SHAFT SINKING
developed for medium-to-hard-rock applications up to 250 MPa . It is suitable for similar diameter and depth parameters as the SBR – 7-10 m and up to 2,000 m , respectively – and offers increased shaft sinking speed and continuous muck removal from the shaft bottom .
The 3-m-diameter cutterhead that facilitates the cutting of this rock has now moved from conceptual design to prototype , with testing of this and the accompanying pneumatic mucking system taking place at Herrenknecht ’ s Schwanau facility in Germany .
Still in Germany , but at Redpath Deilmann ’ s facility in Dortmund , more innovative work for shaft sinking is taking place .
Greinacher provided details of this solution back in May at the CIM Convention and Expo in Vancouver , Canada , outlining the new-generation Hydraulic Shaft Mucker RD S100 , a semiautonomous system to enable concurrent mucking and liner installation during shaft sinking .
The system is designed for the attachment of a shovel , double drill feed , cutting drum or other tools for mucking , drilling , ripping , cutting and cleaning to take place on a tele-remote basis . All these attachments are connected to the galloway within the shaft via a telescopic boom that also reduces the need to continuously lower the galloway during mucking – a process that can be time consuming .
Offering a maximum working range of 6.95 m , bucket digging force of 110 kN , a digging depth ( below the telescopic boom ) of 8.7 m and increased flexibility in terms of boom swing and movement , the RD S100 is expected to go some way to automating what has been to now a very manual process , allowing multiple tasks , such as mucking and concrete applications , to be conducted concurrently .
It will do this using this hardware , sensors , the Redpath Shaft Control System , 3D cameras and a stable wireless network , which will allow operators on surface to oversee the process going on within the shaft .
Redpath already has a prototype machine equipped with a 0.75 cu . m bucket ( 1 cu . m possible ) and a drilling device with twin feed for blasting of a round length of 5 m . In its facility , the shaft excavator bucket is currently being putting through its paces .
By early next year , the testing could be finished , with the RD S100 ready for a commercial deployment , according to Greinacher .
IM understands the company has already lined up a future project to use the RD S100 on .
Cementation gains more control
The Onaping Depth project in Sudbury , Ontario , is being closely watched by many in the industry due to its planned use of an all-electric production and support equipment fleet , but it also represents a rarity in the shaft sinking sector .
A prototype Hydraulic Shaft Mucker RD S100 equipped with a 0.75 cu . m bucket ( left ) and drill jumbo ( right ) is being put through its paces at Redpath Deilmann ’ s facility in Dortmund , Germany
Having started off as a 3-m-diameter raisebore pilot and slash at the 1,200-m level , it has since transitioned to a blind sink method for the lower half of what will be an approximate 7.2-mdiameter , 1,435-m-deep internal shaft ( winze ).
The combination of the two sinking methods speaks to both the expertise of the shaft sinking contractor , Cementation Canada , as well as the unusual nature of the project ; being an extension of the Craig mine that already goes down to circa-1,730 m depth .
Cementation Canada commenced the full-face blind sinking in October 2021 and , according to Eric Kohtakangas , Senior Executive Vice President , the crews reached the first of three shaft stations around the 2,490-m-depth level in July .
This is already the deepest shaft station in the Sudbury Basin – which has its fair share of deep underground mines – with a further two stations to be established on its way to reaching the final 2,630-m-depth .
Another first on the project is the further development of Cementation Canada ’ s digital shaft sinking initiative and the inclusion of short interval control ( SIC ) technology .
82 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2022