|
Granduc -
Engineering and Planning cont...
UNDERGROUND
OPERATIONS
Access to the ore
bodies underground is provided by the 10.27-mile haulage tunnel which
serves at once as transportation for miners proceeding to their working
places, for supplies being taken underground, and for haulage of ore and
waste rock.
 The
haulage of waste to surface is unique but it was pointed out that
because of topography, climate, and mining conditions, studies showed
that the best place to dump the rock was in the valley north of the Tide
surface camp.
Three large 750
h.p. Mitsubishi electric trolley locomotives drawing power from a
1500-volt system are used to haul the 50-ton side dump railroad cars and
the ingoing man-trains through the 15-ft. by 15-ft. tunnel.
The trip
underground in the locomotive beside the driver, a situation which
provided an excellent look at the trackage and tunnel's physical
aspects. A Basque, he kept up a running commentary on the joys and
difficulties of his job and of the changing conditions in the tunnel
where, he pointed out, here the rock conditions were not so good and a
considerable amount of rock bolting had to be done, and there where
steel sets were installed for sup- port, and so on.
The trip itself
started in the "station" immediately below the concentrator building on
the 2,460-ft. level, proceeding through a 380"ft; concrete-snow shed
before entering the tunnel proper . The train travels along at a good
clip and takes about 27 minutes to reach the underground terminal where
the men disembark to go to their jobs in the various areas or to be
taken by trackless vehicles to their working places. Hardly to be
realized is that during the trip the train has passed under two mountain
peaks and three glaciers.
At or near the
underground terminal are located the compressor room for underground air
supply, repair shops, the drill-bit sharpening room operated by Hard
Metals Ltd. which supplies the underground-drill requirements, sub-
station, tire repair and change shops, lunch rooms, supervisory staff
offices, and other service facilities.
| 
