1. Introduction.
The growing awareness of the limited availability of energy reserves, an increasing safety requirement, as well as a growing sensitivity to questions of pollution, present the industry with new tasks.
In order to solve these new problems completely new methods must be developed, but, at least in some areas, solutions can be achieved by transferring well known and proven techniques.
In the following article an attempt is made to indicate possible solutions to problems defined in the South African gold and coal mining industries by reference to proven operating processes in the field of pneumatic transport of dry bulk materials and the hydraulic transport of pastes.
The author is fully aware that all these problems cannot be solved by a simple transfer of techniques, and modifications of these will also be necessary. On the other hand successful solutions to these problems will have a great influence on developments in the mining industry in all parts of the world.
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