Highwall mining is a hybrid of surface and underground mining technologies that is used to recover coal that is otherwise uneconomical due to:
- Increasing open – cut strip ratios
- Reaching pit limits with available coal in the barrier pillars
- Protected surface features (e.g. rivers, streams, archaeology)
- Inadequate panel length for a punch long wall
- Mining end walls in allocated reserves in conjunction with conventional surface methods
- Orphan deposits where available resources does not justify capex due to quantum or structure
- Deposits in agricultural areas.
ADDCAR Highwall mining systems:
Deeper l Steeper l Cheaper