Modern Mining September 2019

feature SHAFT SINKING AND UNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENT While the performance and productivity of shaft sinking remains important, it is clear industry has prioritised safety as its key goal. This is according to Allan Widlake, New Business Director at Murray & Roberts Cementation, who says this focus has facilitated new safety benchmarks making it easier for mine developers to consider vertical shafts for their projects. The innovative gantry pre-sinking system was pioneered at De Beers Venetia in 2014. “ W hile there is certainly no one ‘recipe’ for shaft sinking, it is possible to make continued advances through sharing experiences between companies within the Murray & Roberts Mining Platform,” Widlake says. “Doing this enables continuous improvements in safety and productivity on the group’s shaft sinking operations. It also raises the bar in terms of perfor- mance and the range of conditions that can be dealt with on site.” Each shaft sinking project presents its own requirements, depending on various factors. These include the purpose of the shaft, its diameter and depth, the rock conditions, the support systems and lining required by the client. “By adapting each oth- er’s methodologies to suit our respective operating

Safety underpins everything for Murray & Roberts Cementation

Allan Widlake, New Business Director at Murray & Roberts Cementation. and regulatory environments, there is still scope to advance with traditional drill and blast methods,” he says. An important change in southern Africa has been the adoption of drilling technology from the US and Canada. This has allowed drilling in the shaft bot- tom to be done differently. Progressing from the

46  MODERN MINING  September 2019