Mobile connecting belt bridge for open pit mining

A mobile connecting belt bridge for transporting a material between lower and upper levels during open pit mining, comprising:

• a feed station on one of the lower and upper levels and receiving a material to be conveyed in a conveying direction from a winning or mining apparatus, the feed station including:
• feed travel means for displacing the feed station,
• a ball joint mounted on the feed travel means,
• at least one elongated support beam having a bottom side operatively connected with the ball joint, the ball joint being displaceable longitudinally along the support beam,
• means for horizontally aligning the beam, and
• a linkage mounted on a top side of the support beam and having a pivot axis extending horizontally transversely to the conveying direction;
• a discharge station on the other of the upper and lower levels and spaced from the feed station along the conveying direction for transferring the material onto a pit level belt, the discharge station including:
• portal-like not-railborne travel means separate from the feed travel means and straddling the pit level belt for displacing the discharge station,
• a support member on the travel means, and
• pivotal means on the travel means for pivoting the support member about a vertical;
• and
• a connecting belt bridging the feed and discharge stations to convey the material therebetween and provided with a feed jib mounted pivotally about the pivot axis on the linkage, the discharge station further including swinging means for swinging an end of the connecting belt spaced from the feed jib about a respective axis extending parallel to the pivot axis.