Patent ID: 8905486

Claim:
A method of developing an underground mine, comprising: forming a mine shaft by excavating earth from beneath a galloway to form a hole extending downwardly from an earth surface region; removing excavated material from the hole during the formation of the shaft by a material transport system comprising a material transfer station mounted on the galloway, the material transport system being operable to transport the excavated material, via the transfer station, upwardly through the hole to the earth surface region for discharge at the earth surface region; locating the galloway and material transfer station at a bottom part of the shaft when formed; launching one or more tunnels from the bottom part of the shaft by excavating outwardly from the shaft; and removing material excavated in the tunnel excavation by transporting that material from the tunnel to the material transfer station of the material transport system established during formation of the shaft and operating the material transport system to transport the material to the surface region.