Caterpillar will supply a complete longwall top coal caving (LTCC) armored face conveyor system to Majialiang coal mine, Datong Coal Mine Group. This system will be the fifth set of Cat^® LTCC face conveyors delivered to the mine. In the LTCC arrangement, the armored face conveyor (AFC) system has one conveyor in front of the roof supports to move coal cut from the face and one conveyor behind the roof supports to move caved coal.

The world-class LTCC coal mining operation has a seam height of 6.32 m on average, and the working face is approximately 250 m. Production capacity is as much as 40,000 t/d. The mine is near Datong City, Shanxi Province, China. This contract is the 22nd LTCC face conveyor contract signed by Caterpillar and Datong Coal Mine Group since 2004.

The Caterpillar underground product group in Luenen, Germany, specifically designed this newest system to meet the production and service life requirements of the Majialiang mine. The Luenen facility will supply the drive systems for the AFC and stageloader, the crusher, belt return unit and the control system. The Caterpillar Langfang facility in China will manufacture the conveyor pans and drive frame structures. This contract marks the first complete LTCC conveyor structure to be manufactured in the Langfang.facility.

Both the front face conveyor and the rear face conveyor will be about 250 m in length, and each will have a 2 x 1,050 kW drive system. The beam stage loader will be approximately 50 m in length with a 1 x 600 kW drive system. Surface commissioning of the entire system will be started at Majialiang mine in April this year. The longwall is expected to be fully operational underground in the second quarter, 2017.

Datong Coal Mine Group is the third-largest state-owned coal mining enterprise in China, after Shenhua Group and China Coal Group.