A mining machine applicable to fluidized mining and a mining method therefor are provided herein. A microwave transmitting mechanism, a liquid jet drill rod and a cutter-head are arranged at the head of a first excavation device of the mining machine. The ore body in front is first processed by the microwave transmitting mechanism and the liquid jet drill rod to reduce the strength of the ore body, which facilitates subsequent mining of the ore body, lowers the hardness requirements of the cutter-head, and reduces the wearing of the cutter-head. With this mining machine mining the ore body, the mined ores can be directly converted, under the ground, into resources in the easily transportable form, without transporting the ore to the surface for conversion, which saves the cost of transporting the ore to the surface.

The present application describes a rapid burrowing robot (RBR) that can dig tunnels using ultra high temperature rotating plasma torches.

A plasma tunnel boring machine including a plurality of plasma torches on the cutting head, and a plurality of nozzles on the cutting head to provide a stream to cool an area while the plasma torches are active, and a tractor providing propulsion to the cutting head, the tractor to move the cutting head to cut a tunnel.

Methods of sculpting a hard material. An example method includes providing a pulsed power apparatus comprising: an articulated arm; a pulsed power drill bit comprising two electrodes and coupled to the articulated arm; and a power generator coupled to the two electrodes. The method further includes positioning the pulsed power drill bit such that at least one of the electrodes contacts the hard material; submerging the electrodes in a dielectric fluid; and discharging a high voltage pulse from at least one of the electrodes such that the discharged high voltage pulse passes through the hard material.

The present application describes a rapid burrowing robot (RBR) that can dig tunnels using ultra high temperature rotating plasma torches.

A laser-assisted tunnel boring machine and a rock fragmenting method thereof belong to the technical field of tunnel engineering. Two rock fragmenting modes exist: a laser-cutter rock fragmenting mode and a cutter rock fragmenting mode, wherein the two rock fragmenting modes are switched by an intelligent control system; and for the laser-assisted rock fragmenting mode, hot fragmenting is mainly performed using lasers which assisted by water spray systems, to achieve the purposes of auxiliary rock fragmenting by laser radiation for hot cracking and water spray for quick cooling, and mechanical rock fragmenting for excavation.

The present application describes a rapid burrowing robot (RBR) that can dig tunnels using ultra high temperature rotating plasma torches.

A Tunnel Extraction Machine (TEM) and its alternatives is a sustainable machine to excavate the tunnel or mine or dredge seabed in a rapid, efficient and cost-effective way as it allows large parts of the rock (or soil) to be extracted and pulled out of the tunnel or mine without necessity of digging or crushing them and with significantly reduced amount of the energy. Basically, it can excavate (cut) perimeter of the tunnel section in different shapes and sizes along with some other required longitudinal and transversal cuts and then extract and pull out the untouched and undug large portions of the rock or soil out of the tunnel.

A cutter head has a front surface formed with several transmitting ports, a protection plate mounted at an external-end hole of each port, several microwave generating mechanisms distributed in two manners: first, the generating mechanisms are uniformly arranged in the cutter head; second, the microwave generating mechanisms in the same number as hobbing cutters. Each generating mechanism includes a microwave source, a magnetron, a rectangular waveguide, a circulator and a microwave focus radiator, wherein the microwave source is connected with the magnetron, the magnetron is connected with one end of the waveguide, the other end of the waveguide is connected with a first port of the circulator, a second port of the circulator is connected with the microwave focus radiator, and a water load is connected to a third port of the circulator. The focus radiator includes a standard waveguide section, an impedance matching section and a compressed radiation section.

There are provided high power laser and laser mechanical earth removing equipment, and operations using laser cutting tools having stand off distances. These equipment provide high power laser beams, greater than 1 kW to cut and volumetrically remove targeted materials and to remove laser affected material with gravity assistance, mechanical cutters, fluid jets, scrapers and wheels. There is also provided a method of using this equipment in mining, road resurfacing and other earth removing or working activities.