Esso Resources Canada Limited

Raj Paul

Michael B McDonald

Kenneth J Theimer

Gerald S Knoke

An extendable, retractable, erectable arm assembly for housing and supporting a water conduit extending outward from a tool located in a borehole, to a nozzle to produce a high pressure water cutting jet is provided. The arm assembly includes a plurality of interlocking arm segments for housing, supporting and moving the conduit through an angle of about 90.degree. from a stowed position to an operating position. The arm segments include integral, separable hinges capable of being interlocked such that pivotable movement is possible along any side thereof. These segments have mating apertures therethrough to accommodate the conduit. The assembly also includes an erecting device which provides compression on the segments and which gives the arm rigidity during movements. An alignment device is also included which keeps the segments aligned when the arm is deflected. There is also a device which applies tension to the erecting device; thus, allowing the nozzle to remain in close proximity to a surface at which the cutting jet is directed. The assembly also has a launching device designed to turn and lift the arm so that it may be extended and retracted at any angle and position. There is also a device which moves the arm within the tool along the longitudinal axis of the hole. The aforementioned assembly may be incorporated into borehole mining apparatuses and used in borehole mining processes.

Extendable/erectable arm assembly and method of borehole mining

A bucket wheel assembly for excavating solid material from the ground which can be slurried with water has a series of buckets mounted on a framework rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, the buckets, being secured to the framework at spaced positions around the periphery, and each bucket having a leading edge portion engagable with the ground as the framework rotates to cause material to be scooped from the ground into the bucket. Sets of nozzles are mounted around the framework, each set of nozzles being located between an adjacent pair of buckets and spaced in the direction of movement of the buckets from the leading edge portion of a following bucket. A rotary valve is connected to the nozzles and to a source of liquid under pressure. The rotary valve is operated by rotation of the framework to cause liquid under pressure to be selectively supplied from the source of liquid under pressure to each set of nozzles in turn when the set of nozzles and its following bucket are approaching the ground to cause liquid from the set of nozzles to impinge on the ground and form a slurry of the material which is subsequently scooped into a following bucket.

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Calgary, Canada

Raj Paul