MONSTER MACHINES
The formation of the Aurora phosphate deposit began millions of years ago and lies a little more than 100 feet below the surface of the earth. So, how do we get the phosphate out of
the ground?
Before the ore can be mined, approximately forty-five feet of sand and clay soils, known as overburden, must be removed by an enormous shovel accompanied by five 240-ton haulage trucks. The shovel truck system places the overburden on conveyors for transport to the spreader where the material is used in the reclamation process.
After the operators of the shovel truck system do their job, dragline operators take over and excavate an additional sixty to seventy feet of overburden to uncover the phosphate deposit. As the overburden is removed, the strip of dark, sandy ore, about thirty five feet thick,
becomes visible.
