Electrical power supply method and system for open pit mining equipment

Claim 1

An electrical power supply system for supplying electrical power to electric motor-operated mining vehicles working on the floor of an open pit mine provided with haul roads on said floor and along terraced walls of said mine, said system comprising: a source of electrical power sited on land above and adjacent to the mine pit, an electrical power-operated mining vehicle movable within the mine pit on the floor thereof, a flexible electrical power extension cable extending between and in electrical communication with said source and said vehicle for transmitting electrical power from said source to said vehicle, a flexible suspension support cable connected at one end to an anchor means outside said mine pit, and at an opposite end to said vehicle, cable connector means positioned at plural fixed spaced intervals along said support cable between its opposite ends and connecting said power cable to said support cable, and lighter-than-air balloon suspension means connected to said support cable so as to elevate said cables above the floor of said pit and above said haul roads while said power cable remains connected to said source and said vehicle so as to enable said vehicle and other vehicles to move within said pit and along said roads without being obstructed by or traveling over said cable, thereby obviating the need to move or avoid said cable.

Claim 7

A method of supplying electrical power to electric motor-operated mining equipment working on the floor of an open pit mine from a remote source of electrical power outside said mine pit, said method comprising the steps: extending a slack flexible electrical power cable between said source and said vehicle and electrically interconnecting said source and said vehicle with said cable, and taking up said slack by suspending said power cable above the floor of said mine pit from a suspension support cable connected at plural fixed spaced intervals between its opposite ends to said power cable, and by connecting said support cable to a lighter-than-air balloon suspension means to elevate both said cables to an elevation above the floor and roads of the mine sufficient to enable vehicles moving within said pit to clear and travel beneath said cables along the terraced sides of said pit.

Claim 8

A method of supplying electrical power to electric motor-operated mining equipment working on the floor of an open pit mine from a remote source of electrical power outside said mine pit, said method comprising the steps: extending a slack flexible electrical power cable between said source and said vehicle and electrically interconnecting said source and said vehicle with said cable, and taking up said slack by suspending said power cable above the floor of said mine pit from a suspension support cable connected at plural fixed spaced intervals between its opposite ends to said power cable, and by connecting said support cable to a lighter-than-air balloon suspension means to elevate both said cables to an elevation above the floor and roads of the mine sufficient to enable vehicles moving within said pit to clear and travel beneath said cables along the terraced sides of said pit.