Solar Powered Egina Miners? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RVrNMKeikI Could make it a better choice for excavating the Egina gravel in the near future…
Though the scraper might be winning right now…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ysst1Qg7DA Autonomous scrapers could tip the scales back again though.
OK…how about a hypothetical…
Egina Mine Plan For excavating the Egina swale gravel…
The winner…
one piece of equipment that loads, hauls, spread backfill …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE_shgMmns4 and dumps into hopper …
https://www.rocksystems.com/model-104-b-scraper-truck-drive-over-unloader that feeds a mobile screening plant that separates material into a least 4 streams…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apckWpBeCSM one stream feeds small and medium gravel to a bank of eddy current non-ferrous metal
separators…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmPjRGtx94A another stream feeds larger gravel to the Tomra XRT ore sorters…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMlfVXSwjB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljMtA1cKNts&t=24s the larger rock stream is crushed and screened or sent to waste if deemed uneconomical to process where it is re-integrated with tailings and returned to the swale as backfill…
fines stream is sent to waste and re-integrated with tailings for backfill (if deemed uneconomical as Q hinted)…
after dumping unprocessed gravel, scrapers could be auto loaded by sensor equipped hoppers or scrape loaded with tailings mix for return trip to the swale and spread as backfill…
bulldozers and compactors would level and compact the backfill. Overburden would be replaced if possible and area would be replanted to complete rehabilitation. ..
a continuous mining operation moving along the swale…
and from swale to swale…
efficient and Earth friendly…
constantly integrating the latest technological improvements…
one of Q’s modern mining masterpieces…
It just needs permission from the Aboriginal Communities next week to make it happen.
Oh and one more piece of equipment to include in the mining plan…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfXljWrKUW4 for getting people and supplies to and from Port Hedland and the mine sites…
damned road in is hot, bumpy, dusty and long (or under water).
Disclaimer: I’m obviously no expert…just thinkin.
gc