REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION THROUGH PROJECTILE BASED EXCAVATION

The Projectile Based Excavation (ProjEX) program has as its goal, the reduction of energy required for production mining and secondary breakage through the use of a projectile based excavation system. It depends on the development of a low cost family of projectiles that will penetrate and break up different types of ore/rock and a low cost electric launch system. The electric launch system will eliminate the need for high cost propellant considered for similar concepts in the past. This document reports on the program findings through the first two phases. It presents projectile design and experiment data and the preliminary design for electric launch system. Advanced Power Technologies, Inc., now BAE SYSTEMS Advanced Technologies, Inc., was forced to withdraw from the program with the loss of one of our principal mining partners, however, the experiments conducted suggest that the approach is feasible and can be made cost effective