Introduction to Mining Engineering: Significance to mining industry in national economy and infrastructure building, basic mining terminologies, stages in mine life cycle, geo-technical investigations, classification of mining methods and their selection criteria.
Opening up of Deposits: Types, size and location of entries into underground coal and other minerals.
Shaft Sinking Operation: Preliminary geo-technical investigations for a shaft sinking, surface arrangements for sinking shafts and equipment. Unit-operations of drilling, blasting, mucking; temporary and permanent lining. Construction of insets and shaft stations.
Special and Mechanized Methods of Shaft Sinking: Methods of sinking shaft in water-logged, pressurized strata in loose and running soils. Mechanized shaft sinking, shaft borers and drop raise method. Need for widening and deepening of operating shafts. Different methods for widening and deepening shafts- cycles of operation, equipment and manpower needed. Numerical related to shaft sinking.
Development of Workings: Drivage of cross cuts, drifts, inclines and raises by conventional and mechanized methods. Calculation of OMS. Arrangements for ventilations, supports, lightings, transportations and drainages. Drilling patterns for underground coal mines and hard rock mines
Mine Supports: Types of support: timber, prop, chock/cog, cross bar, concrete, steel and hydraulic supports. Yielding and rigid supports. Fore poling, roof stitching, roof bolting, applicability, advantages and limitations of various supports. Systematic support rules.
Conventional Method: drilling and blasting method, types of drill patterns, blasting and transportation of muck.
Mechanized Method: construction and working principle of tunnel boring machine, applicability, advantages and limitations of tunnel boring machine.
Shield Tunneling Method: construction and working principle, applicability, advantages and limitations.