Annual Meeting of the Ministry of Education Engineering Research Center for Green and Intelligent Mining of Thick Coal Seams Held

Cui Ximin, Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), delivers a speech

Kang Hongpu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, speaks       

Wu Aixiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, speaks

Zhang Jixiong, Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology, speaks

Professor Wang Jiachen, former Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), delivers concluding remarks

Yang Shengli, Director of the Engineering Research Center, gives a work report

At the meeting

 On January 18, the annual meeting of the Ministry of Education Engineering Research Center for Green and Intelligent Mining of Thick Coal Seams was held in Room 200 of Office Building No. 1. The following leaders and experts attended the meeting: Kang Hongpu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and of China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp.; Wang Guofa, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and of China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp.; Wu Aixiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and of the University of Science and Technology Beijing; Professor Wang Jiachen, former Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Professor Cui Ximin, Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Zhang Jianming, Vice Chairman of the China National Coal Association and professor-level senior engineer; Professor Zhang Jixiong, Vice President of China University of Mining and Technology; Luo Wen, Deputy General Manager of CHN Energy Shendong Coal Group Co., Ltd. and professor-level senior engineer; Professor Chen Shaojie, Vice President of Shandong University of Science and Technology; Professor Zhu Wancheng, Dean of the School of Resources and Civil Engineering of Northeastern University; Professor Yang Ke, Director of the High-Level Talents Division of Anhui University of Science and Technology; Chen Gui, Director of the Technology Center of Huaibei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. and professor-level senior engineer; Zhao Hongliang, Director of the Energy Division of Lu'an Chemical Group and professor-level senior engineer; Li Haodang, Deputy General Manager of CHN Energy Xinjiang Energy Co., Ltd.; Zhang Chuanjiu, Executive Deputy Dean of the Technology Research Institute of Shendong Coal Group Co., Ltd.; and Wang Guoyong, Executive Dean of the Inner Mongolia Research Institute of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). Yang Shengli, Dean of the School of Energy and Mining Engineering of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Yang Kehu, Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence; and faculty and student representatives of the Engineering Research Center also attended the meeting.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Li Yang, Deputy Director of the Engineering Research Center, who welcomed the academicians, experts, and scholars present and expressed gratitude for their long-term care, support, and help for the construction and development of the center.

On behalf of the university, Vice President Cui Ximin delivered a welcome speech. He introduced the background of the establishment of the Engineering Research Center for Green and Intelligent Mining of Thick Coal Seams, affirmed the achievements the center has made in scientific research and talent cultivation, and pointed out that the center should make full use of the advantages of the first-class discipline of mining engineering, solve the technical problems of green and intelligent mining of thick coal seams through interdisciplinary integration across discipline clusters, and serve the national goals of energy supply security and green and low-carbon development.

The work report session was chaired by Academician Kang Hongpu, Chair of the Technical Committee.

Yang Shengli, Director of the center, reported on the research directions and tasks, work progress and innovative achievements, overall strength and academic level, existing problems and improvement measures, as well as the 2025 work plan and expected goals. The Technical Committee and the experts present then conducted in-depth questioning and discussion.

Academician Kang Hongpu said that the center has achieved outstanding results in its construction with fruitful outcomes. He suggested that the next step should highlight the center's distinctive features of thick coal seams, green mining, and intelligent mining, and coordinate efforts in refining the main research directions, clarifying the boundaries with the school's other provincial- and ministerial-level platforms, and cultivating national-level talent. Academician Wang Guofa said that the center has well-rounded research directions, and it should continue to build a full-time team and strengthen team exchanges to promote interdisciplinary integration. Academician Wu Aixiang said that the center should closely align with the connotation requirements of Ministry of Education engineering research centers and focus on high-quality development of thick coal seam mining. Vice President Zhang Jixiong said that barriers between schools and between disciplines should be broken down, and the university should strengthen its support for the construction of the center. Other experts present fully affirmed the center's construction work and put forward targeted suggestions for its development in the next stage.

Professor Wang Jiachen made concluding remarks. He expressed gratitude for the valuable suggestions of the experts and said that the center's team will seriously consider them, focus on the basic theory of thick coal seam mining, green mining processes and technologies, and the development of intelligent mining equipment, solve the engineering and technical problems of green and intelligent mining of thick coal seams, and contribute to the high-quality development of the first-class disciplines of mining engineering.

The Engineering Research Center for Green and Intelligent Mining of Thick Coal Seams was approved by the Ministry of Education for construction in April 2023. The center is closely focused on five research directions: the theory and key technologies of thick coal seam mining; strata movement and surrounding rock control in thick coal seam mining; green and loss-reduced mining of thick coal seams; intelligentization of thick coal seam mining and excavation equipment; and intelligent identification of coal and gangue and intelligent coal drawing in fully mechanized top-coal caving mining. Through five years of construction, the center will strive to make breakthroughs in technologies such as automatic identification and control of coal and gangue in fully mechanized top-coal caving mining of thick coal seams, intelligent perception and self-regulated control equipment and technologies for thick coal seam mining, and key technologies for backfill mining and solid waste disposal. It will also develop and produce a number of instruments and equipment, including intelligent video image processors, so as to solve the engineering and technical problems of green and intelligent mining of thick coal seams, contribute to the high-quality development of the coal industry, and safeguard national energy security.