Abstract: A method and apparatus for cutting a borehole substantially in the shape of a bread loaf within a mine includes four cutting systems. The first cutting system is a pair of three-armed, counter rotating, cutting heads which remove material from the mine face in a substantially vertical plane. The second cutting system is a pair of rotating cutting drums which follow the pair of counter rotating cutting heads. The third cutting system is a substantially vertical, rotating cutting head which removes the kerf formed at the ceiling or roof portion of the borehole. The fourth cutting system is a plow which both removes the kerf at the bottom of the borehole and directs the mined material to a conveyor system to remove the mined material from the mine.

Abstract: A transmission for transmitting drive from a motor to a drive sprocket wheel for driving the drive chain of a mineral mining plough has a housing which is attached to a side plate of the drive frame of a mine conveyor. The housing is formed with a recess sized and shaped to accommodate the sprocket wheel. The recess is open at one end to permit the plough drive chain to enter and leave the sprocket wheel. The housing is provided with connector flanges adjacent to the end remote from the recess opening, and with a spacer adjacent to the end adjacent to the recess opening. The spacer is detachably secured to the housing and to the drive frame, or to an intermediate channel section which joins the drive frame to a scraper-chain conveyor. The spacer and the flanges are bolted to the drive frame and/or the channel section.

Abstract: The invention is concerned with underground mining equipment, primarily but not exclusively for the mining of coal by the system known as the "long wall system". Where a coal cutting machine is driven along the wall face by the use of a haulage chain anchored at opposite ends of the face, to avoid the problems associated with the establishment of slack chain behind the machine, take-up means is provided at at least the end of the working from which the machine undergoes a working traverse to remove material from the face. Control means is provided to render said take-up means operative, to take up the slack produced in the chain, during such a working traverse of the cutting machine, and to render the take-up means inoperative, to provide a substantially fixed anchorage on a return traverse of the machine. Preferably such take-up means is provided at both ends of the working.

Abstract: Apparatus for drawing shearers comprises a conveyor on which the shearers move with sledges interposed therebetween and which is arranged along a long-walled pit face of a coal mine shearers drawing cable is arranged in fixing members which are arranged on the conveyor, and a pair of means are provided for releasing and fixing the cable from and into the fixing members, the means being arranged adjacent to the sledges and the cable located between the cable releasing and fixing means being engaged with a cable driving means housed in each of the shearer bodies, wherein a drawing force is applied only to the cable located between the cable releasing and fixing means when the driving means is rendered operative.