Bezpieczeństwo Pracy i Ochrona Środowiska w Górnictwie Number 05/2020

This article presents actions of the Group analysing gas-geodynamic phenomena in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., established in April 2018 by the president of WUG. The mining research and experience to date indicate that geological processes responsible for the formation of gas traps are very complex, so at the present stage, it is not possible to determine which one is a decisive factor. For this reason, no clear criteria for locating them has been developed so far. In the course of work, the Group presented five main conclusions concerning changes in the methodology of drilling works and/or analytical methods, improvement of technologies used in directional drilling as well as research in order to determine petrographic and petrologic properties of rocks and verify the results of geophysical studies by correlating them with observations in-situ and tests of each type of the samples taken. It was also proposed to drill a horizontal exploratory hole or two horizontal branched holes in order to identify deposits and conduct frontal exploration in the areas with potential gas problems. Moreover, the Group requested to perform spatial numerical modelling of gas-geodynamic hazards and develop a classification of gas-geodynamic risk based on a number of influencing factors, new systems of measurement, research methods and hole tests. The state of implementing the Group's requests is consistent with the guidelines; no major difficulties in the implementation are observed, despite many dependencies between individual tasks for which it is necessary to perform a number of analyses and research trials at different levels of difficulty and use results obtained in the course of performance of other tasks.

In 2018, in all sectors of mining, the amount of PLN 372,527.6 was spent in total for the repair of damage caused by the operation of mining plants and preventive measures taken against the results of exploitation of minerals. 6,485 facilities were subject to repair. Preventive measures were applied in 1,009 facilities (PLN 54,903.4 spent). Among all branches of the mining industry, hard coal mining industry spends by far the largest amount of funds for repairing damage every year. In 2018, the amount of PLN 322,918.4 was spent on this purpose. Brown coal mines and non-ferrous metal ore mines incurred more significant expenditure (PLN 26,086.1 thousand and PLN 22,540.7 thousand, respectively). In all Polish mining, nearly half of the costs involved repairing damage by natural restitution. Such expenditure amounted to PLN 168,511.5 thousand. Most of those funds were allocated for the repairs of residential buildings (PLN 52,402.7 thousand), then by the repairs of roads, streets and bridges (PLN 26,446.7 thousand in total) and repairs of railway structures and equipment (PLN 18,839.9 thousand).  Financial liabilities of the mines in terms of various compensations amounted to PLN 126,300.4 thousand in 2018. In this category of cost, the largest amounts were allocated for one-off compensations for building structures (PLN 59,584.0 thousand).   As in the previous years, settlements were the vast majority of the formal basis for repairing damage. In 2018, 11,999 settlement agreements were concluded, while common courts delivered final and binding judgements in 226 cases.

This article describes the role and possibilities of technical diagnostics using the diagnostic Monitoring of Commutator and Slip Ring System (MKPS), developed by OPA Zabrze and the Silesian University of Technology. MKPS is designed for measuring deviations in cylindrical surface shapes using a non-reference method. Non-contact measurement of the studied object is performed by laser detectors supported by computer technology. MKPS system is used for acquiring, gathering, processing and visualising information about the rotating surface. Based on the information gathered, the rate of wear of sliding surfaces, a degree of insulation "milling" can be determined and a profile of misplacement of electric machine commutator sectors can be established. Simple operation of the MKPS and recording results during normal machine operation make it possible to decrease the costs of operation and shorten inspection time. The described results of the research conducted in 2019 confirm the efficiency of measuring the sliding surface of commutators with the use of the MKPS system and – generally speaking – the important role of diagnostics in shaping and maintaining the technical availability of machines.