Large tunnels in a coal mine.
The type of heavy mining equipment used for a specific task during any mining operation depends on several factors. A determining factor is where the mining operations take place: on the surface, deep underground or at subsurface level. All of these various steps require specific types of heavy equipment to facilitate the mining process. As such, the description of heavy mining equipment depends on the type of mining and the stage of the mining process. Some of the common equipment used in mining includes bulldozers, bulldozers, longwall mining machines, roof rails, transport carts, motor graders, and haul trucks.
Whether the mining takes place on the surface or underground will determine the type of equipment used.
Heavy mining equipment used for surface mining can be used to promote any number of mining processes. For example, it can be used during oil drilling, coal mining, or precious stone and metal mining. Basically, surface mining requires a lot of movement of ground material and rock from one place to another to allow the miners to get to the point of interest. To accomplish this, a group of equipment commonly referred to as excavators is used for this specific purpose. Diggers often have some type of excavation, bucket-like structures in front of them that are used to excavate soil, load it, and transfer it to another location, granting miners access to the desired location.
Dragline excavators are another category of heavy mining equipment that are also more commonly associated with coal mining. Longwall mining machines are also applied for coal mining and are generally used underground, unlike dragline excavators which are used above ground. Other commonly used underground mining equipment assemblies are roof rails and transport carts. Transport cars are needed to transport the mined substance, such as coal, to the next point in the mining operation. Drills are another set of heavy mining equipment consisting of a vertical boom on a mobile base that can be used both on land and offshore for the purpose of drilling shafts where explosives can be placed.
Bulldozers are heavy mining equipment on huge trucks that are used during the mining process. Another type of heavy mining equipment, the haul truck, allows miners to move large amounts of rubble or earth from one point to another. The application of the various heavy mining equipment depends on the need of those involved in the mining operation, the type of mining operation, and the stage of the mining operation.