Coal mining puts the "Q" in Queensland as well as in a long list of other words associated with it: it fuels our Quest for energy at home and abroad. It's the cornerstone of Queensland's economy, for the state is quite literally sitting on a "gold" mine of sorts, as it's one of the largest exporters of both types of coal (thermal, metallurgical) in the world.
This industry, from an end-to-use perspective, Quenches the thirst of power generation everywhere but, under the surface, is helping to fuel a local economy and create work.
The construction and maintenance needed within coal mines are potentially QUANTUM for the economy: every mine requires good, hard-working, and innovative people to keep the lid on things and the lights working. What's more, there's bound to be QUORUM (consensus on a large scale) within the state for operations like these as they continue.
If you were to be asked what your coal mining operation might look like or, Quintessentially, what do you think the future of your mine looks like - what might you say?
Given all of the hard facts (geologist pun!) about the "mine plan" - QUADRATICALLY, there appear to be only four possible responses: Quo vadis, proactively: get ahead of the curve. Quality, Powered by > Quadrivium: four roads, metaphorically, are created by/with a) auto-extraction, b) slurry pipelines, and c) waste management of gases, especially methane gas, produced during mining operations.
Understanding Coal Mining in Queensland
Coal mining has made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the Queensland economy since the 19th century. The coal reserves at Ipswich and in the Bowen Basin meant it was no great surprise when the first mines were developed in the 1860s, and from that point in history there has been strong domestic and very keen overseas investment in Queensland coal. Over the past 150-plus years, Queensland has grown to be one of the world’s leading coal export nations.
These days, the Australian domestic market and overseas markets in China, Japan, South Korea, India, and other parts of the world particularly the United States and countries of the European Union, are watching with interest to gauge the future of the Queensland coal industry. Current projections are all very good – thousands of people now currently work in regional Queensland mining and significant revenue is earned by the Australian and Queensland governments from coal exports – but nonetheless there are challenges.
Coal Mining Construction
Site selection, environmental studies, road and facility construction, drilling and blasting, and more are parts of the constructing phase. Building a mine correctly is heavily regulated and involves a great deal of environmental and land requirements.
Geological information is not perfect, and many mines are not in operation because of a weak geology market. Organized layoffs and dealing with safety are all part of the process. All the usual elements (PMI standard) of project management should help get each phase done on time.
Advanced drilling and blasting techniques and new machinery have done much to improve the prospects for traditional mine construction. Risk, teamwork style, problem-solving, decision-making, and negotiation courses are also well-received in a gold-standard PM program.
Coal Mining Maintenance
Maintenance needs to happen – for operations to run efficiently and safely, gear needs to be in top shape – but it also costs. Companies don’t want unplanned downtime that completely stalls operations, and they don’t want to deal with the cost or the potential for (further) worker injury if a machine breaks down.
Three key types of maintenance apply to industrial settings and applications. Some maintenance is all about prevention, with workers taking the time to do regular, routine checkups and additional servicing when the equipment needs it. Other types are about prediction; looking at figures from the latest buzzworthy devices, companies apply machine-learning techniques to maintain equipment. The second type uses more data analysis and "meta-machine learning."
With many exciting new technologies – e.g., IoT sensors and AI-driven and other cloud-analytical offerings – it’s now easier (and cheaper!) than ever for organizations of all shapes and sizes to pursue a preventive, predictive … whatever strategy they want!