The above colorfully illustrated diagram shows a representation of a mining shovel and the geology surrounding it from an overhead view. The gray is the grade that vehicles travel on and the pink and brown are types of ore. The shovel has a high precison GPS (compliments of our Defense Department) and the mine drill rigs have taken samples of the ore along with its GPS location. Combining the location of the shovel and the location of samples, the dispatch program lets the shovel know where to dig and also tells the haul truck drivers where to take the rocks--waste dump, dedicated leach pads, reuse leach pads, mill or gravity plant. I'll include descriptions of each of these in the future but for know, technology is driving the efficiencies unheard of in mining---whether it is gold, copper or coal.
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