Plow vs. Shearer
Benefits of Plow Extraction to Shearer Extraction
• In extraction of seams from 0.6m to 1.4m, i.e. where no suitable shearer can be used.
• When anchoring is applied, it can be suitably used in a seam of inclination up to 40° - a shearer should be equipped by two mutually independent brakes, which is expensive.
• Price of a plow system is lower than the price of a shearer.
• Decreased portion of fines and dust when coal is cut (a plow drags the coal in pieces, a shearer cuts and crushes it by a rotary blade movement).
• It enables immediate roof security by using a slide canopy on the powered roof support following the plow extraction to the web thickness.
• Advanced culture of the mining work and enhanced safety - in a shearer face, the shearer should pull the cable to supply the shearer at the whole length of the face.
• When a fully automated plow system is applied, no attendance of the staff directly in the face is required - its attendance is sufficient at roads.