The maingate is the main access roadway for a longwall mining panel. It serves as the primary intake airway, bringing fresh ventilation to the workers and machinery at the coal face. It also houses the main conveyor belt that transports the cut coal out of the panel, along with electrical cables and water pipes.
Heard on the job
We need the ventilation crew down the maingate to repair a torn brattice before the gas levels rise.
Do not mix it up with
- Tailgate: The maingate supplies fresh intake air and houses the conveyor, while the tailgate carries the exhausted, dusty return air away from the face.
Related terms
Tailgate
The return airway tunnel in a longwall mining operation.
Longwall
An underground coal mining method that extracts a wide panel in a single continuous slice.
Airway
Any underground gallery, drift, or shaft designated specifically for routing ventilation air through a mine.
Coalface
The advancing boundary of a coal seam that is actively being mined.