Patent ID: 8857916

Claim:
A highwall mining equipment extraction and retrieval apparatus comprising: a. a pair of parallel hydraulic cylinders, operating from an extended position to a retracted position, attached to either side of a mining head and to an umbilical cable for remotely powering and actuating the operation of the pair of hydraulic cylinders; b. a pair of parallel wire ropes attached to the pair of parallel hydraulic cylinders and running along a plurality of pushbeams, the pushbeams being operably attached to the mining head and to an external mining platform; c. a pair of parallel lockable grip blocks attached to the external mining platform and removably attached to the pair of parallel wire ropes for securing the wire ropes to the platform during mining equipment extraction and retrieval; and d. an actuator operably connected to the umbilical cable and to the external mining platform for remotely initiating the actuation of the pair of hydraulic cylinders.