Mining shovels are heavy equipment used to scoop ore, coal, sand, or earth. They have been in use since the late 1800s and are powered by diesel fuel or electricity. There are two types: drag and bucket shovels, with different digging movements and ranges. They can move up to 220 cubic yards of earth and are often used with dump trucks. The technology has been used in other applications, such as NASA’s crawler.
A mining shovel is a specialized piece of heavy excavating equipment typically used to scoop ore, overburden, coal or sand in mining. These have been in use since the late 1800s. When first built, they were powered by steam. As fuel technology progressed, they were powered by diesel fuel or electricity. They also have other uses besides mining. Some of these are moving huge amounts of earth for the construction of canals, dams, railways or roads.
There are two basic types of mining shovels: the drag mining shovel and the bucket mining shovel. Bucket shovels usually ride on rails, similar to a tank or tracked hoe, but draglines often use special feet or pontoons to move due to their weight. Draglines generally cannot move very far very fast. If they need to move a greater distance, special transports have been built to transport them.
Another difference between these two pieces of heavy equipment is their digging movement. The bucket mine shovel generally has a heavy arm that supports its bucket and cuts the soil outward from itself. The dragline has a flexible, rope-controlled bucket that cuts the ground towards itself. A dragline is often positioned above a construction site, working downwards, while a bucket shovel can work upwards from where it is positioned.
These machines can move huge amounts of earth. A mining shovel can move up to 220 cubic yards (168 cubic meters) of earth in one scoop. Most often, when a mining shovel is used, it is used in conjunction with a large dump truck into which the excavated earth is placed, via a bucket release on the shovel. When the truck is full, excavated material can be moved to wherever it is needed.
Dragline mining shovels can have a range of up to approximately 300 feet (91.44 meters). Since they can have such a long reach, they don’t always have to work in conjunction with a hauler. Sometimes their arms are simply moved to a spot to empty the bucket.
The technology used in the development of mining shovels has also been used in other applications. When the US National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) wanted a piece of equipment, called a crawler, developed to carry rockets to launch pads, it was made by one of the companies that make mine shovels, using the same technology. .
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