According to experts in this field, JSW’s decision to purchase the roadheader may mark the most significant technological breakthrough in the Polish mining industry for many years.
It will take Joy almost a year to build the roadheader. When ready, the new machine will be put into operation in the Budryk mine in the “Bw-1N Exploratory” tunnel of a 1,950-meter panel length. The roadheader will be equipped with a 5.6-meter wide cylindrical cutting head and 6 bolt inserters: 4 ceiling inserters and 2 side-wall inserters. According to the adopted technological assumptions, the roadheader’s progress will be approx. 400 running meters per month.
The JSW Management Board’s bold decision to purchase the whole roadheader system was made in connection with the Company’s strategy aimed at reducing mining costs and accelerating preparatory work in JSW’s mines. The purchase is a practical element of the implementation of the Company’s EFFICIENCY program.
The innovative system to be put into operation in the Budryk mine is also the effect of the “implementation of independent bolting supports at JSW” project launched last year at Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. The project team works simultaneously on optimizing the rock-face equipment (scrape conveyor, equipment train, ventilation devices) in order to ensure the highest possible progress and the highest possible safety level for the crew.
The modern system to be used in JSW’s mines has been developed by a consortium of cooperating entities: JSW Innowacje as the consortium leader, JSW, the Central Mining Institute and Joy Global (Poland).
“I am very happy that our plans and our strategic projects are entering the implementation stage. This modern system to be applied in JSW’s mines serves not only as evidence that Polish mines are capable of implementing innovative technological solutions but also as a brilliant example of very successful cooperation between a mining company, the scientific community and manufacturers of mining machinery. By cooperating hand in hand, we can achieve the objective that we set ourselves when we founded JSW Innowacje, namely that the Polish mining industry can be both innovative and safe. As you can see, we are unswerving in our pursuit of this objective”, said Daniel Ozon, CEO of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.