Alliance Resource
Partners operates mining complexes
in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and
West Virginia in the US. The
company’s major customers are
electric utilities in the southeast of the
country, reliant on coal to fuel their
power plants. The company operates
two underground mining complexes
in south Indiana. Gibson County Coal
North mine in Princeton has been
operating since 2000, producing
between 3.5 and 4 million short tpa.
Alliance Resource Partners opened a
second mine in the area in
Owensville, approximately eight
miles from the North mine, in
April 2014.
Following a positive experience
working with Xylem to manage water
removal at the Gibson County North
mine, Gibson County turned to Xylem
for similar applications in its mine
water challenges at Gibson County
South mine. Working closely with the
Gibson County Coal team, Xylem
designed and installed custom pump
solutions throughout the construction
of the South mine.
The principal challenges at the
mine relate to restricted height and
accessibility and general space
limitations, as well as maintaining
clear water. Xylem’s Flygt
submersible pumps and Goulds
vertical turbines combined to deliver
a reliable and cost-effective solution
to water management at the mine site.
The Xylem team devised and
installed a reliable dewatering
solution at a rate of 1000 gal./min.
with a 560 ft vertical lift for
underground coal mining at the mine.
Xylem was faced with the
possibility of a high percentage of
solids in the water, resulting in
extreme wear conditions, as well as
abrasions that could potentially cause
premature system failures. It
introduced its Goulds brand short set
vertical turbines that fit well with the
sump design. The sumps are designed
and built by Gibson County Coal to
ensure that the cleanest possible
water is provided to the pumps to
increase their longevity. The Goulds
vertical turbines feature
state-of-the-art 316 stainless steel cast
impellers along with vesconite
bearings, enabling them to run
maintenance free in mining
environments for years.
The team was also faced with
extremely restricted working
conditions, including a low roof
height of less than 8 ft and limited
working space of 20 ft wide to fit two
large 12 in., 7 stage, 200 hp. vertical
turbines within.
Ken Albaugh, Regional Manager
with Xylem, said: “We have developed
a customised system incorporating
Goulds standard vertical turbines with
90° right angle drives and standard
C-face, high-efficiency motors. This
reduced both installed height and the
need to have an extra five to seven feet
excess vertical clearance that would be
necessary for standard vertical hollow
shaft motors.”
In the main underground sump,
two Xylem Goulds 12CHC, 7 stage,
Figure 1. Two Xylem Goulds 12CGC vertical line shaft turbine pumps with right angle
drives and 200 hp 460V 3 phase motors at Gibson County Coal North main sump.
Figure 2. Two Xylem Goulds turbines newly installed in 2014 at Gibson County Coal
South main sump.
46
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World Coal
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December 2015
