Modern Mining June 2016

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MODERN MINING

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June 2016

TECHNOLOGY

his is the first time in

over two decades that

such technology has

been employed in mine

shaft sinking, accord-

ing to Danie Roos, Herrenknecht AG’s Busi-

ness Development Manager in South Africa.

Safety issues, rising operational costs and a re-

duction in productivity have resulted in mine

operators taking a fresh look at the way mines

are run – which has resulted in renewed inter-

est in the mechanisation of mining operations,

including shaft sinking, says Roos.

“The excavation of shafts is a critical activity

in the development of new mines, or the exten-

sion of existing ones, because the quicker an

orebody is accessed, the sooner the end product

enters the market.

“Mechanised deep shaft boring is regarded

as a game-changing technology and supports

the universal drive to replace drilling and blast-

ing with alternative technology that removes

miners from potentially dangerous areas, like

a shaft bench with an unsupported shaft wall,”

he says.

The largest machine in the Herrenknecht

range is capable of developing shafts in hard

rock conditions to depths of 2 000 m. This

machine, referred to as the

Shaft Boring

Machine (SBM)

, was developed as a result

of Herrenknecht’s involvement in Rio Tinto’s

‘Mine of the Future’ programme and the

New shaft boring technology

Danie Roos, Herrenknecht

AG’s Business Development

Manager in South Africa.

German engineering company Herrenknecht AG, a world leader in mechanised

tunnelling, has developed a range of four shaft boring machines – each

designed to operate in specific geological conditions – for the safe and rapid

construction of blind shafts or shaft enlargements to 2 000 m. Currently,

work is progressing on BHP Billiton’s Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan,

Canada, on the sinking of two 1 000 m deep mine shafts using this

pioneering blind shaft technology.

Two of Herrenknecht’s Shaft

Boring Roadheaders (SBRs)

are currently in operation at

the Jansen project in Can-

ada. The SBR is equipped

with a rotating cutting drum

installed on a telescopic and

slewable boom.