PRIMACY OF EXCAVATING AND BULK HANDLING IN FUTURE MINING.

In spite of distractions from glamour areas excavating and bulk handling in mining remain paramount but are now undergoing dramatic advances. The massive intervention of mining and civil engineers as 'engineer-users' into the tight, exclusive, and specialized bond between the equipment operator ('operator-users') and the manufacturer (mechanical engineers and sales 'reps') has now occurred. This has produced a well-defined professional discipline, including construction and even military engineering. The mine plant, and to a lesser extent, the mine face, is now being monitored. Equipment conferences, journals, and centers at universities and agencies have multiplied. The discipline's impact on future mining now becomes more apparent.