Services to West Virginia

The Department of Mining Engineering is very active in providing support to the West Virginia coal mining industry. Coal companies in twenty (20) West Virginia counties have benefitted from the consulting services provided by the Mining Engineering Department. In addition to the professional expertise and knowledge that the faculty provides through consultation, the department also offers a number of short courses, workshops, conferences, and symposiums in specific areas of interest in the mining field. The short courses offered include the following:

• Blast Casting - This course deals with the fundamentals of blast casting, including economics, and the potential applications to different surface mining conditions.
  
  
• Surface Mine Blasting - The purpose of this course is to provide a working knowledge of explosives and blasting agents and how to use the material safely and efficiently.
  
  
• Applied Coal Mine Ground Control - This course focuses on new techniques applied to coal mine ground control. Mining engineers in West Virginia who are responsible for carrying out ground control programs nefit from attending this course.
  
  
• Longwall Mining - The adoption of longwall mining has been growing steadily in West Virginia. This course introduces the elements of longwall mining and discusses every major topic from basic knowledge to recent developments.
  
  
• Surface Subsidence Engineering and CISPM Subsidence Model - This course is designed to introduce the state of the art knowledge about the elements of surface subsidence and its effects on the surface structures due to underground coal mining. The use of the CISPM Subsidence Prediction Program is also discussed .
  
  
• Coal Preparation - This course is to provide the fundamental and working knowledge of removal of pollutants such as ash, sulfur and others from run-off mine coal for marketable clean coal products and for various coal utilizations. Recently developed, fine coal separation, dewatering, and utilization techniques are also included.
  
  
• Professional Engineer Exam Review in Mining/Mineral Engineering
  
  This annual review course is designed to prepare West Virginia mining engineers for the national uniform mining/mineral engineering examination for professional engineering licensing. Faculty members in Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering provide the instruction.
  
  
• Workshops and Conferences
  
  The Mining Engineering Department sponsors the following workshop and conferences:
  
  
  
  • Surface Subsidence Due to Underground Mining - This workshop reviews the state of the art on surface subsidence engineering and discusses the latest research and operation findings. Current surface subsidence problems facing the West Virginia mining industry are also discussed.
    
    
    
  • Ground Control in Mining - The objective of this conference is to promote closer communication between researchers, consultants, manufacturers, and mine operators. The program is oriented toward problem solving in mining operations.
    
    
    
  • Use of Computers in the Coal Industry - This conference focuses on achieving a transfer of computing technology to the coal industry. Timely topics regarding computer enhancement of operations, planning, and administration are discussed and a diverse cross section of material is covered. The objective is to have the attendees leave the conference with ideas and concepts that are directly applicable to the individual mining operations.
  
  
  
• Faculty Research Efforts
  
  Faculty members in the Department of Mining Engineering have conducted considerable research efforts in the longwall mining and ground control areas. To provide better service to the West Virginia mining industry and to more effectively utilize the faculty expertise in these areas, the department has established the Longwall Mining and Ground Control Research Center. The objectives of the Center are two-fold. The Center develops reliable techniques for the analysis, design, and operation of new and existing longwall mines. Additionally, the Center develops new techniques for ground control for use in mines employing both room and pillar and longwall mining methods. The Chairman of the Mining Engineering Department is Director of the Longwall Mining and Ground Control Research Center. The Director is assisted by Mining Engineering faculty as well as faculty from other disciplines of WVU depending on the nature of the research topics.