Lünen, Germany, July 3 – Since pioneering state-based automation on shearers in 2004 to achieve consistent production, Bucyrus now offers fully integrated automation that takes it to a new level by providing automation that achieves optimal operation under all mining conditions by taking coal clearance and roof support into account. Competitors only last year released what they also refer to as state-based automation to supplement their rudimentary 'memory cut' repetition automation and 'copy-cat automation' in which one ranging arm is controlled based on the motions of a manually controlled ranging arm.

Optimizing the shearer cut cycle alone – as competitors are starting to do – is only one of three key aspects: Such a system cannot take coal clearance and roof support into account.  The Programmable Mining Control family (PMC®) and its network allows the Bucyrus shearer automation to adjust the cut cycle based on other factors. For example, if the pump system for roof supports is improved and the snake pushes faster, customers automatically achieve a better shear cycle. This is not the case with state-based shearer automation alone.

State-based automation (SBA) was introduced in a mine in Australia’s Hunter Valley March 27, 2004. Success was immediate: In the first calendar month after introduction, productivity increased more than 20%. Pre-SBA production averaged 1,892 tonnes per hour and has remained at a consistently higher level since the introduction of SBA. The average production rate after SBA introduction was 2,315 tonnes per hour. And since installation of SBA, the Bucyrus EL3000 has been the highest-producing shearer in Australia. In 2008, four of the top five producers in Australia were using Bucyrus EL3000 shearers with state-based shearer automation.

State-based longwall automation was also introduced in another high-productive mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, Australia, which has consistently ranked amongst the top ten producers year after year. All current Bucyrus EL3000 and EL2000 models equipped with the COMPACT control system are SBA-capable. Since launching SBA five years ago, Bucyrus has continued to lead in this technology to achieve a significant improvement in mine productivity.