Highlead

Highlead is a historical term referring to two related cable-haulage methods used in extraction industries, notably mining and logging. The common element is the use of a high-elevated cable, or lead, suspended above the working area to move material to a receiving point, controlled by a surface winch or yarder, rather than a hoist located at the point of extraction.

In mining, highlead denotes an early hoisting arrangement in which ore or waste is drawn from underground workings to the surface by a line that runs from a drum or winch on the surface to the underground face, often passing through sheaves at the shaft head. This allowed ore to be raised without a full underground hoist and was widely used in small or shallow mines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Efficiency and safety concerns, along with the spread of electric hoists, led to its obsolescence in many operations.

In logging, highlead yarding systems use a spar or tower to support a fixed high lead line (and sometimes a separate haul-back line) to move logs from distant cutovers to a landing. The line is operated by a yarder at the ground or on a hillside, enabling long-distance, slope-stable extraction with minimal ground disturbance. Highlead was common in North American forests before the development of modern cable yarding and tractor logging.

Etymology derives from the elevated lead line’s position above the work area. See also mine hoist, logging yarding, skyline cable.