GROUND SUPPORT & ROCK REINFORCEMENT
Anatomy of the Jennmar Falcon bolt
Falcon Bolt’ s mechanical point anchor has demonstrated its ability in a range of ground conditions, while the capability to provide immediate pre-tension enables novel ground the Falcon Bolt to meet this demand. Underground trials have demonstrated the Falcon Bolt’ s viability as an innovation that can enhance safety and efficiency of ground support operations by providing faster installations, immediate pre-tension and reduced manual handling. Anticipating the future, the Falcon Bolt could readily serve as a foundation for the development of a fully automated installation system.
The Falcon Bolt utilises a top-down resin or grout injection principle completed after pre-tension is achieved. This strategy aims to overcome issues with existing resin bolts, such as difficulties locking in mesh, difficulty inserting resin tubes( especially in collapsed holes), poor resin mixing( underspinning / overspinning / gloving) and poor encapsulation as resin is lost to surrounding country. The Falcon Bolt’ s components are designed to reduce flow obstructions and optimise encapsulation quality using typical pumping equipment.
Jennmar has developed the Falcon Bolt in conjunction with a mechanical injection system. When utilised in conjunction with a mechanical injection system, a further increase in bolting efficiency can be gained, resin encapsulation becomes more consistent and the reliance on a grouting crew is removed. The Falcon Bolt is available in various lengths to suit diverse requirements and an extension drilling system has been devised to facilitate installations greater than 3 m in length, offering a potential alternative to cable bolts. To cater for seismic or squeezing conditions, the Falcon Bolt can be supplied in a unique configuration optimised for dynamic performance. The Falcon Bolt and its installation system are protected by patents.
Jennmar:“ The Falcon Bolt represents a shift in design philosophy by aiming to provide an innovation on installation methodology. The ideological framework of the design rests on a search to find the most effective method to put the steel in the rock. Ground support installation has emerged as a focal point for improvement in the development process, and the Falcon Bolt has demonstrated its potential as a transformative innovation, offering enhanced bolting efficiency without compromising performance. Its increased bolting efficiency could correlate to a cost saving, since time incurs the greatest expense during ground support installation, and potentially increase development rates by decreasing time spent installing ground support between cuts.” The experimental evaluation of the
support implementation strategies. The Falcon Bolt’ s static and dynamic capacity have been verified, with full capacity achieved after grout / resin encapsulation. Future efforts will focus on conducting largescale underground trials to further validate its performance with a significant sample size. Additionally, further development will be dedicated to its integration with mechanical resin injection systems.
At Alkane Resources’ Tomingley Gold Mine in Australia, Jennmar was requested to improve the strength of the R32S bolt, developing the R32X. Upon the full-scale implementation of the 6 m Falcon Bolt R32S as a replacement for 6 m twin-strand cables, it was determined that the overall cost per installed intersection remained comparable despite requiring more bolts, and the implementation of the R32X Falcon Bolt in 6 m format is expected to reduce costs of ground support installation. The efficiency of the installation process provided opportunity to optimise priorities for service crews and jumbos, correlating with an improvement to scheduling. For the first time, actual development and number of intersections installed exceeded schedule.
Testing is currently underway to justify a change to a 4.8 m Falcon Bolt, which is anticipated to reduce costs further still. The commissioning of a purpose developed resin injection system is expected to offer further benefits to scheduling, installation efficiency, risk reduction, and QAQC.
Feedback from operators across all four crews involved in the development process has been positive, and the active pursuit of input from workers across these crews at TGO was crucial to the success of the change management and the product development process. The safety improvements offered by the removal of the cable installation process are significant. In six months, three injuries occurred as a direct result of the cable installation method. This opportunity emerged from the collaboration between Jennmar and TGO management and geotechnical team, and the project’ s success highlights the importance, of such collaborative efforts. Future research will explore the impacts of this ground support strategy on the overall mine development process.
International Mining | AUGUST 2025