Economic Analysis of Coalbed Methane Drainage Systems for Room-and-Pillar Operations

The analysis of the economics of methane drainage operations in traditional room-and-pillar coal mining operations is the primary emphasis of this presentation. The paper analyzes the economic effects of ventilation costs versus drainage costs as a means of handling the methane in a hypothetical room-and-pillar operation. However, the effects of downtime savings due to methane reduction in the air stream and the impacts of marketing the methane are also studied. Comparisons are then made with the economics of drainage in longwall mining