the value required by a low-risk capital project. (2) Miner Safety: achieve at least a 50% reduction in deaths and disabling injuries per million man-hours. (3) Miner Health: meet the intent of all applicable regulations, with particular attention to coal dust, carcinogens, and mutagens; and with continued emphasis on acceptable levels of noise and vibration, lighting, humidity and temperature, and adequate work space. (4) Environmental Impact: maintain the value of mined and adjacent lands at the pre-mining value following reclamation; mitigation of off-site impacts should not cost more than the procedures used in contemporary mining. (5) Coal Conservation: the recovery of coal from the seam being mined should be at least as good as the best available contemporary technology operating in comparable conditions. No significant trade-offs between production cost and other performance indices were found.