Mining in Manitoba
History of Hoisting
Mining Systems
In the very early days of mining, people carried ore and rock up ladders on their backs.
The first recorded hoisting device was the WINDLASS. A bucket was raised and lowered by turning a large pulley by hand.
Its small capacity limited its application to small deposits and small-scale development work.
For larger output or greater depths, a HORSE-WHIM was used. The horse-whim harnessed animal power to the tedious chore of hositing. A horse or team of horses, was hitched to a long arm and walked around a circle. Gears turned a drum causing the hoisting rope to raise or lower a bucket.
With the invention of the steam engine, steam was used for STEAM HOISTING Engines.
Compressed air is often used to run hoists underground. COMPRESSED AIR HOISTS have good slow-speed control and are used where precision hoisting is required.
Electricity has come into such favour at mines that new hoisting equipment is often electrically driven.For light to medium work, small geared hoists driven by A.C. are used. For heavy duty, large-geared A.C. hoists and D.C. motors are usually employed. These hoists have motors of 2000 h.p. or more.
Shaft Sinking