Boring At High Thrust and Its Potential in the Hard-Rock Mining Industry in South Africa
Abstract
Raise-boring studies carried out in gold mines have indicated that increased penetration rates and possibly reduced costs could be obtained if higher thrusts were available at the reaming head. In response to these requirements a raise-borer, the Robbins 83R was designed, built, and is operating in South African gold mines at a depth of 12,000 ft below surface. The initial raises bored have substantiated that increased penetration is attainable at high thrust and it is now apparent that the machine is sufficiently versatile to drill raises of up to 12 ft in diameter in quartzite formation over a length of 2000 ft. A description of the high thrust borer specifications is given, and the ancillary back-up equipment necessary to facilitate transportation from site to site and actual machine operation on site is referred to.
Recommended Citation
J. W. Wilson and P. C. Graham, "Boring At High Thrust and Its Potential in the Hard-Rock Mining Industry in South Africa," Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference Proceedings, Society of Mining Engineers, Jan 1974.
Meeting Name
Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference
Department(s)
Mining Engineering
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 1974 Society of Mining Engineers, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 1974
