Caterpillar recently completed an agreement to supply a complete Cat^® longwall system to Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), a subsidiary of India’s largest coal producer, Coal India Limited. The system will be delivered to the Moonidih mine in early 2019. The longwall production goal of the Moonidih XV Seam project is about 2.5 Mt of coking coal per year.

Support services will be provided by Tractors India Private Limited (TIPL), the authorised Cat dealer in North and East India and Bhutan. Moonidih is a region in Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Caterpillar is a member of the INDU SCCL CGME Consortium, which was awarded the contract to execute the Moonidih XV Seam project of BCCL. Indu Projects Ltd is the leader of the Consortium, and Singareni Collieries Co Ltd (SCCL) and Caterpillar Global Mining Europe (CGME) are the other members.

The longwall system will consist of 149 Cat roof supports, a Cat AFCPF6 armored face conveyor, a Cat BSLPF4 beam stage loader with integrated crusher, and a Cat EL2000 longwall shearer. The longwall system also includes a technology package for advanced longwall automation.

The EL2000 shearer incorporates all the features of the Cat longwall shearer range in a compact and rugged machine designed to meet the demands of high production in seams ranging from 1.80 to 4.50 m. High installed power is a main feature of the EL2000, available with as much as 750 kW. The haulage system is tailored to the needs of high-productivity medium-seam applications with up to 125-kW (168-hp) AC drives.