Abstract: A mineplough (1) which is designed to be resilient to exploding mines comprises one or more blades set at an angle to the general direction of movement of the plough so as to deflect lifted earth to one or both sides of the plough and having tines (5b-5j) arranged so as to lift earth ahead of the blade in the direction of travel thereof, depth control means for controlling the depth of cut of the tines and at least two linkages to connect the blade to a suitable carrier vehicle for the mineplough. The blade is comprised of a number of intersecting strong metal plates (2a-2j; 3a-3d) whose planes lie substantially parallel to the direction of travel of the mineplough and which define relatively narrow open channels therebetween so as to allow venting of any explosion caused by a mine exploding in contact with the blade.

Abstract: This invention relates to the filed of land mines and in particular to devices and techniques for neutralising and/or retrieving land mines. Existing mine retrieval/neutralisation techniques include mechanical excavation or shaped charge attack and such techniques are either susceptible to blast damage in the event of inadvertent mine explosion or can produce ambiguous results (i.e. an operator can be unsure as to whether a mine has been successfully attacked or a non-mine target has been attacked in error). The present invention provides a mine excavation technique that involves excavation of the mine by means of an explosive charge.