SORDMiner Explained
Why is the Shield so important?
The Shield is pivotal as it enables the SORDMiner's slurry water and electrical lines to travel through collapsing material without experiencing ‘rock-lock'.
How does the Shield work?
The Shield is a square tube made from four sections of strong cloth material that is drawn down from the surface inside the Shield with the sections then zipped together to form the tube at the SORD head and deployed behind the SORDMiner. The Shield stays in-situ while the umbilical lines slide inside the water filled inflated sheath. A pressure of around 3psi provided by a fluid head above the water table maintains the inflation of Shield.
SORDMiner's projected rate of production?
The SORDMiner will be operating in a collapsing environment while utilising water jet cutters to create a slurrying activity at the head. It will then transport the material using Warman Slurry Pumps to the surface. It is projected that the delivery to the surface will be in the range of 200 to 10,000 tonnes per hour depending on the size of the slurry pumps utilised in the head. Nominal production rates for alluvial resources are approximately 2000 tonnes per hour.