First Bucyrus Diesel LHD Goes Underground in India


A diesel-powered Bucyrus model FLB-10 LHD has been undergoing tests at a coal mine in India. The unit is
the first modern diesel-powered LHD to be used at the face of any Indian coal mine, according to Bucyrus.
Bucyrus said the first of its FBL-10 LHDs for the Indian market has been delivered, and successfully trialed by Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd. (SCCL) at its GDK5 mine. This development, according to Bucyrus, is an important first for the Indian coal industry, SCCL and Bucyrus, and is also a historic event as it is the first modern diesel-powered LHD to be used anywhere in India at the coal face. Feedback, said Bucyrus, from the commissioning and trial of the 3.5-m3-capacity unit has been positive, with reports that production from the drill and blast section of the mine almost doubled during the period of the trial, with the FBL-10 being operated on only one of the three production shifts.

Supplied with various Rapid Attach System (RAS) attachments, the FBL-10 can perform numerous underground tasks to support both room-and-pillar and longwall mining activity, according to Bucyrus. Following the field tests, the FBL-10 will be employed at SCCL’s GDK11A mine, a room-and-pillar operation, to support a fiveyear continuous miner project accompanied with two FBR-15 diesel powered ramcars, 30M4-NP continuous miner, 7MFBH-48A feeder breaker, Bucyrus/ Fletcher roof bolter and an electrical package supplied by Bucyrus.

SCCL is a joint Indian government and Andhra Pradesh state owned coal mining company with proven geological reserves of 8,791 million mt. With 78,000 employees, SCCL operates 13 surface and 42 underground mines in India.

As featured in Womp 08 Vol 6 - www.womp-int.com