Print8.5.6: The Mining Operation
Before the dragline can begin to mine the ore, the hydraulic monitors must be set up and ready to go. That work will be occurring while the dragline is removing overburden. Let’s start out by looking at a completed installation which is in operation. In the following video clip (0:35), you will see the dragline dumping the phosphate matrix into a constructed “pit.” There, the monitor blasts the matrix into fine particles. The slurry pours out of the pit, through the iron grate that is designed to keep large chunks from passing, and into a sump where the slurry is drawn into the pump and transported into the slurry pipeline that goes back to the plant. The video clip is 35 seconds in length, but actually represents about 10 minutes of actual work. In other words, you are seeing it in fast motion!