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Joy Continuous Miner in Action!

I suspect that I’d have to shout to make myself heard with this going flat-out in front of me! Notice the crush stacks on the right hand side of the image.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

The Business End!

A close-up of the cutting face of a Heliminer; like a rotary miller with attitude!

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

Heliminer and Shuttle Car

Here, again at rest, is a Heliminer and Shuttle Car combination.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

Heliminer and Operator

A Heliminer is a Remote Mining Vehicle; this posed shot shows the beast at rest.  The mined product is collected in the powered scoop at the front and passed along a belt to the following shuttle car.  When full the shuttle car connects to a horizontal belt system and discharges its load for transfer to the surface storage.

Pretty cool beast ehh!

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

Ready for the Tower

Then we make the top of the shaft nice and pretty ready to build the tower on! Alan Franks has told us: “This is excavating for shuttering to be installed for the Fan drift. ( Fans were sited at the top of this). Myself and two other men spent a week trying to retrieve the shuttering after concrete had been poured and set, with it being in like a valley as you can see, the mud kept sliding down as quick as we could dig out. We saved a few shutter panels but after the week we were told to leave the rest and they were just backfilled and buried.This would be around Christmas time 1969.”

Image and update information courtesy of Alan Franks.

Nearly there!

Soon have this finished now; the top of the shaft nearing completion.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

Up we go!

Constructing the top of the shaft, which will be the base of the tower.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

And I’ll Make it Pretty

Using a dragline bucket to sculpt the top of the shaft opening.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

And I’ll Fill the Lorry

The second bucket fills the lorry.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.

You Pass it up Here

The first bucket digs the hole and puts its load where the second bucket can get it.

Image courtesy of Alan Franks.