G ALLU Finland describes how a single piece of equipment can incorporate the several steps involved in the mining process.
ame-changing technology seems a rarity in the mining industry. It may have moved on from picks and shovels, and opencast mining has been transformed by the use of sophisticated crushing and screening equipment, but mining can still be a relatively labour-intensive undertaking, with advantages accruing to operators in parts of the world where such costs are low. Much of the equipment required can also be expensive. There are quite a few steps involved in the mining process: blasting of the rock, digging, loading the product onto dump trucks, and transporting it to a location where the material
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