By: mike On: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:26 pm
This mine must have really been something to see. You have newer draglines and euclids and loaders working right alongside the lokies. Plus under ground you probably had just as eclectic a mix of mining methods, heavy pitch, light pitch, and flat pitch. Heavy pitch is familiar to all you southern fielders, light pitch is common in the northern field and in parts of the other fields and brings some intresting methods of loading the coal. You could use a two drum slusher, a shaker conveyor, line the bottom with sheat iron so the coal flows freely, or you could also pump water up into the chamber and use it to wash the coal out of the chamber. And flat pitch you could use a shaker conveyor, a two drum slusher, or shovel it by hand into the car or belt conveyor on tha gangway. And my personal favorite is heavy pitch which is were gravity does all the work for you. If you have seen the coal mine episode of dirt jobs or the Hard Coal movie you will know what I'm talking about.