NAME: AMBE BLESSING SIRRI

MARITCLE: UBa21EP146
COURSE CODE: MINE6103
COURSE TITLE: ADVANCED UNDERGROUNG MINE DESIGN.
Questions
1. Discuss the equipment for shaft sinking and excavation for underground mines.

A shaft is a vertical or inclined opening from surface for the conveyance of men, materials,
hoisting ore, pumping water and providing ventilation.
Sinking: The work in excavating a shaft.

Shaft sinking: It may be described as an excavation of vertical or inclined opening from surface
for conveyance of men, materials, ventilation, pumping water, in addition to hoisting ore and
waste rock. It is also called Shaft Construction or Shaft Mining.

The “MINING” industry is the backbone of a countries economy and energy. After agriculture
mining is the second most important industry on which a countries economy is depend. Which
helps in growth of any country in every aspects, because all existing industries are depend on
mining. There is none of the industry which will replace mining indutries. The mining industry
plays an important role in the development of the nation. For underground mining working,
access should be very precious and reliable. There are many other access but most reliable option
one access to excavate deep seated mineral body, that term is called as SHAFT. There is no other
access existing which can replace shaft. So we will have to go through shaft. And for better shaft
reliability we have to sink in better ways, that’s why SHINKING is very important. But there are
many things to be considered. Then we can make better shaft.

Speedy and economical shaft sinking operation depends upon not only on actual sinking speeds
but to a great extent also on the planning of the number and the size of the shaft of the hoisting
equipment. the shaft sinking with permanent winding equipment offers some advantages due to
the fact that in this case the transition from shaft sinking to tunneling requires less time and it is
possible to dispense with the expenditures on the installation and dismantling of temporary
equipment. Mechanical excavation methods are a step change in excavation performance and
labour safety compared to drill and blast operations. In hard rock conditions, road headers cannot
be used effectively, so disc cutting is the first for excavation of declines, tunnel boring machines
(TBM) can be used in many cases. These provide, in certain rock conditions, considerably higher
production rates compared to drill and blast excavation. Vertical shaft sinking machine (VSM)
that allows excavating shallow shafts in soil a medium soft rock. steam boilers and diesel engine
for winding engine, pump etc. unless electrical power is available. winding engine and winders
fitted with locked coil ropes. steel headgear. The headgear may be temporary nature and after
the sinking is over, it is replaced by a permanent headgear and permanent winders to suit the
output. double drum winches for Walling scaffold, and other winches for lighting cable, pump
suspension rope and pump cable. air compressors for jackhammer drill used for drilling into
rock and other compressed air operated equipment.  Fan of nearly 300m3 per min capacity.
generator with diesel or steam engine for lighting. folding doors to cover the shaft top.  shaft
centering arrangement.  signaling arrangement from pit bottom to pit top and form pit top to
winding engine. For disposal of debris, chutes, buckets, and tipping tubs with tramline etc.
Workshop including smithly shop, mortar mill and other usual machines. The two major
developments in shaft sinking between 2007 and 2020 are the successes in mechanical
excavation and the number of shafts sunk in China. To have four major mine shafts, over six
metres in diameter and over 1,000 metres in depth, completely excavated with mechanical
excavators and one additional shaft partially completed, is certainly noteworthy. Regarding the
Chinese shaft sinking, we do not have the exact figures for the time period in question, but
between 2000 and 2015, 1,092 completed shafts have been reported by Chinese shaft sinkers in
both hard and soft ground. The advance rates in some of these shafts are similar to or better than
those achieved in North America. In addition to mechanical shaft sinking, there have been a
number of other innovations that have been introduced since 2007. Perhaps the most important
of these is the backhoe-type mucking machine.

Herrenknecht SBR Shaft Excavators

The SBR was developed as part of Rio Tinto Mine of the Futureâ program,  a research and
development project to advance more efficient mining technologies. It was subsequently chosen
by BHP Billiton to excavate the shafts for their Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan. The cutting
system features a large road header cutting tool combined with a vacuum system to move the
broken rock into a storage bin on the work stage above. From there, the muck is transferred to
sinking buckets and hoisted to the surface. The Herrenknecht machines are massive weighing
more than 300 tonnes, and are suspended from the surface on winch ropes. Shaft lining is
installed from the work decks above the excavator. For quick and reliable construction of vertical
shafts, Herrenknecht developed its VSM (Vertical Shaft Sinking Machine) technology, today an
established product on the market. This unique mechanized shaft sinking equipment shows its
strengths particularly below groundwater. In general, it can be used in soft and stable soils with
compression strengths of up to 80 megapascal. Shafts constructed using Herrenknecht VSM
technology have a wide range of applications. With diameters ranging from 4.5 to 12 meters,
they can be used as launch and reception shafts for tunnelling operations, access and ventilation
shafts for traffic tunnels, or service and access points for all kinds of under-
1. Start section
The first step of the jobsite installation is the excavation of a cavern. In the excavated cavern the
start section
with cutting edge and segment rings is installed. Then, the ring foundation is concreted around
the start section to carry the shaft and machine load. The costs can be reduced by using a
segmented ring foundation that can be reused on the next shaft.
2. Installation of lowering unit
and shaft sinking machine
The lowering unit consists of the strand jacks itself and coiled strands on a drum. For each
specific project,
the number of strands is calculated before. The strands are fed through the strand jacks and
lowered through the annulus from the surface. Thereby the strand wires are connected to the
cutting edge. In a next step the shaft sinking machine is lifted into the start section and attached
firmly to the shaft wall with its three machine arms. By integrated levelling cylinders the VSM
can be adjusted to three positions in the shaft. The rest of the shaft sinking equipment can now be
installed and is adapted specifically to suit the situation on site.
3. Shaft sinking process
After flooding the shaft with water the rotating cutting drum, which is attached to a telescopic
boom, can excavate and break the soil at the base of the completely submerged shaft. The
excavated material is carried out by a slurry system and is transported to the separation plant on
the surface. The lining is done with segments in parallel to the excavating process or by in-situ
concrete casting. Due to the simultaneous working processes high advance rates of up to 5
meters per shift can be achieved. The shaft sinking process is permanently controlled by strand
jacking cylinders, which are holding the entire shaft structure and lowering it upon to the
excavated level. When the
desired depth of the shaft has been reached, the VSM is removed by recovery winches.
Subsequently, the shaft bottom is sealed by an underwater concrete plug and the annular gap is
filled up with grout, creating a frictional support locking the shaft in place. Finally, the shaft
construction has been completed without affecting the groundwater or the surrounding soil and is
now ready for further use.

2. Drilling and blasting parameters in shaft sinking and tunnel construction.

In underground mines, where the deposit is located at considerable depths, mining shafts are key
excavations. The project of making the deposit available requires selection of appropriate shaft
sinking technology adapted to geological and hydrological conditions and natural hazards. Shafts
can be made using the classic drilling and blasting technique or mechanical cutting of the shaft
face. Mechanical cutting requires the use of a mining machine, which together with machines for
loading and hauling the output and protecting the side walls is a shaft complex. Drilling using
mechanized shaft complexes allows for high efficiency and work safety. To improve the
efficiency of drilling, it is particularly important to implement many processes in parallel. The
significance and complexity of tunnel excavation is also reflected in the fact that a special
science that deals with underground facilities construction, including tunnels has been
developed.
First step that determines success of tunnel excavation is the establishment of quasi
homogeneous
zones in the rock mass, located on the tunnel route then, the engineering geologic longitudinal
profiles construction. It is also necessary to determine physical and mechanical properties of rock
masses along the
route and nearby, the hydrological condition of terrain, as well as all the other characteristics on
which the tunnel performance depends. All these tests are required to perform the classification
of rock mass along the tunnel route. Based on the information related to the characteristics of the
work environment or the
rock type that are located on the route of the tunnel, preliminary analysis and calculation have
been made, which allowed safe blasting during excavation of the tunnel. Shaft sinking can be
carried out by traditional mining technique using drilling and blasting with explosive material or
by mechanical cutting of the shaft face. The traditional mining method consists in drilling blast
holes in the face of the shaft, loading them with explosive material and blasting. However, this
technique requires withdrawal of the staff for the time of blasting and then venting the shaft face.
At large depths, this technique significantly limits the progress of drilling. In addition, serial
implementation of all processes is required, i.e. drilling, blasting, loading and securing of side
walls, which also has a negative impact on efficiency. When choosing the method of mechanical
cutting of the shaft face, the main factor is the physical properties of the excavated rocks as well
as economic and organizational possibilities. The mechanical technique includes all methods of
shaft sinking, which use mechanical cutting of rocks using hammers, full-scale drilling, or
cutting with various types of tools. Mechanical methods can be carried out manually
(hammering) or using a suitable machine (drilling, cutting). However, loading and transport of
output can be carried out in series with shaft loaders or in parallel with continuous haulage
(conveyors, pneumatic or hydraulic transport). There are known solutions and machines from
Sandvik, Wirth, Turmag and Herrenknecht, which were or are still used. These solutions are
characterized by varying degrees of mechanization and automation of individual processes
carried out during shaft sinking. However, the existing shaft sinking technologies have their
weaknesses, mainly in the aspect of excavation in a compact rock mass. The progress achieved
by them is unsatisfactory in comparison to the one assumed. The main obstacle to achieving the
right progress is a series of activities resulting from the shaft lining technology.
MECHANIZED SHAFT COMPLEX OF THE NEW GENERATION
For the purpose of shaft sinking in one of the Polish hard coal mines, a mechanized
shaft complex of the new generation has been developed. This complex implements
the following processes in parallel;
• cutting – continuous process carried out by the cutting head attached to the
working platform in a way that allows cutting the entire bottom of the shaft,
• loading and haulage – carried out continuously by a loader and a set of belt and
bucket conveyors,
• temporary protection of side walls – realized by steel shields that simultaneously
perform the function of expansion using built-in hydraulic cylinders.

WORKING TECHNOLOGY OF THE SHAFT COMPLEX

While developing the concept of the shaft complex, it is necessary to propose its
working technology. The working technology must be implemented in a specific way
due to the conditions at the place of shaft sinking and due to the machines used.
Based on the principle of the complex work associated with the sinking technology, it
is possible to analyse the progress. A number of complex concepts are
developed, and performance evaluation carried out for the final version.
The shaft complex at the same time carries out the process of cutting, loading, output
hauling off from the bottom of the shaft and temporary securing of the side walls.
ANALYSIS OF SHAFT SINKING EFFECTIVENESS
On the basis of given geometrical and kinematic parameters, complex working
technology and work organization, a multi-variant analysis of cutting progress is
carried out. First, the cutting performance is determined during the implementation
of one layer. The cutting is carried out at a constant rotational speed of the platform
rotating ring. In such a situation, the linear velocity of the cutting head
(tangent to the radius of the shaft) varies in individual slices. Duration of each cut is 5
minutes.
Shaft sinking is a difficult and complicated process. The large variety of mining and geological
conditions significantly limits the possibility of developing a universal shaft complex. The
introduction of full process mechanization assuming the possibility of carrying out some
activities in parallel required the development of a new shaft complex for specific conditions.