Issued under the authority of the Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals. The purpose of this standard is to establish the minimum standards for the selection, installation, maintenance and operation of electrical equipment and electrical installations in an underground coal mine.
This standard applies to electrical equipment and electrical installations below ground in an underground coal mine and electrical equipment and electrical installations on the surface directly associated with the underground operations of a coal mine. This standard does not apply to the general surface of an underground coal mine.
Underground mining workers use Lithium-ion batteries to power various safety equipment including cap lamps, hand-held gas detectors, tracking devices and communication tools.
During coal mining or processing, coal dust accumulates into the explosion-proof shell of the battery. MSHA [ 106] requires that the outer surface temperature of the explosion-proof shell shall not exceed 150 °C. The ignition temperature of the coal dust cloud is 440 °C to 640 °C.
Where a part of a recognised standard or other normative document referred to therein conflicts with the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 or the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017, the Act or Regulation takes precedence. Issued under the authority of the Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals.
This assessment is in relation to Section 242 of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017, and to Sections 242(2)(b) and 242(4)(b) which require an automatic trip of electricity supply to non-intrinsically safe plant.