Kolubara lignite coal mine company which produces more than 60% of coal, supplied to thermal power plants Nikola Tesla TENT producing more than 50% of Serbian electricity, is the most important factor in energy balance chain. After the may 2014 floods the biggest open pit Tamnava was severely damaged, equipment and coal fields were damaged. Kolubara mines company at the end of 2014 entered the biggest modernization and reconstruction cycle in its recent history.
In the open pit mine “Tamnava-West Field”, which was completely flooded, intensive and very extensive overhaul works on excavators, spreaders, conveyor belts and other production equipment that was underwater are in progress. The main objective is to return Tamnava coal mine to production level before floods as soon as possible, that is, to prepare machines for operation and to start the production process at full capacity as soon as possible.
Late last year, owing to the exceptional commitment and hard work of employees, one system for the production of coal where the bucket wheel excavator “Glodar 5” operates was put into operation.
In comprehensive production equipment rehabilitation and revitalization works in the mine “Tamnava-West field” all employees of this coal mine and employees of the branch “Metal” have been engaged. Co-workers from the mine “Veliki Crljeni”, Field “B” and Field “D” have been engaged to help out.
Up to now, this has been an unprecedented scope of work of mechanization overhaul in “Kolubara”. Given that the production machines were underwater and that the electrical equipment was damaged, after the review and the analysis of experts from “Kolubara”, EPS and other relevant institutions, a decision was made to replace the complete electrical equipment, which was estimated as the most effective and the most rational solution.
Currently in the open pit mine “Tamnava-West” all machines which are on dry surface are being overhauled. “Bucket excavator” and “Bandwagen 4” are still partly underwater, and it is expected that they will be entirely on dry surface in about 10 days, after which the overhaul works on these two objects will begin.
When it comes to equipment rehabilitation in Tamnava coal mine, washing, cleaning, ACP protection and defectation of steel structures are performed, as well as the replacement of the old electrical equipment with the new one which is mounted directly on the site.
Works have progressed the most on the bucket wheel excavator “Glodar 3” which has been the first out of the water. The plan is that by the end of April “Glodar 3” starts operating on the Second ECS system. Works on two excavators which have performed coal excavation tasks – „Glodar 1” and „Glodar 4” are being performed in parallel, with the priority given to works on “1”, so as to include this excavator in the production again as soon as possible, that is, with the aim of starting another system for the production of coal from this mine as quickly as possible.
