Load Haul Dump vehicles that are teleoperated have been tested in Sudbury over the past 5 years. They are cheaper to operate as teleoperated systems than using miners to run them. The driver sits in comfort on the surface. The secret is that the LHD must spend much of its time going along a fixed route between load and dump sites. If the driver is on board he can not do anything else, and still gets paid for working in a hazardous environment. If tele- operated the LHD once it has been made to pick up a load switches to a laser track fixed on the roof of the mine and goes automatic. The driver than switches over to a second, perhaps third or forth, LHD, and loads and dumps it. Teleoperation promises to be cheaper and safer than traditional mining.
Dave Stephenson Geological Survey of Canada *Too much bad arithmetic is not a * Ottawa, Ontario, Canada *substitute for not enough good * Internet: stephens@geod.emr.ca * mathematics *