In spite of the fact that the dredge method of placer deposits development has been used for quite a long time, the available literature on dredging is very poor. The overwhelming majority of monographs and journal articles devoted to this issue, as well as related to it - the use of dredges, is descriptive in nature, and only a small part to some extent approaches the issues of the theory of soil cutting.The most important stage in determining the load overcome by the bucket chain motor is to establish the value of the total resistance to digging the soil, the causes that cause load fluctuations, and the magnitude of these fluctuations.

In the process of working the face, the load of the bucket chain drive motors (main drive) of multi‑bucket excavators and dredges, all other things being equal, is continuously changing. Fluctuations (called natural fluctuations) of the motor load of this drive are the result of variability of the number of buckets in contact with the mined rock and changes in the total resistance to digging along the length of the face. The frequency f of natural load fluctuations is determined by the speed v and the pitch t of the bucket chain ...