Continuous-extraction mining system

A method of extracting material for an underground mine, the mine including a roadway entry and a draw-bell entry intersecting the roadway entry and affording access to a draw-bell, the method comprising:

• moving a loader from the roadway entry into the draw-bell entry;
• removing material from the draw-bell using the loader;
• sizing the removed material on a substantially continuous basis using a mobile sizer that is coupled to the loader by a feed conveyor;
• discharging the sized material from the sizer using a discharge conveyor;
• collecting the sized material from the discharge conveyor on a material collector, the material collector acting as a buffer to hold the sized material until the shuttle car is in a position relative to the material collector to receive the collected material from the material collector;
• and
• transferring the collected material along the roadway entry using a shuttle car so as to facilitate a continuous extraction of the material.

A material extraction system for an underground mine, the mine including a roadway entry and a draw-bell entry intersecting the roadway entry and affording access to a draw-bell, the system comprising:

• a loader movable from the roadway entry into the draw-bell entry for removing material from the draw-bell;
• a mobile sizer coupled to the loader for sizing the removed material on a substantially continuous basis;
• a material collector operable to store the sized material, the material collector having a loading end and a discharge end, a material transport device extending therebetween, and wheels engageable with a mine floor;
• and
• a shuttle car operable to receive the collected material from the material collector, the shuttle car including steerable wheels engageable with a mine floor for moving along the roadway entry for transferring the collected material so as to facilitate a substantially continuous extraction of the material,
• wherein the sizer is configured to size the removed material on a substantially continuous basis by receiving removed material from a feed conveyor on the loader and discharging the sized material to the material collector with a discharge conveyor,
• wherein the material collector is operable as a buffer to hold the sized material until the shuttle car is in a position relative to the material collector to receive the collected material from the material collector.