Yancoal’s Premier coal mine in Western Australia played host to nine international visitors from the Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
The group is taking part in an broader exploration tour of mining operations around the state, including visits to the Pilbara region and Collie mine site.
The attendees were given a safety briefing and taken on a tour of the open cut pit, Coal Handling Plant and workshop. They also discussed the Australian resources sector with the Premier coal team.
“We got a great insight into coal mining in Western Australia,” attendee Julian Lassen said.
“The comparison with German lignite mining was particularly impressive. In Germany, the soft lignite is mined continuously using bucket wheel excavators.
“At Premier coal, the harder coal is extracted discontinuously using ripping and blasting technologies and is loaded with fascinating rope shovels. The intensive commitment of Premier coal to reforestation and the restoration of habitats for plants and animals was also very impressive.”
Premier coal operations manager Braedon Gaske said the company was happy to show off the mine.
“We are always happy to help educate mining students on the practical operational activities at a coal mine,” he said.
“They had lots of questions and were interested in seeing and experiencing the different areas of the operation.
“As well as discussing the operational activity, we were also able to share and showcase our environmental and rehabilitation projects.
“It was great to meet the educators and future mining engineers who are very interested in working in this field. We hope we helped bring learning to life for the students,”
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