Heading Underground with J. H. Fletcher’s Ben Hardman

If you work in coal, especially at one of the country’s many underground coal mines, the name Ben Hardman is likely a familiar one. In this issue’s executive Q&A, we talk to the VP about his industry history, the outlook for automation and his views on the coal industry. Edited by Donna Schmidt NAM: How did you get your start…

Read More

COAL-FIRED CONVERSATION: WEST VIRGINIA COAL ASSOCIATION’S CHRIS HAMILTON

North American Mining magazine, SEMCO Publishing and the West Virginia Coal Association (WVCA) are excited to announce a collaboration for the development of the inaugural West Virginia Coal Show, set for March 26-28, 2024, in tandem with the West Virginia Coal Association’s 50th annual Mining Symposium. The trade show and conference, hosted at the brand-new Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center…

Read More

NMA LAUNCHES PLANS FOR MINEXPO INTERNATIONAL 2024

GLOBAL EVENT WILL RETURN TO LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER The National Mining Association (NMA) is the only national trade organization that serves as the nonpartisan voice of the U.S. mining industry – and the hundreds of thousands of American workers it employs – before members of Congress of all parties, the federal agencies, the judiciary and the media, advocating for…

Read More

Is Remanufacturing Mining’s Best-Kept Secret?

Caterpillar, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Cat Reman Center in 2023, said that remanufacturing could be the ‘secret sauce’ that operations are seeking to keep total cost of ownership low and uptime high. As mines strive more and more for these goals, could this be a missing element of that journey?  By Donna Schmidt Remanufacturing is a…

Read More

Why Coal Will Remain Necessary

The following is an op-ed from Syd S. Peng, the Charles E. Lawall chair of mining engineering emeritus at West Virginia University.  Coal will remain critically important as we usher in our energy future and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. As the nation’s transition to renewable energy gains speed, with the rapid deployment of wind and solar power and grid-scale batteries,…

Read More

Surging Forward With A Solution

Selecting a diesel exhaust fluid storage solution that improves job site efficiency. By Jeff Lowe Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) is surging through the construction industry as more operations convert their fleets to equipment powered by Tier 4 Final engines. While DEF offers plenty of benefits such as safer emissions, optimized combustion and better fuel efficiency, several challenges come with storing…

Read More

CANADIAN SPOTLIGHT: MacLean Engineering

Many times, the activities of a key company can set a barometer for an entire region’s industry. MacLean’s Stuart Lister recently offered NAM a technology update, including its dynamic product development progress. The MacLean value proposition to the mining industry over the past 50 years has been its focus on mobile equipment innovations that deliver safety and productivity improvements in the underground…

Read More

SELECTING KNIFE GATE VALVES FOR SEVERE TAILINGS SERVICE

Water reduction efforts in mining operations create high pressure, highly abrasive slurries that require a new class of severe service knife gate valve designs. By Nick Farran One of the major financial drivers of any mining enterprise is the efficiency of tailings disposal. Tailings are the remaining unwanted components of the mine ore once extractable minerals have been recovered.  Composed…

Read More

UNRAVELING SAFETY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WIRELESS MESH AND LEGACY SYSTEMS

By Chad Barnett  Understanding that reliable communication and accurate tracking is vital to underground mine safety, the U.S. government mandated new, more reliable systems be implemented as part of the 2006 MINER Act. This mandate, which followed a series of mine fatalities, has made a significant impact on underground coal mining operations with improved safety and enhanced production.  However, it…

Read More

SAFETY WORLD VIEW: EMERGENCY REFUGE CHAMBERS

Refuge chambers may not have been part of the underground safety view as little as two decades ago, but today they are commonplace – even if the regulatory outlines for their use still vary by location. NAM talked with Strata Worldwide about the aspects of these units that are shared (and vastly different) between the U.S. and other mining regions…

Read More