Page 483 - Moving the Earth_ The Workbook of Excavation

BLASTING AND TUNNELING

BLASTING AND TUNNELING 9.83

to openings large enough for four divisions—two for a pair of skips for bringing up ore and waste,
one for an elevator for personnel, and one for pipes and ladders. Supplies may be lowered in
human elevators, in ore skips, or by a separate system. There may be an additional system of ven-
tilator shafts, that may be either dug or rotary-drilled.

Haulageways and Drifts. Tunnels that are made primarily for hauling ore or other materials
from digging points to shafts or portals are called haulageways. Their size varies with that of the
haulage units to be used in them. Old time human-and-wheelbarrow methods could get by with a
1
width of 4 feet and a height of 6 ⁄2 feet. Two-way haulage with off-the-road trucks requires a width
of about 30 feet and a height of 20. (See Fig. 9.70.)
The majority of underground mines use track haulage, although rubber-tire trucks and shuttle cars
are also used. A few still use hand-push cars on 18-inch-gauge tracks. Gauge is the spacing, center to
center, of the rails. Locomotive haulage may call for track gauges from 24 to 42 inches. Cars may pro-
ject 18 inches beyond the track on each side. An additional space of at least 18 inches on one side is
required so as not to crush workers against the walls. There is usually a gutter or pipe for drainage water,
piped high-pressure air for power and low-pressure air for ventilation, and electric wires or cable.
Haulageways that are to be used for a long time are given strong and permanent linings.
Concrete without reinforcing is used because of its compressive strength, comparative simplicity of
placement, and the fact that when broken, it is readily replaced or removed. However, steel lining,
timber sets, roof bolting, or sometimes just shaping and scaling of a natural rock roof are all used
under suitable conditions.
Drifts are tunnels made during exploration and development. They are usually smaller, shorter,
or are expected to carry less material than a haulageway, but there is no clear distinction.
Remote Control of Loader/Haulers. In recent years a System for Integrated and Automated Mining
(SIAM) has been developed by Noranda for their Brunswick mine. It consists of a multimedia com-
munications backbone, a video-assisted teleoperation system, a system for automating load-haul-dump

FIGURE 9.70 Diesel mine hauler.