Black Gold 1983

At this point, Han Changhe's smile vanished instantly.

He turned around, pointed at the coal mining machine in the distance, and said with an indescribable sense of frustration, "Isn't it right here? It hasn't even gone down the mine yet, and it already has a bunch of bad habits!"

Renye followed his finger and looked over. Under the shed, a brand-new double-drum coal mining machine was squatting there. The machine body was dark green, and the paint was still reflecting light. The cutting teeth on the drums were shiny and looked intimidating.

MLS3-170 twin-drum coal mining machine.

The product was independently developed by Jixi Coal Machinery Plant, finalized in 1975, and began to be promoted in major mining bureaus across the country in the late 1970s.

The supporting equipment also includes hydraulic supports, scraper conveyors, emulsion pump stations, and spray pump stations. This whole set would easily cost over a million yuan.

What does several million mean in this era? It's equivalent to several years' worth of profits for Hongxing Mine. A medium-sized state-owned coal mine could only afford two or three sets, so for Hongxing Mine to be able to acquire even one set was already considered a special favor from the mining bureau.

Of course, this is in the context of today.

Renye knew very well that the MLS3-170, a machine with technology from the 1970s, was simply no match for the fully mechanized mining equipment introduced from Germany and the United States in the 1990s in terms of efficiency and automation, nor could it compare to the later improved MG series of new coal mining machines in China.

In another ten or twenty years, this thing will be nothing but a pile of scrap metal. The parts will be worn out, and its residual value will be only tens of thousands of yuan. Most mines will just treat it as scrap metal.

But now, in the Red Star Mine in 1983, this thing was the pinnacle of technology.

Renye grinned and approached, pulling out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes he'd swiped from Ren Shouyi. He took one out and handed it to Han Changhe, then lit it for him with a lighter. His movements were fluid and his attentiveness was almost unbelievable.

"Uncle Changhe, I heard that this guy is worth dozens of ordinary miners, is that true?"

Han Changhe, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, took a deep drag: "That's for sure. Mechanized mining is the general trend. The country is developing rapidly, and the demand for coal is huge. The bureau is putting pressure on us to meet targets, and if production doesn't go up, we'll be held accountable. State-owned mines are all setting up their own fully mechanized mining teams. It's not just our Hongxing; Wangjialing and Fenghuangshan next door started fully mechanized mining a few years ago. We're considered slow to react."

Renye nodded slightly.

Currently, the mainstream coal mining methods in China can be roughly divided into three types: blasting mining, conventional mining, and fully mechanized mining.

These three methods represent three stages in the development of my country's coal industry from backwardness to advancement.

Blast mining, as the name suggests, is the process of mining coal by drilling holes and blasting.

Workers drill a row of holes in the coal seam with an electric drill, insert explosives, and detonate them. The coal wall is shattered, and then the coal is loaded onto a transport vehicle by hand or by a rock-loading machine and transported out.

This is the most primitive and traditional coal mining method, used from the 1950s to the 1980s. It relied on a large workforce. A single blasting face required at least 30 or 40 people. When blasting was being done, people had to evacuate and then go back in to shovel coal after the blasting was over. This intermittent process was inefficient and posed a high safety risk.

The biggest fear when blasting underground is methane gas; a single spark can blow the entire working face into the air.

Pucai (普采) is a step further than paocai (炮采).

The coal mining machine is used for coal cutting, but the transportation and support are still the same old methods: scraper conveyors transport coal, and metal friction props plus hinged roof beams support the roof.

The coal mining machine rides on the conveyor and runs back and forth along the working face. The drum cuts the coal off and it falls onto the conveyor to be transported out.

Although people no longer need to crawl up to the coal face to scoop coal, the support still has to be carried and erected manually, pillar by pillar and frame by frame.

A typical mining face requires at least twenty people. Workers carry hundreds of kilograms of support pillars as they walk back and forth underground, and after one trip, their backs are so sore they can't straighten up.

Integrated mining, on the other hand, represents a revolutionary leap forward.

The term "fully mechanized mining" refers to coal mining that is fully mechanized.

The entire process—from coal cutting by the coal mining machine, coal transportation by the scraper conveyor, to roof support by the hydraulic supports—is fully mechanized and operates in tandem.

The coal mining machine cuts coal in front, while the hydraulic support behind it moves forward automatically, and the cut coal is transported out continuously by the conveyor.

A fully mechanized mining face can be operated by seven or eight people, but the output is several times higher than that of blasting mining, and the safety factor is also much higher.

my country started developing integrated mining relatively early.

As early as 1970, the Ministry of Coal Industry imported the first set of fully mechanized mining equipment from abroad and put it on trial at the Datong Mining Bureau.

Back then, the hydraulic supports were imported from Poland, and the coal mining machines were imported from Britain. The entire set of equipment took more than half a year to transport, just for installation and commissioning.

In 1974, the Ministry of Coal Industry established a three-step policy of "introduction, research and development, and promotion".

On the one hand, we continue to import advanced equipment from abroad, and on the other hand, we organize domestic coal machinery plants to digest, absorb, and independently develop and manufacture such equipment.

Jixi Coal Machinery Factory took on the task of developing domestically produced coal mining machines at that time.

In 1975, the MLS3-170 was finalized, filling the gap in the domestic market for high-power coal mining machines.

Although there is still a technological gap compared to foreign countries, at least it was made by Chinese people themselves, so we no longer have to depend on foreigners.

By the late 1970s, fully mechanized mining began to be piloted and promoted in major mining bureaus across the country.

However, back then, fully mechanized mining was still a "luxury," with a set of equipment costing millions of yuan. Ordinary mines couldn't afford to buy it or maintain it.

It's not just a matter of money, it's also a matter of people.

The technology of fully mechanized mining equipment is complex, and workers without professional training simply cannot operate it. Forcing it to be put into use will at least damage the equipment, and at worst, cause a safety accident.

Hongxing Mine's MLS3-170 system caught the second wave of promotion in the early 1980s.

Renye snapped out of his thoughts and changed the subject: "Uncle Changhe, I heard that the mine is forming a fully mechanized mining team and needs you to appoint personnel, is that right?"

That hits the nail on the head.

Setting up a comprehensive mining team is not a simple matter.

The equipment is in place, but who will operate it? Who will repair it? Who will maintain it?

Ordinary coal miners, who have spent their entire lives in blasting and conventional mining, are skilled at digging coal with picks, but when faced with the densely packed valve groups of the hydraulic supports and the complex electrical control system of the coal mining machine, it's like reading a book written in heaven.

Therefore, the formation of the comprehensive mining team must be led by the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department.

What Han Changhe needs to do is to select workers from all the coal mining teams in the mine who have a good education, are quick-witted, and are willing to learn technical skills, and form a new fully mechanized mining team.

The personnel list is submitted, reviewed by the labor and personnel department, and approved by the mine manager before the personnel can be officially transferred.

Han Changhe, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, squinted as he sized up Ren Ye.

Those little eyes darted around and around, then suddenly smiled—a sly smile.

"So that's what you were planning, kid." He stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete. "Your future father-in-law's third team is going to be shut down, so you're thinking of assigning them to the comprehensive mining team?"

Renye didn't deny it, and chuckled: "Uncle Changhe has sharp eyes, nothing can be hidden from you."