Common Types of Mining Equipment: A guide to the Mining Industry
Hizbullah Shoukat October 28, 2020 No Comments
Each type of mining equipment comes with its own set of mining activities. The most common types of mining equipment vary depending whether the work is being carried out above or below ground or mining for gold, metals, coal or crude oil. From drilling machines to excavators, loaders, digger, crushing and grinding equipment – the mining industry comes complete with all the right tools. Here’s a guide for few of the industry’s most common types of equipment and why they’re important for the job.
Mining Drills
Probably one of the most common pieces of mining equipment, drills are an important part of the underground mining operation.
Underground mining is carried out when rocks or minerals are located at a fair distance beneath the ground. But then they need to be brought to the surface. Underground specialized mining equipment such as trucks, loaders, diggers etc. are used to excavate the material and are normally hauled to the surface with skips or lifts for further processing. Drilling is normally required to place explosive charges to liberate the minerals from the overburden material. Underground mining techniques have progressed significantly over the past years, including using remote controlled machinery.
A few of the leading Manufacturers for this equipment would include:
Drills assist in creating holes descending underground. If miners are required to work underground, drills can also be used in ensuring the holes are large enough to serve as a portal for miners to enter. Directional drilling is also a type of mining technology where miners will use the tools and certain methods to drill wells.
Blasting Tools
Blasting tools are an essential part of the mining industry and are used to break down and fracture materials (usually rocks) by use of a calculated amount of explosive to liberate the sought-after product from the waste material. Blasting is also used to remove pockets of unwanted material that are preventing mining machines and personnel to get to the seam containing the materials of interest. Unmanned drill rigs will drill holes at pre-determined depths and positions on a blast face to ensure that a particular size fraction is achieved and that little of the overburden is liberated with the blasting to reduce material handling costs. Once this process has been completed, an excavator is used to recover the blasted rocks and other debris that has been dislodged during the blasting. The material is then conveyed to a central conveying system which will take it directly to the surface or via a skip and hoist system.
Blasting equipment is used for both underground and open pit mining operations and is known to be one of the most hazardous aspects of the job.
For mining operations to be successful good blast designs are absolutely vital as poor practices and excessive explosives can result in damage to rock structures causing unwanted caving.
Earth Movers
For above ground mining, earth movers are utilised regularly to carry loose soil and earth from one location to another. Earth movers play an important role in the mining industry because the equipment is specifically designed to work on large earth-moving and mining projects for a faster and more practical process. Used for digging, pushing and transporting the earth, they require the specialised skills of an operator.
Earth movers are heavy mining equipment that the industry would struggle to survive without and work hand in hand with bulldozers. Earth movers are normally used for removing overburden or waste material, which enables the excavators to remove the material or mineral of interest. Bulldozers are used to move this overburden material around to create a working surface for other equipment such as haul trucks and excavators.
Find below the Top 5 Earth Movers currently in the Industries:
1.) Liebherr R 9800
An earthmover such as Liebherr R 9800 are designed for large-scale mining operations, the R 9800 is equipped with two 16-cylinder engines providing 2,000 horsepower providing faster loading cycles and immense digging and breakout forces. Weighing in at 1.7 million pounds, the R 9800 offers a backhoe bucket and shovel capacity of 3,000 pounds. The Liebherr R 9800 offers superior flexibility and productivity for a machine of this magnitude.
2.) Komatsu D575A-3 Super Dozer
The Komatsu Super Dozer is no ordinary digging machine. Standing 16 feet tall, 41 feet long and 24 feet wide, the D575A-3 is a majestic beast of size and power. The super dozer is powered by a turbo-loaded, drawer-air-cooled 12-cylinder diesel engine with a performance range of 1,150 horsepower. Unlike most bulldozers, the Komatsu D575A-3 can scoop and carry dirt off the ground as it’s equipped with a blade the size of a three car garage, allowing it to push its own weight (350,000 pounds) in load.
3.) Terex RH400 Hydraulic Excavator
The Terex RH400 is undoubtedly the biggest machine of its type. Designed to handle one of the toughest terrains on earth – the Alberta oil sands in northern Canada – the Terex RH400 can lift 85 tons of earth in a single scoop. The keys to the excavator’s success are the huge bucket and strong arms powered by the world’s largest hydraulic system. The Terex RH400 is powered by two 16-cylinder diesel engines with a maximum power output of 4,400 horsepower at 1,800 rpm.
4.) Liebherr T 282B
The Liebherr T 282B is one of the largest-capacity dump truck in the world offering a payload capacity of roughly 400 tons. Introduced in Germany in 2004, this behemoth of a dump truck boasts a 3,650 horsepower engine with a maximum operating weight of almost 600 tons. The 282B utilizes efficiency and maintenance free diesel-electric locomotive technology, including two AC induction motors for the rear axle, engine mounted generator and a computer controlled power inverters.
The Caterpillar 657 Scraper is the most powerful of its kind and the company’s first two-axle model to utilize a front and rear engine. The 657 can dig, dump and load without the assistances of other machines and there is no other scraper in the world that can match its efficiency.