“I think viewers are going to be truly amazed at the size of the machinery used to mine lignite for power generation,” said Del McCabe, mine director. “It’s an efficient and impressive operation and one we’re proud to showcase.”
The mine hosted a production crew for two full days last June. The team spoke with equipment operators and mine leadership to learn the ins and outs of the system, which consists of two machines: the cross pit spreader and bucketwheel excavator. The bucketwheel excavator uses a series of buckets to remove overburden above deep-set coal in advance of the mine’s draglines. The excavator then drops the dirt on the cross pit spreader’s conveyor system to be moved across the mine for use in reclamation.
“It takes about one minute for earth to move throughout the entire system,” said McCabe. “Needless to say, it’s an extremely valuable tool in our mining operation.”
To get a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot, visit Luminant’s YouTube channel at www.You-Tube.com/LuminantPower.
