Claims
- 1. An open pit mine for the extraction of mineral materials from the earth's crust comprising:
- a turning point area having a substantially horizontally level floor adapted to facilitate the operation of material-handling equipment and to receive crushed mined mineral material;
- at least one bench moving on a downwardly sloping screw-shaped path extending radially outward from the turning point area;
- a mobile crusher for crushing mined mineral materials located adjacent the bench;
- a belt conveyor system for conveying crushed mined mineral materials from the crusher to the turning point area; and
- means for discharging the crushed mined mineral materials downwardly from the turning point area.
- 2. A mine according to claim 1 in which the means for discharging the crushed mineral materials from the turning point area is at least one generally downwardly directed vertical or inclined shaft.
- 3. A mine according to claim 1 in which the means for discharging the crushed mineral materials from the turning point area are a plurality of downwardly directed shafts for receiving mined mineral materials of different quality.
- 4. A mine according to claim 3 in which blending means are established adjacent the discharge end of the downwardly directed shafts.
- 5. A method of open pit mining for the extraction of mineral material from the earth's crust comprising:
- establishing a turning point area with a substantially horizontally level floor adapted to facilitate the operation of material-handling equipment and to receive crushed mined mineral materials;
- developing at least one bench radially outward from the turning point area;
- mining the bench on a downwardly sloping screw-shaped path;
- loading mined minerals materials into a mobile crusher and crushing the mined mineral materials adjacent the bench;
- transporting the crushed mined mineral materials to the turning point area by a conveyor belt system; and
- discharging the mined mineral materials in a generally downwardly extending direction from the turning point area.
- 6. A method according to claim 5 in which the crushed mined mineral material is discharged through at least one downwardly directed shaft located at the turning point area.
- 7. A method according to claim 5 in which mined mineral materials of different quality are transported in sequence "one by one" through one shaft and then by one belt conveyor through a tunnel or inclined drift to a blending station.
- 8. A method according to claim 5 in which the crushed mine mineral material is discharged from the turning point area through a plurality of downwardly directed shafts adapted to receive mined mineral materials of different quality.
- 9. A method according to claim 8 in which the mined mineral materials of different quality taken from the plurality of shafts are conveyed on separate belt conveyors through a tunnel or inclined drift to a blending station.
- 10. A method according to claim 8 in which the discharged mined mineral materials are blended underneath the shafts before further transportation.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 420,886, filed Dec. 3, 1973 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,053.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
"Portable Crusher for Open Pit and Quarry Operations," B. J. Kochanowsky, Mining Engineering, Dec. 1960, pp. 299-318. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
420886 |
Dec 1973 |
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