Gas Research at Huntly West Mine, New Zealand

The aim of the report was to present the results of a study assessing the gas parameters of the Kupakupa seam at Huntly West Mine. The emissions of seam gases into underground workings in coal mines is acknowledged as a major hazard, particularly methane due to its possible ignition. This has lead to research on minimising the hazard and the need to circulate large quantities of air to dilute the gas to safe concentrations. The majority of overseas research on coal seam gas parameters has been on higher rank coals with limited data available for low rank coals similar to the Kupakupa seam. The study shows that Kupakupa seam is a potential source of natural gas. Gas contents in the area are low, 1.92 M3/t by direct method, 2.29 M3/t by indirect methos, but due to the great thickness of the seam a substantial gas resource is present (791 Mm3).