Mining Equipment: Necessary Tools for Resource Extraction

 

Mining Equipment 

Surface Mining Equipment

Surface mining techniques such as open-pit mining require large machinery to efficiently extract resources. Bulldozers are used to clear vegetation and topsoil from the mining area so excavators and shovels can access deeper ore deposits. Shovel machines typically weigh several hundred tons and have buckets that can scoop multiple tons of rock and soil with each pass. These machines excavate large volumes of rock and dirt from the pit and load the material onto haul trucks for transportation.

Haul trucks are another essential piece of surface mining equipment. Ranging from 90 to 363 tons empty, some of the largest trucks have a 220-ton payload capacity and can cost over $5 million each. They carry excavated material from the pit to a processing facility or waste dump. Dozens of trucks may continuously haul back and forth during a shift. Grades in some mine roads can exceed 20%, requiring powerful engines and transmission in the trucks.

Loaders are used to load smaller dump trucks as well as railway hopper cars and conveyor belts. Mining Equipment Wheel loaders range from 30 to 250 tons in operating weight and can load 10-60 tons per pass. Their buckets reach payloads weighing several times their own weight. Track-mounted versions called track loaders are preferred in muddy conditions. Support machinery like bulldozers, graders, and compactors maintain haul roads and leveled areas for equipment operation.

Drilling and Blasting Equipment

To break up consolidated rock formations, drilling rigs are used to bore blast holes that are then loaded and detonated. Track-mounted drilling rigs costing $1-3 million can drill blast holes 6-10 inches in diameter up to 200 feet deep. Larger rotary blast hole drills are mounted on trucks or crawlers. After drilling, explosives technicians use specialized tools to load and prepare blast holes for detonation.

Explosives commonly used in mining equipment include ammonium nitrate/fuel oil mixtures and emulsion blends. Electronic or shock tube detonators precisely synchronize multiple blast holes detonating within milliseconds for maximum rock fragmentation. Face drilling rigs work on highwall surfaces to prepare new digging benches. Once blasted and cleared, loaders load the broken rock into haul trucks for removal to a processing facility.

Processing Equipment

Crushing and grinding machines reduction ore and waste rock particle size for extraction of target minerals. Jaw crushers, cone crushers, and gyratory crushers are common types used in primary and secondary crushing circuits. Jaw crushers work by squeezing rock between a fixed and movable jaw. Cone and gyratory crushers use a spinning mantle inside a circular or truncated cone to crush material against the crusher wall.

Grinding mills such as ball mills, rod mills, and autogenous mills further reduce particle sizes for separation in downstream processes. Ball mills use heavy balls to grind ore by tumbling, while rod mills employ rods instead of balls. Autogenous mills (AG mills) grind rock solely by tumbling ore particles and don't require grinding media. Screening equipment sorts and separates crushed and ground rock by particle size. Vibrating grizzlies and screens use inclined decks with openings of specific sizes.

Separation Processes

Physical separation techniques are employed after grinding to isolate valuable minerals from waste rock. Dense media separation immerses ground ore in a liquid of specific gravity to separate minerals by specific gravity. Magnetic separators use magnetic fields that attract magnetic minerals like magnetite while allowing non-magnetic material to pass through.

Flotation cells introduce ground ore slurry into aerated cells and chemicals that cause mineral particles to adhere to bubbles and float while gangue sinks. These selectively floated minerals are removed from the cell surface. Thickeners use gravity to settle and dewater the mineral concentrate slurry. Filters further dewater concentrates to produce a sellable product. Tailings are disposed of after precious metal recovery in a processing plant, when applicable.

Waste Handling

Waste rock and tailings from processing require careful management. Haul trucks transport waste rock to engineered dump sites where bulldozers contour and compact piles. Compactors and graders maintain tailings impoundments holding the byproduct waste from metal extraction. Drainage collection channels divert water flow. Seepage pumps remove seepage for recycling. Reclamation techniques re-vegetate and restore disturbed areas after mining concludes. Ongoing water treatment may also be needed to achieve regulatory compliance.

 

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