Modern Mining January 2023

COMPANY PROFILE

Blast-on mesh Installing an 8 mm cable on the leading edge of a mesh sheet helps to absorb the velocity of the blast. The mesh sheets can be used as permanent areal support in nar row reef mining. Uncontrolled fall of ground between bolts can be eliminated with the installation of MINAX blast-on mesh, which also reduces the time spent on inspection and barring following re-entry after blasting. Our team makes sure that sufficient training is provided to ensure the mesh is installed correctly. Geobrugg has specially designed round spike plates that can be used instead of flat washers. These round spike plates help to improve the load transfer between mesh and bolts, making it a complete sys tem. Mesh sheets are connected with T3 Connection Clips. There is no need for additional bolts or overlapping mesh – no mesh wastage occurs.

Geobrugg solutions (rockfall barriers or drape systems) protect workers against rockfall and also protect access roads, production installations and buildings. The high tensile steel wire offers high energy absorption capacity and long life with low maintenance. The rockfall barriers offer protection against maximum energies up to 10 000 kJ. The barriers are easy to install and simple to maintain. Energy categories for the GBE rockfall barrier series bear the CE conformity marking. Geobrugg’s barriers have a considerably smaller carbon footprint than concrete or steel constructions. Attenuators for passive protection Hybrid rockfall barriers are installed as passive pro tective measures. The barrier intercepts the rockfall and absorbs the energy, while the drape enables the rocks and other debris to roll into a catch zone in a controlled manner. Attenuators offer a moderately controlled form of slope protection. A cost-effective solution In many projects, geotechnical engineers are faced with challenges and always want a solution that offers less time on site, fewer materials, and the least impact on the environment. Solutions need to be effective while minimising the disturbance of the environment. Thanks to the aluminum-zinc coat ing on Geobrugg’s mesh (MINAX, TECCO, DELTAX and SPIDER), the mesh blends into the landscape. Geobrugg’s drape systems can provide the same level of protection as a conventional protective covering using only half as many nails. This can significantly reduce the total project cost and instal lation time. If you need a specialist solution for geohazards, then Geobrugg is the answer. Reference projects can be found at www.geobrugg.com/projects. 

advance our understanding of the complex problem of ground support. The new ground support designs, developed over the past few years, consist of high-tensile steel wire mesh MINAX, anchors and shotcrete. Because of the use of high-tensile steel wire (min 1770 N/mm 2 ) and the flexibility of the chain-link mesh, such a sup port system can be applied in areas with high static and dynamic stress. On several rockburst occasions worldwide, it has been demonstrated that this type of design, with high-tensile chain link mesh MINAX, allows high energy absorption of the dynamic loads from peri odic rockburst. This, depending on the magnitude of the incident, is usually without any maintenance requirements, which is fundamental for guaranteeing miners’ safety and essential to increase the produc tivity of mining development ultimately.

Attenuator at local diamond mine.

GBE barrier.

54  MODERN MINING  January 2023