Preface

This thesis looks at how vertical shafts can be constructed in unstable soil and rock. It is intended that
it expands the scope of shaft construction by integrating many fields of expertise and looking at how
we can combine our experience.
Because I have an Australian background my search for a research project began there, to build
contacts and experience in the Australian environment. The thesis first got off the ground in november
2003 when Dr. Bamford of Melbourne University responded with the potential of projects
approaching the field of mining engineering. As the thesis progressed, it became apparent that Dr.
Bamford would always be extremely helpful anytime progress threatened to slow.
Through Dr. Bamford the Melbourne based company Australian Mining Consultants (AMC) were
involved, where Max Lee and Warren Peck proposed the wall-support problem for raise-boring.
Throughout the project Warren was a considerable help, ensuring consistent meetings and generously
supplying a lot of helpful data. Max was often out in the field, but because of this, his involvement
always guaranteed plenty of practical out-in-the-field problems and solutions.
In the Netherlands Bert Everts and professor van Tol were very supportive of the overseas project,
even though it did not always coincide with the research they are normally involved in. They assisted
in gaining financial support from the Kivi (The Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands) and
in keeping me on track in the final stretch of the project. Dominique Ngan-Tillard, who was always
very busy, nevertheless always managed to make time for me. With her knowledge of rock mechanics
she was an important bridge between the overseas and local part of my research.
This research has shown that pre-reinforcement, blind hole drilling and remote excavation can all be
viable alternatives to conventional drilling and blasting. I hope that, as a result of my work, other
students may investigate these alternatives in more detail. More importantly, I hope that smart and
responsible mining companies will then be inclined to consider these alternatives.
My thanks go out to all those that have helped me with this work.

Preface

Preface

Contents
Preface
Contents
List of Figures
Index of Tables
Introduction
Document Structure

Abstract
1.Analysis of the raiseboring method

1
3
6
8
9
10

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13

Introduction
History
Elements of a mine
Raiseboring & shaft sinking
Geological Conditions
AMC Consultants
Aim
Problems
Safety
Cost
Wall and back instability
Current limits
Non-entry method
Limited Diameter
Bottom-end access
Groundwater
Muck removal
Drilling versatility
Range of application
Mine ventilation and ore passes
Tunnel access shafts
Other applications

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2.Methods of shaft construction

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Introduction
Down-the-hole shaft sinking methods
Conventional drilling and blasting
Shaft-boring machine with mucking
V-mole with pilot-hole
Down-the-hole lining methods
Rock bolting and meshing
Cast-in-place lining
Forepoling or Boodex method
Pre-cast lining segments
Remote shaft sinking methods
Blind Hole Drilling
The Shaft-cutting machine (SCM) or Excavation
Remote lining methods
Floated pre-cast lining segments
Caisson sinking
Remote shotcreting
Raiseboring methods
Horadiam method
Pre-reinforcement for Raiseboring
Grout treatment
Grout mini-piles

Contents

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Secant piles
Diaphragm walls
Freezing
Calyx drill

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3.Assessment of methods

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Varying geologies
Workers in shafts

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4.Shaft Cutting Machines

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Excavation mechanisms
Augering
Excavation
Caisson-style lining
Skin friction
Conclusion

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5.Blind hole drilling

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Introduction
Description
Cuttings Removal
Lining
Cost
Limitations

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6.Pre-reinforcing with piles

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Introduction
Drilling methods
Secant Piles
Jet grouting
Rotary percussive DTH-drilling
MUD-support
Dry-rock-drilling
Odex
Abrasive water-jet-cutting
Drilling Accuracy
Measuring and correcting deflections
The grouting process
The purpose of grouting
Quality of grouting
Grouting and groundwater
Grout flow
Grout wash
Hot bitumen grouting
Grouting and joints
Small joints
Filled joints
Hydrofracturing
Cavities and large fractures
Conclusion

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7.Stability of shafts

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Instability problems
Empirical methods for assessing shaft stability
The Q-System
Adaptations for raisebored shafts
Analytical methods for assessing shaft stability
Shaft in isotropic horizontal stress field (Lams Problem)
Shaft in anisotropic horizontal stress field (Kirsch Solution)
Wedge Analysis
Block Theory
Application to shafts

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Preface

Limit Equilibrium Analysis

Joint stability
Joint Orientation
Joint Roughness
Joint filling
Conclusions

8.Results
Introduction
Reviewed methods
Guidelines for use
Conclusion
Recommendations for further research
Bibliography

Glossary
Appendix A Database of Shaft Construction Examples
Appendix B List of experts consulted

Contents

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List of Figures
Figure 1 - Overview of the report
11
Figure 2 - The problem of wall instability encountered in soft soil/rock due to fractures and weathering,
during raiseboring.
12
Figure 3 Picture of typical mine development and its' elements
13
[Hartman & Mutmansky 2002]
13
Figure 4 Drilling and blasting a shaft
14
Figure 5 Overview of the raiseboring process.
15
Figure 6 - Sign near ventilation shafts in outback Australia. It shows one of the safety issues with
vertical shafts. It is also dangerous to work in shafts because of the chance of rockfall from
overhead
16
Figure 7 - The problem of wall instability that is encountered in soft soil/rock due to fracturing and
weakness of the strata. This is a typical Australian situation, but similar circumstances exist
in Scandinavia, South Africa and China.
17
Figure 8 - Fatalities in Metal and Non-metal mining in the U.S. [Courtesy MSHA]
19
Figure 9 - Looking down what was intended as a round ventilation shaft. Overbreak has occured along
two intersecting fracture planes.
20
Figure 10 - Diameter versus depth for existing drilled shafts [Bell 1988]
21
Figure 11 - Typical shaft dimensions and geological conditions for different shaft types. (Typical
minimum and maximum dimensions are shown in brackets)
25
Figure 12 - Overview of construction methods grouped by location and direction of the construction
activities.
28
Figure 13 Shaft sinking through conventional drilling and blasting
29
Figure 14 Shaft sinking with a shaft boring machine and mucking
30
Figure 15 Shaft sinking with a V-mole where
31
Figure 16 Tunnelling example of forepoling in fractured rock in Greece [courtesy of the Geoegineer
Website, D. Zekkos]
33
Figure 17 Typical drill patterns used for forepoling ahead of the face in a vertical shaft.
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Figure 18 - Composite pre-cast liners ready for floating into a mud-filled shaft.
33
Figure 19 Large diameter blind hole drilling.
34
Figure 20 Shaft sinking with a shaft cutting machine (SCM) down the shaft and mucking.
36
Figure 21 Shaft sinking from the surface by excavation with a crane or boom.
36
Figure 22 - Boom type excavator used to build a tunnel entry shaft in Abu-Dhabi
36
Figure 23 - Composite pre-cast liners ready for floating into a mud-filled shaft.
37
Figure 24 - Jack-down lining performed by Marin through soft clays. Pipes used for lubrication and
grouting can be seen running along the outside of the lining
37
Figure 25 - Wall lining through sinking of a caisson - open front excavation
38
Figure 26 - Detail of fibrecrete nozzle
39
Figure 28 - Horadiam method
40
Figure 29 - Horadiam method
40
Figure 30 - Calyx drill
47
Figure 31 retrieved segment of core from calyx drill
47
Figure 33 - Headframe for shaft drilling
57
Figure 34 - Composite lining elements which will be welded together as they are floated into the shaft.
59
Figure 35 - Drill pipes and the airline-nozzle [left] which is lowered through the pipes.
59
Figure 36 - Detail of drill-pipe flanges and connection bolts. To transmit the drill torque and carry the
weight of pipes and cutterhead they are thick and are made from high-grade steel.
59
Figure 37 - Settling ponds for drilling mud
60
Figure 38 Measuring borehole deviation: azimuth and inclination.
70
Figure 39 - Deflection caused by hard, dipping layers known as 'rat-holing'
70
Figure 40 - Improved accuracy through multi-shot survey
71
Figure 41 Mechanisms of grouting for increasing stability
75
Figure 42 - Crosshole radar tomography to find flow paths
76
Figure 43 - Penetration of hot bitumen in water-filled joints.
77

Preface

List of Figures

Index of Tables
Table 1 - Overview of problems and limits in shaft construction
Table 2 Types of shaft that will be facilitated in this study, including typical shaft dimensions
Table 3 - Shaft sinking methods: Drilling and Blasting
Table 4 - Shaft sinking methods: Shaft Boring Machine
Table 5 - Shaft sinking methods: V-mole with pilot-hole
Table 6 - Shaft sinking methods: Blind Hole Drilling
Table 7 - Shaft sinking methods: shaft excavation and shaft cutting machines
Table 8 - Horadiam method
Table 9 - Pre-reinforcement: Grout treatment
Table 10 - Pre-reinforcement: Grout Mini-piles
Table 11 - Pre-reinforcement: Secant piles
Table 12 - Pre-reinforcement: Diaphragm walls
Table 13 - Local and economic factors that influence the shaft design method.
Table 14 (Hydro)geological and design parameters that influence shaft construction
Table 15 Level of safety of each construction method.
Table 16 - Blind Hole Drilling guidelines [Zeni 2004, Weber]
Table 17 - Secant pile guidelines [134. Herrenknecht AG.]
Table 18 - Rotary percussive DTH-hammer drilling guidelines [88. Roger Nylund, 2004]
Table 19 Odex drilling guidelines [62. Verfel 1989]
Table 20 - Guidelines for troubleshooting drilling accuracy problems. Solid bullets indicate survey
systems that are susceptibile to errors.
Table 21 - Rules to ensure effective grouting
Table 22 Ensuring the quality of grouting
Table 24 - Detecting and preventing problems with grout flow and grout wash
Table 25 Guidelines for grout penetration
Table 26 - Application of hydrofracturing

Preface

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Introduction
Getting access to underground area's is a useful construction activity for many human activities. Each
year we use over 500 megatons of metals in our everyday life, which has all been mined from pits and
underground ore deposits sometimes as deep as 3000m. To gain access to these deep deposits requires
an efficient method of construction of vertical shafts to get there, to transport men and equipment, to
carry fresh air and to carry the ore out.
Besides mining we also use shafts to transport water through damsites, for transportation purposes
through tunnels in urban areas and to store chemical and radioactive waste. Research into shaft
construction has always been limited but is now becoming of increasing importance. Because ore
bodies are becoming depleted, shafts are being constructed ever deeper and in ever more challenging
geologies. Secondly, unsafe practices that endanger the lives of men working in shafts have become
unacceptable.
This research looks into ways of constructing vertical shafts in area's with soft and weak overburden
that have been uneconomical previously. The focus is on ways to reinforce soft soils and soft and
fractured rock. Without further treatment such geologies normally cause collapse of the shaft.
The research looks at construction methods within the confines of increased safety demands, low cost
and varying geology and hydrology.
During the research, no single obvious solution became apparent for reinforcing weak geologies.
However it became clear that there are a great number of different geologies which can each be
tackled with specifically tailored construction methods.
The result of this research is an insight and methodology for determining how to best construct shafts
in weak overburden. A decision schematic now allows mining and construction companies to take
informed decisions at an early stage. Expert experience, examples and literature have been used to
generate design criteria and quick-and-easy models.
Although it should be noted that detailed research and local experience is always necessary when
designing and constructing shafts, this report should reduce risks and help decide on optimal shaft
construction methods early on, prior to detailed design.

Introduction

Document Structure
This report is built up in a number of research stages.
In the first chapter, an analysis of the raiseboring method is given. The problems and limits of current
practice are analyzed and the aim of the research is set. The different types of shafts are identified
along with their demands on dimensions and stability.
Then the various methods of vertical shaft construction are researched. Current methods, innovations
and methods from other fields are investigated. This was done under guidance of Australian Mining
Consultants and Melbourne University. During this period in Australia an examples database was
started, and many experts were consulted in regard to their experience with shaft construction
methods.
In chapter three, the wide array of methods is assessed. To be able to do this, the geological conditions
that affect shaft construction are analysed. With these constraints in hand, the methods are evaluated
and three are identified for detailed research.
Chapter four describes methods of excavating relatively shallow shafts with continuous cutting
machines.
Chapter five details Blind Hole Drilling which is a method derived from oil-well type drilling. A site
visit was made in the Springvale shaft thanks to Zeni Drilling.
Chapter six looks into forms of pre-reinforcement. These are methods where lining or reinforcement is
constructed prior to excavation, such as grouting and diaphragm walls. This research was continued in
the Netherlands where the knowledge of deep foundations and geotechnical modeling is extensive.
In Chapter seven shaft stability is discussed, and also the way in which shaft stability is affected by the
different construction methods. Empirical and analytical methods are demonstrated so they can be
used to compare methods.
The concluding chapter presents a decision model for determining the best construction method in
varying geologies. Alongside this, recommendations for further research are presented. Furthermore
the experts consulted and the examples database are shown in the appendices.
The structure of the report is also given schematically in Figure 1.

10

Preface

1. Analysis of Raiseboring method

Aim
Problems
Limits
Range of Application
2. Research into Shaft Construction Methods

3. Assessement of Methods
poor

Literature
Experts
Existing methods
Examples from
other fields

good

Abandon

Further Research
4. Shaft Cutting Machines
5. Blind Hole Drilling
6. Pre-reinforcing with piles
7. Methods for
evaluating stability
8. Expert System
Decision schematic
Examples database
Experts database
Conclusions

Figure 1 - Overview of the report

Introduction

11

Abstract
Minesites require ventilation shafts and ore passes to gain access to resources. As ore becomes
depleted, methods for constructing deeper and cheaper vertical shafts are required. Also, increasing
safety demands mean the risk of having workers down shafts is becoming unacceptable.
Raiseboring is a common method used to
create ventilation and ore shafts for secondary
mine openings. Lengths usually range from
200-800m, with diameters up to 7m.
The raiseboring process works by boring a
pilot hole to an existing horizontal shaft, were
a reamer is installed. This reamer is pulled
back up to the surface creating the shaft. The
method is efficient because clippings fall
down the shaft and can be left there or easily
collected. More importantly there are no men
down the shaft.

Raiseboring
machine

Shaft
5m

Problematic
weathered rock can
stand up only 1-3m
Soil/rock breaches
into borehole

In layers of soft soils or highly fractured rock, Figure 2 - The problem of wall instability
the raiseboring method becomes unsuitable.
encountered in soft soil/rock due to fractures and
weathering, during raiseboring.
The weathered rock caves into the hole,
jamming and possibly damaging the reamer,
sometimes even causing collapse of the entire shaft. This thesis looks into cost-effective and safe
methods of constructing ventilation shafts through weak rock.
Analyzing the potential methods has resulted in an impression of the suitability of each method in
different conditions. Three areas have been selected for further research.
Blind-hole drilling, with the shaft filled to the top with mud to stabilize the walls is a safe,
innovative method. However the method can be restricted in its application because of large
transportation and setup costs, limited thrust and problems with existing mine openings.
Remote shaft cutting machines (similar to road-headers) can be dropped into the shaft, or a
similar microtunneling machine or a boom-mounted cutter. A wide range of lining methods can be
applied to line the shaft as drilling progresses, of which the most suited are remote shotcreting,
floating in a lining and caisson sinking. This low-investment method may be suitable for
traversing the weak overburden, leaving the remainder of the shaft to be raisebored, but the
method is not suited to deep layers of weak rock.
At first glance grouting of a ring of mini-piles, or localised grouting in weak layers, is a method
with high potential as it enables raiseboring in most situations. However previous cases have
shown the method to be ineffective, with collapses both South African and Australian mineshafts.
Problem areas are i) inaccurate measurement and positioning of grout; ii) dispersion of grout due
to groundwater flow; iii) grout not getting into small clay-filled joints and escaping into wide
fractures.
The thesis concludes with a method diagram to assist mining companies in selecting suitable
construction methods at an early stage.

12

Preface

1. Analysis of the raiseboring method

Introduction
This chapter explains the kinds of shaft being constructed. It introduces us to mining engineering and
traditional methods of constructing ventilation shafts and ore passes. The purpose, dimensions and
engineering demands of these shafts are discussed. This illustrates the problems shaft designers
encounter, and specifically explains the problem of raiseboring through weak overburden. Later on the
other shafts such as penstocks, tunnel access shafts, waste disposal shafts, foundation shafts and others
are discussed, and how they relate to the raisebored shafts in mining engineering.

History
Elements of a mine
Mines are used to access and recover
ore bodies which are made into
minerals. Australia is a leading country
in the field of mining, recovering large
amounts of gold, copper, zinc, iron and
aluminium.
There are two main types of ore
access, open pit (or surface mining)
and underground mining. Open pit
mines are used where ore is near the
surface. Underground mines are used
to gain access to deep ore bodies, or
ore bodies where the surface mining
operation has depleted the ore reserves
near the surface.
Ore bodies with different properties,
are mined in different ways. The
development method used depends on
many factors: host rock strength, ore
strength, ore grade, thickness and
dipping angle of ore bodies, etc. In
longwall or stope and pillar mining
Figure 3 Picture of typical mine development and its' elements
large areas of ore are mined out
[Hartman & Mutmansky 2002]
underground, leaving walls or pillars
to support the overhang. In block caving, chunks of the ore body are collapsed into underground areas
using controlled blasting. The fragmented ore tumbles into the shafts where it can be hauled out. Cut
and fill stoping is used in near-verical ore-bodies that are susceptible to collapse. It is mined out in
layers and backfilled to support the overhanging rock, before moving to the next level.

Fout! Opmaakprofiel niet gedefinieerd.

13

Whichever method is used, underground mining requires vertical shafts. These shafts can have many
purposes. The primary shaft is usually large (6-12m diameter) and is used to get workers and
equipment into and out of the mine, for ore haulage and for utilities like electricity and water.
Generally the bottom level of the mine has some sort of ore transport system that brings the ore to the
primary shaft where it can be lifted to the surface. This is called the haulage level. By building 3-8m
diameter vertical shafts to this haulage level, ore can fall naturally down towards it and transported
further. These shafts are called ore passes.
Because of the heat from the earths core, deep underground mines can become very hot. This heat,
combined with moisture, makes working
conditions underground very harsh. To allow a
workforce to function effectively, cold and dry
air should be circulated through the mine. To
this end ventilation shafts are constructed to the
surface with big blowers to pump the air. This
also helps to remove hazardous dust or even
hazardous gasses from the drilling and blasting
of the ore bodies. Ventilation shafts and ore
passes should have a round, smooth surface to
reduce wall friction.
Sometimes extra secondary openings are
constructed as a mine develops, because it
becomes uneconomical to carry the ore all the
way to the primary haulage shaft. A second
haulage shaft is constructed near to new ore
bodies.
Because of the need for access openings, ore
passes and ventilation shafts, a safe and
economical method of vertical shaft
construction is a vital part of mine
development.

Raiseboring & shaft sinking

Up to the 1950s the conventional way of
constructing shafts was by drilling and blasting.
A drillling jumbo drills holes around eight
Figure 4 Drilling and blasting a shaft
metres long into the rock mass which are then
loaded with explosives. With a mucking bucket the rock is hauled out and wire mesh, rockbolting and
steel rings installed to stabilize the walls. This method is slow and cumbersome because all the

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workers and equipment had to be hauled out of the hole before each blast. Conventional drilling and
blasting is still the most common method of shaft sinking used to date, although work is now carried
out from separate blasting and lining platforms.

Raiseboring
machine

RBM
Pilot hole
300mm

1
Pilot hole drilled to
depths of up to 1000m

Shaft
6000mm

Reamer is pulled
up and clippings
fall down shaft
Existing drift

Figure 5 Overview of the raiseboring process.

Looking to optimize this process, mining engineers went in search of continuous machines to speed up
shaft sinking. This is where shaft boring and drilling came into practice. Shaft boring machines were
constructed, but these had problems in removing the cuttings. The tailings would clutter and thereby
damage the cutting head and haulage couldnt keep up with drilling. Also maintaining verticality with
a boring machine was an issue.
Later on the V-mole was designed which had the cuttings fall down a pilot-hole and used a sloped
cutting head to transport them away from the cutters. Because of the pilot-hole guiding it, the V-mole
was also easier to keep on the vertical. However the problem still remained of needing shaft access
underground to remove the cuttings. This led to the adaptation of drilling rigs from the oil industry. In
the beginning these rigs were limited in the torque and pressure they could apply to the cutting face,
and thus diameters were initially only small. This method is known as blind hole drilling or shaft
drilling.
Alongside the development of shaft boring machines, engineers had another growing concern, which
was mine safety. Looking for ways to get mine-workers out of dangerous shafts, raiseboring was
invented and developed into a successful technique between 1960 and 1970.
Raiseboring uses a small diameter drill rod, around 200-300mm, to drill a pilot hole down to the
required depth of the shaft which can be drilled up to around 1200m. The raiseboring technique

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15

assumes there is already existing shaft access at the bottom of the shaft. Once the pilot hole has been
drilled to the desired depth, a reamer of up to 6m diameter is attached to the drill rod. The reamer is
then pulled back up to the surface, creating a round shaft. The pilot hole is used to let the clippings fall
down the shaft by means of gravity, where ore can be collected
and other rock can be used as backfill in old mine cavities.
The raiseboring technique has some major advantages
compared to traditional shaft sinking methods.
Safety. There are never any men down the shaft (except
to fit the reamer).
Speed. Because it is continuous and because muck
automatically falls down the shaft, speeds of up to
30m/day can be achieved.
Smooth. Because no blasting is used, the shaft walls
are very smooth. A smoother shaft is more stable, and
has less wall friction, making it ideal for ventilation
shafts.

Versatile. A raiseboring machine does not go down the

shaft and can be easily re-used for many shafts.
Compared to a shaft boring machine a raiseboring
machine is much more versatile, making it a more
economical investment. Raiseboring machines can
drill under angles, with low headings and can be easily
adapted to drill upwards from a drift (called boxhole
drilling or downreaming).

Figure 6 - Sign near ventilation shafts in

outback Australia. It shows one of the
safety issues with vertical shafts. It is
also dangerous to work in shafts because
of the chance of rockfall from overhead

Mainly because of the advantage in safety, raiseboring has become a popular method used around the
world. However there are some restrictions to its application which will be discussed in the next
section.

Geological Conditions
Australia has a very specific geology which is largely determined by the absence of a glacial period in
its history. This means the bedrock is commonly covered by a thick layer of overburden which has
been built up over as long as five million years. Deep weathering is common in the rock, leaving
highly fractured, deeply weathered zones. It is common for these most unstable zones to be just above
the bedrock as this is where most of the leaching and weathering through groundwater flow has taken
place. From an engineering point of view this leads to a difficult situation where the most unstable
layers are the hardest to get to.
In South Africa karstic (limestone) zones are common. Although overburden layers are not necessarily
as old, this leads to the same sort of situation where weathered zones (even entire cavities) can occur at
deep locations underground.

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In practice it is not very practical to look at the geology of such large regions, as each site always has
its individual geology. However it is useful to understand such large scale differences in geology.
Take for example a tunnel access shaft to be constructed in urban areas. Typical of urban areas, such
as the Netherlands, is the close proximity of rivers and the coast. This means alluvial and fluvial
deposits cover any igenous or metamorphic rock. The behaviour of this geology is determined by soils
and clays which consist of individual particles low cohesion and high porosity compared to rock. Also
water levels can be much higher than in remote mining locations. It should be clear that this location
requires an entirely different
engineering approach.

AMC Consultants
Max Lee and Warren Peck of AMC
Consultants Pty Ltd have supervised
this thesis, helping out with advice
and supplying case examples where
possible. AMC is well known in
Australia for providing a broad range
of Mining Engineering,
Geotechnical, Geological and
Corporate consulting services to the
exploration, mining and financial
services industries.

Raiseboring
machine
40-80m
soft,
deeply
weathered
rock.
Problematic
weathered rock can
stand up only 2-3m.
Soil/rock breaches
into borehole

Shaft
AMC has an international customer
6000mm
base and the scope of their work
includes engineering, ore reserves,
feasibility studies, due diligence
project reviews, valuation of
Figure 7 - The problem of wall instability that is encountered in
soft soil/rock due to fracturing and weakness of the strata. This is a
companies and projects, technical
typical Australian situation, but similar circumstances exist in
research and advice to management. Scandinavia, South Africa and China.
AMC maintains a policy of
independence from exploration and mining interests and complete confidentiality of client
information. Extensive records of mining costs, performances and productivities are maintained as a
basis for engineering, due diligence and feasibility studies.
AMC agreed to support this research thesis looking at stability problems encountered during the
raiseboring of shafts. AMC invited me to use a civil engineering approach, applying any experience
from foundation engineering, tunnelling and off-shore around the world that might seem useful.

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17

Aim
During the construction of raiseboring shafts in Australia, problems have been encountered because of
the thick layer of overburden. Because there is no possible access to the shaft beneath the reamer, it is
not possible to immediately construct a lining. When the reamer passes through the weathered zone,
both the back of rock above the raiseborer, as well as the walls, become unstable and slip into the
reaming zone. The instability is due to either low strength of the overburden, extensive jointing or
both.
This causes many problems:
Overbreak along the shaft wall, which will later require grouting and rockbolting.
Jamming and potential destruction of the reaming head.
Breakage of the drill rods and loss of the reaming head.
Deformations at the surface and even entire collapse of the shaft.
This thesis will look at solving the problem of wall and back instability during raiseboring.

Thesis aim:
Find a cost-effective and safe method for construction of raisebored shafts through
low strength and/or highly-fractured overburden.

During exploration of methods that are currently in use around the world it will become clear that
raiseboring may not be the single solution for contruction vertical shafts. The scope of research will
include other methods that may be more effective than raiseboring.
In the following section the problems any construction method should overcome will be discussed
any new methods or adaptations should overcome these problems.
Besides the stability of the walls, there are other limits which currently apply to current raiseboring
practice; if the range of these restrictions can also be widened, new shafts may become feasible along
the way.

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Problems
Safety
Safety is an important issue in mining. Figure 8 from the Mine Safety and Health Administration of
the United States shows how fatalities in mining have continously been reduced. Australian mining
shows a similar trend with less than ten fatalities a year, and is quickly pushing to the forefront of
mining safety.
Unfortunately vertical shafts are one of the most dangerous places of a minesite.
This can best be illustrated by the simple words of an experienced geologist :
People fall in them
Tools and rocks fall down them, on top of the people in them.
The great advantage of the raiseboring method is its high level of safety.
During raiseboring the only time men are actually in the shaft is for changing the reamer or bits on the
reamer. This mine access is always planned carefully, and prevented altogether whenever possible (for
example by using extra long life bits that prevent having to change the reamer during the raise).
Any devised construction alternative will ideally prevent any need to have mineworkers in the shafts,
as with current raiseboring practice. This is referred to as remote construction.
Also a mechanical drilling method, that does not make use of blasting, is preferred. This is because
there is no sudden impact and because the excavation is smoother and thus inherently more stable.

Figure 8 - Fatalities in Metal and Non-metal mining in the U.S. [Courtesy MSHA]

Cost
The construction of the vertical shaft must be cheap. Civil engineering practice is generally aimed at
long-term structures for urban zones; mining engineering however, has a more remote, low-cost and

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temporary character. This means elaborate civil engineering solutions quickly become too expensive
for mining. On the other hand the remoteness of minig locations means excessive deformations are
rarely a problem, unlike in civil engineering practice.
Low cost is a vital key to a successful construction method.
Generally this means using low-cost machines that are re-usable and easy to set up. Shaft boring
machines and V-moles, as we will see later, are typically high-investment machines usually not suited
to simple shafts in remote locations.
In the majority of cases, high construction costs are a consequence of :
high capital investments with long periods till payback
the large amount of labour involved
Therefore an automated, continuous process with a high development rate is essential to cutting costs.
In all potential solutions the penetration rate forms a key indicator of the total shaft cost.

Wall and back instability

Raiseboring has been applied successfully
around the world. The problems with
raiseboring occur mainly in the soft and
fractured overburden. The walls collapse as
the reamer traverses the fractured areas.
Sections of rock outside the shaft diameter
that are connected by weak fracture planes
can cave into the shaft, called overbreak.
This is very common in drilling and blasting
operations, but can also occur where the
reamer travels from fresh to soft rock.
The collapse of big blocks can cause the
raiseboring machine to jam potentially
resulting in loss of the raiseboring machine,
or even collapse of the entire shaft.

Figure 9 - Looking down what was intended as a round

ventilation shaft. Overbreak has occured along two
intersecting fracture planes.

Not only the walls, but also the back (the overburden above the reamer, also referred to as crest or
crown) can become unstable. This can sometimes be prevented by maintaining constant pressure on
the back by keeping the reamer close to the back.
There are generally two reasons for instabilities: The first is the presence of incohesive and weak
material like running sands, clays and deeply weathered soft rock. The other is instability due to
intensive jointing and fracturing, sometimes made worse by water pressure or soft filling (such as clay
gouge) in the joints.

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These instability problems should be addressed. Bartons Q-system [90. Barton 1974] will be used
incorporating stress reduction factor (SRS) [91. Kirsten 1984] can be used to test stability of the back
(or crest) and walls. Several adaptations for vertical shafts in raise boring [89. McCracken 1996] will
be adopted.

Current limits
Non-entry method
The shaft under the raiseborer cannot be accessed, because of the instable walls and back overhanging
the shaft. In some areas, where the rock has some standup-time, the raiseborer is quickly pulled to the
surface. Even then no workmen can access the shaft because it is unstable. In this case the shaft is first
lined by using a remote fibrecreting machine dropped into the shaft. Because estimating timedependant behaviour is a very unpredictable task, remote fibrecreting can be a dangerous exercise if
the stand-up time is critical.
A method of construction that prevents the necessity for having men in the shaft, like raiseboring,
greatly increase it's level of safety.

Limited Diameter
The maximum diameter that can be
drilled in one pass is determined
mainly by the drilling torque and
the face pressure that can be
applied to the reaming head.
Torque and pressure are in turn
limited by the bearing capacity of
the drill rods. Because reaming is
directed upwards, the weight of the
reamer and drill rods works
adversely, limiting raiseboring
diameters to a maximum of around
7m. Such dimensions would be
done in two or even three stages.
Figure 10 - Diameter versus depth for existing drilled shafts [Bell 1988]
There are some cases where it useful to create shafts with larger dimensions such as when shafts are
used as ore-passes or access shafts. Generally 3-4m is a comfortable diameter for most ventilation
shafts, but with greater depths larger diameter ventilation shafts will be needed. South African mines
at depths over 1000m already require ventilation shafts of 6 m diameter.

Bottom-end access
To attach the reamer to the drill rods at the bottom of the shaft, there must be an existing drift to get to
the foot of the shaft. This, in combination with the restricted diameter, is why raiseboring is generally
used for ventilation shafts or ore-passes, rather than primary mine openings. Although for the purposes

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of this study, underground access is assumed, shaft sinking methods from the surface would have
added value over raiseboring
Table 1 - Overview of problems and limits in shaft construction

Main problems in shaft construction

Safety
Cost
Unstable overburden
Limits on shaft construction
Methods that do not require entry into the shaft
Increased shaft diameter
The need to have bottom-end access to the shaft
Construction in area's with low groundwater table
Construction in area's with high water inflows
Speed of muck removal
Drilling versatility

Groundwater
A ventilation shaft should generally be kept relatively dry. In most situations in Australia, the watertable is generally very low (-50m or a few meters above bedrock) and it is also highly saline. On one
hand this means construction of the shaft may be easier; limited flows can easily be pumped from the
shaft. On the other hand it rules out some construction methods such as ground freezing. Dry rock
cannot be frozen, and high flow rates which inhibit freezing result from raising the water table.
Also high flow rates are encountered around many bedrock zones because of pumping activities
around existing mines or aquifers. In this case flow rates may be so high that it is not possible to pump
the shaft dry. In such cases it would be useful to find a construction method that also limits the flow of
water into the shaft. Ventilation shafts should be kept especially dry because a moist shaft supplies
humid air that greatly affects the climate in the shafts.
It should also be noted that high water inflows through joints greatly affect the stability of the rock
mass. In general it would be useful to find construction alternatives that can not only be used with a
low groundwater table, but also in unfavourable conditions like high groundwater flow rates or a high
water heads.

Muck removal
Raiseboring uses gravity to remove the drill cuttings from the shaft. Once down the bottom of the
shaft, the conventional mining equipment (used for mining the ore) can be used to remove the muck.
This is a common and efficient practice for raiseboring, however in some alternate methods muck
removal is often the single factor limiting progress.

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Drilling versatility
Raiseboring allows accurate drilling up to around 45 degrees, depending on how easily the muck
passes through the shaft, and it allows drilling from within a shaft with limited headroom. A
raiseboring machine can be used many times with different reaming heads in varying diamters and
geologies. Any alternate methods should attempt to maintain this versatile nature of raiseboring.

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Range of application
Mine ventilation and ore passes
To assess the different methods, the typical case AMC and other mining companies in Australia are
interested in, will be described below. This is a common weak-overburden shaft that might be
required for mining in Australia. A typical ventilation shaft would require a diameter of around three
metres, however increasing depths of mining require increasingly large ventilation shafts.
Also ore-passes, although less common, would require larger diameters over 5m. Open cut or
conventional drill and blast are generally used on shallow shafts up to 100m. Most shafts built today
are up to 500m length, with problems of high temperature and long haulage distances for deeper
shafts. Although uncommon, depths up to 1000m are considered because of the need to access
deepening ore-bodies.
It is hard to describe overburden because of the multitude of rock conditions that can be encountered.
In Australian minesites the thickness of the overburden generally ranges between 30 to 100m, with
problem areas consisting of highly weathered sandstones and mudstones, slates and shales, extremely
weathered granidiorites, etc. Also several layers of quartzite veining are taken into account as it is not
uncommon for hard, abrasive layers to intercept weaker ones causing problems with cutter or drill bit
wear.
In Australia because of existing mine-workings the groundwater table is generally very low. Existing
mine activity usually implies water is already
being pumped leading to high
groundwater flow rates. Also the groundwater is typically highly saline which affects freezing and
grouting characteristics.
The range of situations in mining, with the most typical dimensions in bold, are given on the left side
of Figure 11. Ventilation shafts and ore passes are not the only application for vertical shafts. Other
applications will also be considered in the scope of this project. However differing applications also
have different requirements.
Primary shafts for mine access are similar to ventilation shafts for mining, but much larger in
diameter. They cannot be raisebored because there is no bottom-end access to the shaft, and alternative
methods are required.

Tunnel access shafts

Access and ventilation shafts for civil tunnels are another increasingly important application. Several
recent accidents with explosions and fire in tunnels in Europe have led to an increased importance of
emergency exits from enclosed spaces. Also tunnels are becoming both deeper and longer, requiring
longer more complicated access shafts.
Tunnel access shafts may be considered for raiseboring because they fulfill the important criterion of
bottom-end access. On the other hand permeability and stability criteria are far more stringent.

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Because of the long life of tunnels and the large number of people that use them, they should be much
less susceptable to leakage, damage and collapse, also in the long term.
Except for mountain-passes, tunnels are generally be built in densely populated urban areas. This
means surrounding structures can easily be damaged by deformations, leading to tight limits for
surface deformation. Also it is common for urban areas to have developed in alluvial or coastal
deposits, leading to a sedimentary lithology consisting of clay, peat and sand rather than rock. In this
case the water table is usually near the surface and pumping is limited or prohibited completely. This
is a typical situation in the Netherlands.

Ventilation shafts
Ore passes
Mine access shafts

Penstocks
Waste disposal
Water treatment

Tunnel access shafts

Limited
deformations
High water table

Overburden
50m
(30-100m)

Ventilation
Shafts
3m
(1,5 - 6m)

Total length
300m
(100-1000m)

Overburden
Slates, shales,
Highly weathered
sandstones and
siltstone,

Total length
50m
(20-200m)

Shaft
2m
(1-3m)

Fluvial deposits
Soft to medium
clays and peats,
medium sands

Shaft
10m
(5-20m)

Fluvial
deposits
20m
(0-50m)
Total length
30m
(10-50m)

Metamorphic layer
Dense sands.
Very stiff clay

Bedrock
SW-MW
Basalts/
Requires
Granites robust and
impermeable
lining
Rock with
impermeabilities/
jointing

Ore passes
5m
(3-7m)
Access
shafts
7m
(5-10m)

Figure 11 - Typical shaft dimensions and geological conditions for different shaft types. (Typical minimum and
maximum dimensions are shown in brackets)

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The dimensions of tunnel access shafts also differ from mineshafts. From a cost perspective a tunnel
will be constructed as close to the surface as possible, leading to shaft lengths of 50 metres at most, but
more commonly around 20 metres. The diameter required for safely evacuating commuters in a tunnel,
or allowing access for emergency workers is generally much greater than for mineshafts, ranging from
anywhere between 5-20 metres. Tunnel access shafts that are longer than they are deep have wall
support systems based on resistence of the toe of the wall (such as sheet piles) hence these shafts will
not be discussed in this thesis. TBM entry and exit shafts will not be discussed because of the length
required to fit the machine is much greater than the depth. The specifics of the tunnel access shafts that
wil be discussed are shown on the right in Figure 11.

Other applications
Penstocks are shafts used for discharging water through dams. Mostly a turbine will be constructed in
the shaft for generating hydro-electric power, but penstocks also exist simply for redistribution of
water. Penstocks are generally around two metres in diameter and between 20-200m long, depending
on the distance the water should travel. Again raiseboring is a useful alternative as bottom-end access
is available (at the bottom side of the dam) and because a smooth, round shaft is created, reducing
friction. Penstocks should always be lined because they should be impermeable and they should be
able to withstand the high water pressures.
Similar to penstocks are wastewater treatment shafts and chemical and radioactive waste disposal
plants. For these shafts a safe, impermeable lining is vital. Also sufficient depth is important for the
filtration of wastewater in the case of treatment shafts, and to prevent chemical or radioactive waste
from affecting surface soil and groundwater in waste disposal shafts. Penstocks, wastewaer and waste
disposal shafts are also shown in Figure 11.
A few very specific shafts have been constructed for special needs. For example to access the
underground Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. Shafts were constructed up to around 80m
depth in both small and large diameters (up to 20m).
Shafts that will not be included in the scope of this research are water wells, sewer shafts and shafts
for extracting geothermal power. These shafts are generally small in diameter (and remain unlined)
and are drilled with efficient technologies driven by the oil industry.
Some foundations for very large civil engineering jobs such as coastal bridges and off-shore platforms
also use shaft drilling technology. Although drilling methods are sometimes similar, the purpose is
entirely different. Foundation shafts are designed solely to transfer immense vertical and horizontal
stresses to the subsurface and not for gaining access to deep locations. These shafts will not be
considered in this study.

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Table 2 Types of shaft that will be facilitated in this study, including typical shaft dimensions

Shaft type

Main demands

Diam.

Depths

Scope of work

Mining ventilation

Dry, deep, smooth,

cheap

3
(1,5-6)

300
(50-1500)

Primary scope

Mining ore passes

Dry, deep, smooth,

cheap

5
(3-7)

300
(50-1500)

Secondary scope

Mining access shafts

Dry, deep, smooth,

primary access

7
(5-10)

300
(50-1500)

Secondary scope

Penstocks

Narrow, smooth,
impervious

2
(1-3)

50
(20-200)

Secondary scope

Chemical/ radioactive
waste dumps

Deep, totally
impervious

2
(1-3)

100
(20-300)

Secondary scope

Water-treatment shafts

Impervious, deep

2
(1-3)

50
(20-100)

Secondary scope

Tunnel access shafts

Shallow, large,
impervious, safe,
little deformations

10
(5-20)

20
(10-50)

Secondary scope

Access to supercollider

Impervious, safe

7
(5-10)

50
(40-80)

Secondary scope

Geothermal heat storage

Impervious, deep,
narrow

0.8
(0.5-1)

40
(20-200)

Secondary scope

Gas and water pipelines

Horizontal, little
deformations, safe,
impervious

1.2
(1-3)

(5-5000)

Outside scope:
Horizontal drilling is
well developed.

Piles for off-shore

Piles for large bridges

Bearing of loads

1.4
(0.6-2)

30
(10-60)

Outside scope: Loadbearing has different

mechanics

Water pits

Very narrow,
pervious, cheap

0.3
(0.1-1)

30
(8-350)

Outside scope:
Tiny diameter has
different mechanics

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2. Methods of shaft construction

Introduction
This chapter will look at potential ways of constructing vertical shafts through soft overburden. Some
methods have been commonly used, some are still being developed and others are just concepts and
ideas from other fields. Generally there are three possible approaches allowing a shaft to be sunk
through highly weathered overburden:

Shaft Construction

Down-the-hole
construction
Drilling & Blasting
Shaft Boring Machine
V-Mole

Remote
Construction
Blind Hole Drilling
Shaft Cutting Machine
Shaft Excavation

Post-reinforcement
Rock-bolting/meshing
Cast-in-place lining
Pre-cast lining segments
Forepoling (or Boodex)

Floated lining segments

Caisson sinking
Remote shotcreting
Stepwise enlargement
Microtunnelling

Raiseboring

Raiseboring
Horadiam method

Excavation
methods

Pre-reinforcement
Grout minipiles
Grout treatment
Secant piles
Diaphragm walls
Freezing

Wall support
methods

Figure 12 - Overview of construction methods grouped by location and direction of the construction activities.

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Down-the-hole shaft sinking methods

Conventional drilling and blasting
In conventional drilling and blasting, a shaft is constructed by drilling holes and filling them with
explosives. The holes are installed in patterns and the explosives carefully detonated in a specified
order, to maximize blasting performance. Using this method, drilling and blasting can sink around 510 metres in one blast.
Bevause of the discontinuous manual
processes od drilling and also of mucking
out the shaft, this is very labour-intensive,
unsafe and has high running costs.
However it is still commonly used and is
often still the most viable alternative for
shafts up to 100m in length. A second
working platform is utilised for
immedieately lining the shaft with
rockbolting and mesh, shotcrete and/or a
cast in place lining. Nevertheless drilling
and blasting is not very well suited to soft
overburden because the blast can easily

Drilling and
charging

Blasting

Mucking

cause overbreak or collapse of parts of

Figure 13 Shaft sinking through conventional drilling and
the shaft. The advantage is there are low blasting
setup costs and problems with stability
can be dealt with as the shaft progresses. This method is espescially useful for access and hoisting
shafts because the hoisting equipment for production can also be used during construction.
Table 3 - Shaft sinking methods: Drilling and Blasting

Drilling and Blasting

Advantages

Disadvantages

Examples
Range of application
Key Aspects
Alternative applications

+ cheap and quick setup

+ suited to most ground conditions (in combination with a seond
working platform for lining the shaft)
- unsafe for mine workers
- costly and time-consuming process
- overbreak is common
VR-3/VR-4 pres-sink, Callie, AUS (Newmont)
White County Coal, USA
Remote locations, short shafts/presinks (<100m)
Personnel safety: Quality headframe, safety around the shaft
opening and sound geotechnical stability analysis.
With ground-freezing through soft strata.

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Shaft-boring machine with mucking

In the search for continuous mechanical drilling
methods, the shaft boring machine was developed
akin to tunnel boring machines for horizontal
excavation. The problem with this method, is
mucking out cuttings from the bottom of the shaft.
Usually this would require some skip-hoisting,
bucket-hoisting or clam-shell-grab equipment, which
generally impairs the progress of the shaft boring
machine and requires mine workers down the hole to
load the buckets.

Sinking of
entry-shaft for
SBM assembly

boring

mucking

An SBM is a costly machine not suited for drilling

short shafts. Furthermore it is weighed down by high
research and development budgets. During the 1970s
Figure 14 Shaft sinking with a shaft boring
vast budgets went into shaft boring machines with
machine and mucking
little result. Generally blind hole drilling, i.e. drilling
from the surface and removing cuttings with drilling fluids, has surpassed shaft boring.
Nowadays some automated machines exist for small diameters, called microtunneling machines.
These also have extremely high development costs, but may become lucrative where many shafts are
to be drilled. These systems have been developed only for small diameters, but they can perform in
soft strata and high water pressures due to them having a pressurised closed front.
BorPak is an alternative shaft boring machine with partial front excavation, like a roadheader. It is
designed specifically for raise-drilling in narrow locations at a diameter of 1500mm and uses packers
to support itself on the shaft wall.
Table 4 - Shaft sinking methods: Shaft Boring Machine

Shaft Boring Machine (with mucking)

+ semi-continuous operation
Advantages
+ suited to nearly all ground conditions, large diameters and great
depths
Disadvantages
- huge investment and setup costs
- workmen in the shaft
- restricted constant diameter
Examples
Range of application
Long shafts (>200m) and large diameters
Where costs of transport and installation are low
Cost of setup, Speed of cuttings removal, shaft damage from grippers
Key Aspects
Microtunneling
Adaptations
BorPak raise drilling machine

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V-mole with pilot-hole

The mining equipment company Wirth from Germany
has developed the most successful V-mole system. The
V-mole is an improvement on the concept of the shaft
boring machine. Before boring, a pilot-hole is drilled, to
assist in both cuttings removal and guiding the machine
along the correct path. The V-mole uses grippers to hold
on to the side of the shaft while boring downwards by
rotary crushing.
The V-mole is a costly machine not suited for drilling
short shafts

Drilling of Sinking of
pilot hole entry-shaft

Assembly of
V-mole and
boring

Figure 15 Shaft sinking with a V-mole where

Table 5 - Shaft sinking methods: V-mole with pilot-hole

V-Mole with pilot-hole

+ continuous operation
Advantages
+ suited to nearly all ground conditions and to great depths
Disadvantages
- huge investment and setup costs
- workmen in the shaft.
- restricted constant diameter
Lummerschied shaft, GERMANY (Wirth)
Examples
Long shafts (>200m) and large diameters
Range of
application
Where costs of transport and installation are low, and
liabilities for workers in shafts are high (Europe)
Suited to enlargement of existing shafts
Key Aspects
Cost of setup, bottom-end access for mucking

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Down-the-hole lining methods

Rock bolting and meshing
The easiest way to line a shaft is with rock-bolting and meshing. A wire mesh is fastened to the walls
with evenly spaced rock bolts. For vertical shafts ring shaped beams called ribs are usually also added
to support increasing horizontal stresses as the shaft moves down.
Rock bolting is a commonly used, cheap method. The rock-bolts increase normal stresses on joints so
that shear failure along joints becomes more difficult. However it has some drawbacks [Spearing,
2002]. It is hard to automate, making it labor-intensive. Also it is relatively unsafe as it requires about
2 men down the hole working on unstable walls. The unrolling and handling of mesh can be difficult
when working in close proximity to a boring face. Also this method is not watertight, meaning it does
not prevent water inflows nor does it prevent weathering of the rock beneath the mesh. Often rock
bolts and mesh are used as a basis for shotcreting, however this is risky because the placement of the
mesh in the shotcrete determines how well it will function. Water in-flow during shotcreting severely
reduces the quality of shotcrete. Also the mesh in the middle of the shotcrete may not contribute to its
strength, whereas mesh near to the surface may be subject to corrosion.

Cast-in-place lining
It is possible to cast concrete rings as the shaft sink progresses. This is commonly done in combination
with a V-mole or shaft boring machine. Generally temporary rock bolts and mesh are still required
close to the cutting head. Then, on a second floor of the shaft boring machine, an L-shaped casing is
positioned which is then filled from a hose transporting concrete from a surface plant. This method
provides a smooth, watertight and permanent lining for the shaft. The casing can be reinforced to cope
with horizontal stresses (i.e. ring-shaped reinforcement) making the casing elements more economical,
and in this case the reinforcement is well protected by the concrete. Some attention should be given to
connecting the elements with rubber profiles to prevent water inflows.
Unfortunately this method is discontinuous, with many men down the hole. The safety of the workmen
is usually fair because they generally work under the cover of the shaft boring machine cage. Also the
robustness of the lining system means there is practically no chance of rock-fall or collapse from
above. The first metres of lining are the most unsafe in their application.
This method has been used a number of times in Europe, in combination with an SBM or V-mole. The
Lummerschied shaft [Haas & Schneider, 1991] in west Germany was safely enlarged to a diameter of
8,2m.

Forepoling or Boodex method

The Italian ground treatment manufacturer Soilmec has successfully used the forepoling method in
rock for the stabilization of tunnels [Martin(ed.), 1990]. It has come into common practice for
tunnelling, also given the name Boodex by Atlas Copco.

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In the case of Soilmec, the method uses Tubex technology to drill a ring of piles about 12 metres long
at a slight incline around the tunnel face. The ring formes an umbrella to support the next nine metres
of shaft excavation, before a new ring of piles was installed. The
method is slow because of the many piles that need to be
consecutively driven, resulting in only 15-20 m a week. However it
does form a safe barrier ahead of the excavation process for workers
to operate more safely.
The method described
above is typical for
tunnelling, but has also
been used vertically for
shaft drilling. The
limited length of piles
means the forepoling
or Boodex machine has
to be used from within
the shaft along with
conventional drilling
and blasting or
mechanical excavation
for the removing rock
and soil.

Figure 16 Tunnelling example of

forepoling in fractured rock in Greece
[courtesy of the Geoegineer Website, D.
Zekkos]

Figure 17 Typical drill

patterns used for forepoling
ahead of the face in a vertical
shaft.

Pre-cast lining segments

Shafts up to 4.5m are being blind-hole-drilled more
and more often around the world, with pre-cast lining
positioned during or after workings. For limited
diamters a large steel pile is often used because it is
stiff and smooth and can easily be lowered or driven
into the ground. Concrete can then be poured behind
the walls to create the lining. It is common to insert
the steel pile during drilling in clay soils which tend to
collapse, but also have low friction making pile
driving easy.
In sands, mudstone and sandstone, steel, pre-stressed
Figure 18 - Composite pre-cast liners ready for
concrete or composite liners with a smaller diameter
floating into a mud-filled shaft.
than the shaft are lowered after drilling out the hole.
The space behind the piles is then filled with grout to ensure a close fit with the surrounding soils.
[105. Hamburger 1991]

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Remote shaft sinking methods

It is also possible, instead of having a V-mole or boring machine

down the hole, to apply the drilling method used for oil-drilling, on a
larger scale. Here a rotary cutting head is dropped into the shaft on the
end of a drill string. The large diameter drill-string is used to apply
surface pressure and torque to press and rotate the cutting head into
the rock. The differences with boring and V-moling are that
no workmen are sent down the hole and that
the torque is applied from the surface through drill rods.

air & foam

drill cuttings

Blind Hole Drilling

Usually shaft walls are stabilized by filling it to the rim with a

bentonite mud or polymer-mud. Cuttings removal is achieved by
Shaft Drilling fluids
drilling used to pump
pumping drilling mud through the drill pipes with air pumped in
cuttings
through an airline. Upon completion a shaft lining (usually composite,
200mm thick concrete with an outer steel skin) is then dropped down
in 3m segments, being welded together as it progresses. The space
Figure 19 Large diameter
blind hole drilling.
between the outer skin and the rock face is then concreted up to the
surface, and the shaft pumped clean.
A small overpressure is always used, whereby excess fluid slowly flows into fissures and porous
rocks. If excessive flows are encountered, a lost-circulation material is added, such as shredded paper,
woodchips or other cellulose material, effectively blocking the mud inflows. However, this method
would not be possible in the vicinity of large cavities such as old mine caverns. [M. Zeni, Ardent
Underground, 2003]
Tthe diameter of the shaft is limite, partly by the amount of torque that can be applied through the drill
string, but mainly by the amount of load that can be applied to the drilling face. This is determined by
the weight of the cutting head and drill rods; often dead weights are added, around 200 tonnes for 4m
diameter shafts, allowing a load of around 450 tonnes on the cutter head. This increased weight in turn
makes the headframe and equipment heavier and more expensive.
Given a 4m diameter shaft, speeds of around 10m/day are achieved in soft, weathered and layered
strata. For a hard rock case, for example basalt of 250-300Mpa UCS, 2-3m/day would be the limit,
using a single multi-purpose cutter-head (i.e. for soft and hard rock). [M Zeni, Ardent Underground,
2003]
An alternative method of shaft drilling in rocks that can remain stable without drilling muds can be
performed with a pilot-hole for cuttings removal. Lining the shaft can be solved by lowering a remote
fibrecreting machine into the hole. However, this method of dry-hole drilling has the disadvantage that
the cutter head must be cumbersomely lowered down to and raised up from the bottom of the hole
every 2-3 metres. On the other hand, this permits application of the exact amount of fibrecrete
necessary to hold up specific rock layers and retain water. Building on the concepts of the Shelob

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system, a spinning disk to apply shotcrete, developments by a company called Jetcrete have produced
impressive results. [L. Newnham, R.O.C., 2003]
Table 6 - Shaft sinking methods: Blind Hole Drilling

Blind Hole Drilling

Advantages

Disadvantages

Examples

Range of
application
Key Aspects

Adaptations

+ works in nearly all ground conditions up to great depths

+ safe construction from the surface
+ underground mine workings are unaffected
- high setup costs
- limited access to the bottom of the hole in case of problems.
- potentially high environmental impact
Springvale, Nsw., AUS (Ardent Underground)
North Goonyella, Qld., AUS (Ardent Underground)
Henty shaft, Tas., AUS (Ardent Underground)
Dendrobium shaft, Nsw, AUS (BHP Billiton)
-various- [105. Hamburger] (Wirth/R.U.C.)
Medium to long shafts (d>60m)
Unstable soils, fractured and weathered rock, in aquifers
Fluid mix: use correct additives to ensure stability and optimal cuttings
transport.
Controlled drilling: Prevent system down-time caused by cutter damage;
prevent deflection through hard, dipping veins
Additives for increased thixotropy to support running sands and soft soils,
and still maintain cuttings transport.
Clay-binding additives for stopping swell from reactive clays.
Fibrous additives for blocking sudden leaks into fissures and openings.
Dry-hole drilling with shotcrete for use with existing pilot-holes and in
water-sensitive strata.
Low-clearance setup for use in caverns with limited headroom.
Fishing tools developed for problems with jammed rocks and equipment.
Dry-rock drilling with pilot hole and fibrecreting

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35

The Shaft-cutting machine (SCM) or Excavation

A simplified cutting and excavation machine, called a Shaft Cutting
Machine has been developed by Alpine of North America. The
machine is designed like a road-header, with a rotary disc cutting
device mounted on a hydraulic boom. It is ideally suited for short
shafts in soft to medium hard rock. A machinist can move the boom
around the bottom of the shaft, cutting one side, while a second
mucking arm puts the clippings into a hoisting bucket. The machine is
small enough to move around the bottom shafts down to 4m diameter,
allowing it to excavate the alternate side to where it is standing.
For depths up to 25m it is also possible to mount the cutting heads on
a hydraulic boom mounted at the surface of the shaft or on a surface
excavator. Alternatively the machine can be mounted on the lining
of the shaft like an Alimak
Raiser, moving down the
shaft in stages.
Because of the low cost and
ease of implementation, this
machine is well suited to
constructing a short shaft
through the weathered
overburden.

Shaft
cutting

mucking

Figure 20 Shaft sinking with a

shaft cutting machine (SCM)
down the shaft and mucking.

Shaft
cutting

excavation

Figure 21 Shaft sinking from

the surface by excavation with a
crane or boom.

Figure 22 - Boom type excavator used to

build a tunnel entry shaft in Abu-Dhabi
Table 7 - Shaft sinking methods: shaft excavation and shaft cutting machines

Shaft Cutting Machine

Advantages
Disadvantages

Examples

Range of application
Key Aspects
Adaptations

36

+ semi-continuous operation
+ quick and effective
- restricted depth and rock strength
- potentially workmen are required in the shaft for excavation,
cuttings loading and haulage
Supercollider, USA (Atlas Excavation Inc, USA)
CANADA (Montala)
Tas, AUS. (Mancala)
Short shafts or pre-sinks (d<25m)
Soft soil/rock <4 UCS
Speed of mucking
With (hydro)fraise, higher rock strength can be excavated
Excavation mounted on the lining (Alimak-style) with
excavation/lining stages
From the shaft bottom with a road-header type excavator

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Remote lining methods

Floated pre-cast lining segments
Shafts up to 4.5m have been commonly drilled around
the world with pre-cast lining positioned during or
after workings. A large diameter steel pile is often used
because it is strong and smooth and can easily be
lowered or driven into the ground. Concrete can then
be poured behind the walls to create the lining. It is
common to insert the steel pile during drilling in clay
soils which tend to collapse, but also have low friction
making pile driving easy.
Figure 23 - Composite pre-cast liners ready for

In sands, mudstone and sandstone, steel, pre-stressed

floating into a mud-filled shaft.
concrete or composite liners with a smaller diameter
than the shaft are lowered after drilling out the hole. The space behind the piles is then filled with
grout to ensure a close fit with the surrounding soils. [105. Hamburger 1991]

Caisson sinking
Wall elements that are smaller than the shaft diameter can be dropped into the shaft as it progresses, or
upon completion. However, this means the shaft must be supported by mesh or drilling fluids during
construction. As an alternative, it may be possible in the future, to push down a lining as work
progresses, in combination with shaft excavation, and only lubricate behind the shaft wall.
Wall elements are added from the top avoiding the
need for any workers down the shaft, and providing
easy access to the work. A slipform lining can be
used, allowing a continuous poor of concrete, or
pre-cast elements can be added piece by piece.
Horizontal rings of reinforcement can easily be
installed to withstand horizontal pressures. Because
the horizontal pressures increase as the shaft goes
down, the amount of reinforcement can be scaled to
the expected loads.
However, as the hole deepens, wall friction will
continuously increase, until the casing will not slide
down any further. A raisebore-style machine with
an anchored foundation plate should be used to jack
the lining downwards. Even so, the friction at
greater depth will determine the potential of this
method. By undercutting the shaft, the toe friction

Figure 24 - Jack-down lining performed by Marin

through soft clays. Pipes used for lubrication and
grouting can be seen running along the outside of
the lining

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37

can be overcome, and by excavating a slightly larger diameter than the final lining, the contact friction
along the outside of the lining can also be reduced. In rocky geologies the excavation will cause some
relaxation of the overburden and this may push against the lining with considerable pressures. This is
the main problem involved in jacking the lining.
To solve this, some additional measures may be applied:
Use of mud or drilling fluid to lubricate between the
shaft wall and rock.
Use of a series of steel cables that are unrolled from
the bottom of the shaft as it proceeds downwards.
[van Dijk, Almeraris & Rice, 2001]
Use of waterjets to decrease effective stress,
lubricate the wall and push aside any obstructions.
In soils the additional problem arises of a blow-out into
the shaft bottom or high water inflows through water
bearing strata. Some form of closed shield needs to be
devised to prevent this.
Figure 25 - Wall lining through sinking of a
caisson - open front excavation

Caisson style linings have been used in the Netherlands

in soft clays with a mud-filled hole. Horizontal box-jacking has been used successfully in soft soils
with stress-reduction cables, for some years in England and for the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel
Project. However, this was for expensive large-scale civil engineering projects and in this case the
surrounding soils were first frozen. [137. Puller 2003]

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Remote shotcreting

Figure 26 - Detail of fibrecrete nozzle

The method of spraying pumpable concrete onto walls as

reinforcement is becoming more controlable. Fibrecrete
offers a system where mesh is no longer required as
reinforcement this function is replaced by fibreglass in
the shotcrete.
The application is also being improved. In the 1990s a
system of remote shotcreting, i.e. with an
automatic machine was developed, at first
under the name of the Shelob system. [7.
Mason & Bishop 1993]
This method has been developed in recent
years for civil tunneling purposes. Currently it
is possible to line shafts remotely, using video
cameras to check the result, as was done in
the Dendrobium shaft in Australia.
Advantages are the flexibility, that there is no
need for workmen down the hole, and that
lining thickness can be adjusted as needed.
The problems this method encounters is the
Figure 27 - Remote fibrecreting machine with
amount of rebound of shotcrete. It is difficult
three stabilizers and the nozzle pointing to seven
to get shotcrete to stick to the walls in
oclock, as it is lowered into a shaft
sufficient thickness. More than one pass may
be needed where strong support is needed. Also it is hard to combine the messy shotcreting process
concurrently with drilling where the drill pipes and drilling head get in the way. This results in a
discontinuous process where shotcreting and drill head are lowered and raised alternately.
Also areas where water flows or bleeds from the surface into the shaft, are hard to shotcrete
adequately.
Research is promising in the application of superskins, which consist of a sprayable polymer that can
have adequate strength at only 3-5mm thickness. [58. Spearing2002]

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39

Raiseboring methods
The raiseboring method requires drilling of a small diameter pilot hole to the required depth. In the
second stage a reamer is attached and drawn back to the surface. Because it is not possible to apply
any wall support beneath the reamer, raiseboring requires special adaptations in unstable overburden.
The group of remote lining operations that can be carried out from the surface before drilling starts
will be referred to as pre-reinforcement. In many cases, such as freezing, a more permanent lining may
also be needed.
Raiseboring can only be carried out through unstable overburden, if pre-reinforcement is applied or if
another method is used to create a pre-sink through the weathered portion of the raise. Alternatively
the more risky horadiam method may be used.

Horadiam method
The Horadiam method is a specific method that is used in Western Australia where the top layer
consists of silcrete. This soil type is partially cemented and thereby very stable compared to layers
beneath it.
The method works by first drilling a small pilot hole and using a raiseboring machine to ream it out to
the maximum stable diameter. This usually means the hole is drilled out to the full diameter through
stable rock, and that drilling is stopped for the instable areas near the surface. For this area, one of two
methods may be applied:
An Alimak climber is installed from below. This machine can climb up to the crest from below along a
steel monorail that is installed as work progresses. It is a very dangerous method because workmen in
the Alimak are always working beneath an open rock face. As work progresses rock bolts and mesh
are applied to stabilise the shaft. Because of the pilot hole there is space for rock to expand on blasting
this makes the blasting process quick and less destructive.
The slightly safer method is to perform stepwise-benching from above. Workers are lowered into the
shaft on a working platform and drill and blast holes into the areas of the shaft that need to be
enlarged. Again the expansion space of the pilot hole makes blasting light and easy. After blasting
workers are again lowered into the shaft to apply mesh and rock-bolting or shotcrete.

Drilling of Raise
Pilot Hole Boring

Stepwise benching
(Drilling, blasting
& reinforcing)

Figure 29 - Horadiam method

(with stepwise benching)

40

Drilling of Raise
Pilot Hole Boring

Alimak raising
(Drilling, blasting &
reinforcing)

Figure 28 - Horadiam method

(with Alimak raising)

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The Horadiam method creates an unsafe scenario for workmen for the last portion of the shaft, and
also provides a rougher final shaft. Nevertheless this method is popular in Western Australia because
raiseboring can be applied efficiently through most of the shaft and the unstable area's tackled
conventionally. Also shafts can easily be made larger in diameter than with simply raiseboring.
In Stawell a similar method was used where a small, stable hole was grouted after construction. In this
way, grout penetrates around the hole and thereby stabilises it.
In stages the hole was enlarged and grouted again, until the final diameter was achieved.
Unfortunately both these methods are limited to area's where the soil or rock has some stability (the
small diameters are stable) and some standup time (the time it takes to apply mesh, rock-bolting and/or
shotcrete after each blast)
Table 8 - Horadiam method

Horadiam method
Advantages
Disadvantages
Examples
Range of application
Key Aspects
Adaptations

+ low investment and setup costs

- dangerous blasting operations for workmen
Leinster, WA., AUS (Coffey Geosciences)
Short shafts or pre-sinks (d<75m)
Rock with some standup time (days)
Experienced workmen for benching operations
Using an Alimak-raiser from the bottom
Using stepwise benching from the top

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Pre-reinforcement for Raiseboring

Grout treatment
The most problematic unstable areas in overburden are commonly encountered near the bedrock (hard
rock base). Continuous ground water flow and movement of rock layers results in abundant fracturing
and weathering at this location.
Some features can be recognised as especially threatening to shaft stability:
joints filled with poorly graded materials,
clay gouge and other soft or soluble materials in the joints,
open joints,
smooth, slickensized joints,
high water pressures
high residual stresses
In areas where joint planes threaten shaft stability and where water flowing into the shaft is a problem,
shafts may be treated with pressurised grout.
Grouting is traditionally performed from inside the shaft in combination with conventional shaft
sinking. To get workmen out of the shaft, it is also possible to grout from the surface. Rotarypercussive drills are used to get to the required depth where packers or tubes-a-manchette are used to
inject grout at high pressure.
The aim of this grouting is to:
Decrease permeability and thus stop water flows
Increase normal stress on joint planes, thereby increasing shear strength.
Increase cohesion on joint surfaces by replacing soft materials and forming a chemical bond with
the rock surface.
Grouting in this manner has certainly seen some failures. Two documented cases in South Africa and
Tanzania encountered sudden rushes of water which could not be stopped, alongside many other cases
of shaft collapse in Australia. On the other hand, carefully planned, well-controlled grouting can result
in succesfully making shafts stable and watertight, such as the case in the Longos Gold mine in the
Phillipines.
Grouting has some fundamental problems that commonly lead to its failure. Firstly it is difficult to get
grout into the correct spot: the location of weaknesses is not exactly known, deflections occur during
drilling, deflections are measured inaccurately, and the flow path and quantity of the grout injected is
not known. Commonly areas with high groundwater flow rates disperse (wash) grout so it does not
harden properly, and displace it from where it should be.
Not unimportantly it is hard to estimate the effect grouting has had on shaft stability.

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Table 9 - Pre-reinforcement: Grout treatment

Grout Mini-piles
Advantages
Disadvantages

Examples
Range of application
Key Aspects

Adaptations

+ allows raiseboring
+ quick and effective
- limited depth
- questionable effect on stability
- no-way-back method
Longos Gold Mine, Paracale, PHILIPPINES (Multi-urethanes)
Freestate, S.A. (Rodio)
Fractured and weathered rock, with unfilled or open joints
Areas with low-moderate groundwater flow rates
Drilling accuracy: good initial survey, calibrated surveying tools
Good grout penetration: suitable joints, quality control
Limiting grout wash: avoid high-pressure aquifers, groundwater flows
Navi-drill can be used for more accurate drilling
Grout types: cement, ultrafine cement, chemical grouts. polyurethanes
Reducing flow: fast-setting grouts, hot bitumen, water relief holes

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43

Grout mini-piles
A different form of grouting is where a concentric ring of mini-piles is constructed around the shaft
perimeter. This method is suited to areas where the rock stability is determined by jointing rather than
weathering. The grout columns intersect potential shear planes and the reinforcement keeps the planes
together. It is not intended that grout penetrates the joints to any considerable depth, so it is imply
poured into the bottom of the hole.
This method has been applied succesfully in Golden Grove in Western Australia, however in the
Callie mine, drilling accuracy was questionable hence the shaft was sunk conventionally and not
raisebored.
Table 10 - Pre-reinforcement: Grout Mini-piles

Grout Mini-piles
Advantages
Disadvantages

Examples
Range of application
Key Aspects
Adaptations

44

+ allows raiseboring
+ quick and effective
- limited depth
- questionable effect on stability
- no-way-back method
Callie, AUS
Golden Grove, AUS (Bachy)
Fractured but not soft rock
Areas with low groundwater flow rates
Piling Accuracy: good initial survey, calibrated surveying tools
Avoid reamer damage: User armoured grouts, not steel drill rods
Navi-drill can be used for more accurate drilling
Fibreglass armoured grouts instead of reinforcement

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Secant piles
Down to limited depths, interconnecting columns can close groundwater flows and stop soft clays and
running sands from collapsing. They can be construted through jet-grouting or auger drilling a circular
pile wall.
Auger drilling is possible up to about 25m because greater depths jam the auger and may also lead to
such deflections that the secant piles no longer overlap. Roch strengths up to approximately 2MPa can
be tackled using the auger drill. Piles can be supported with fluid or a casing and filled with concrete
or mix-in-place additives.
Oscillating Cassagrande type piles can reach depths of roughly 35 metres where a hydrofraise is
used for stiff clays, soft rock and boulders. To be able to drill secant piles, bentonite fluid should be
used instead of casing, which means the method approaches that of diaphragm walls.

Table 11 - Pre-reinforcement: Secant piles

Secant piles and diaphragm walls

+ allows raise boring
Advantages
+ quick and effective in soft soil
- restricted depth
Disadvantages
Cannington, AUS (BHP Billiton Bachy)
Examples
Auger drilled secant piles:
Range of application
soft, boulder-free ground of up to 1-2MPa and to depths of 22m.
Casagrande piles:
Soft ground to weak rock to depths of 25m
Connectivity of secant piles (drilling accuracy)
Key Aspects
Adaptations
augers drill inside a casing to prevent borehole collapse
two augers can be connected to achieve greater depths in soft clays

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45

Diaphragm walls
Diaphragm walls are constructed by digging rectangular trenches under support of bentonite fluild
using a large mucking crane or hydrofraise. In the case of shaft sinking the diaphragm walls are
constructed before raiseboring in several segements around the perimeter of the proposed shaft. Often
round casagrande piles are first excavated at the segment intersection to function as guides for the
excavation proces.
The method is only useful for large diameters, because otherwise the volume of drilling mud is greater
than for simply blind hole boring. A simple volume criterion can be used to see if a slurry trench can
be useful, for example assuming a thickness of 0.8m of the diaphragm wall and a distance of 0.8m
outside the shaft perimeter, a diaphragm wall uses less bentonite fluid at diameters of about 5m or
greater. [137. Puller 2003]
It should also be noted that diaphragm walls form the danger of blow-out when constructed near to
existing mine workings, or areas with large underground cavities.
Table 12 - Pre-reinforcement: Diaphragm walls

Diaphragm walls
Advantages
Disadvantages
Examples
Range of application
Key Aspects
Adaptations

+ allows raise boring

+ final wall support
- costly equipment
- prone to discontinuity in excavation
Eastern Harbour Crossing access, HONG KONG (Soletanche-Bachy)
Speckholzerheide mineshaft, HOLLAND
Soft clays, sands and soft rock to depths of approx 60m.
Diameters > approx. 5m
Continuity of excavation
Trenching accuracy
Additives in case of intersecting water flows

Freezing
Instead of creating a grout curtain wall, an freezing provides an alternative method to harden the
ground. This is common practice in Germany, North America and Canada. The primary factor
affecting ground freezing is the speed of groundwater flow. Other factors are water temperature and
salinity of the groundwater. Groundwater flows are usually limited in greenfield sites, but existing
mine developments usually have some form of groundwater pumping in effect. Because of the heat
transport that accompanies groundwater flow, it will cost extra time to freeze the groundwater, and it
may even be impossible to create a complete ice curtain.
The problem with groundwater flow is increased if the groundwater table is very low. To create a
frozen curtain wall at low depths, the groundwater table should be raised. Unfortunately the raising of

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the groundwater table implies groundwater flows away from the shaft, making freezing difficult. The
flow rate may be limited in soil strata because of the large amount of pore space partial saturation
will be enough to strengthen the soil. In fractured rocks full saturation will be required, and pumping
will induce high flow velocities, making freezing impossible.
The accuracy needed for freezing is lower than for grouting, because the ice wall spreads around the
drill pipes. Accuracies of 1,5 %, achievable by good drilling contractors, are sufficient for around 50m
depth. For depths greater than 100m, steerable Navi-drilling technologies are used to achieve the
desired accuracy.
Installation of piles around a 4m diameter shaft to 100m depth with approximately still groundwater
would take around 10-15 weeks for freezing, plus 5-10 additional weeks required for raiseboring and
permanent lining. [Freezewall Inc., 2004]
The freezing operation can reduce the effectiveness of
raiseboring as soft soils become hard because of the ice
formation. This results in low penetration rates and excessive
cutter wear. Frozen clays resulted in 50% greater torque required
than through shales and gypsum. Ice formation along the walls
of the pilot hole can inhibit the movement of the drill rods within
the pilot hole. Warm air blown through the annulus to melt the
ice along this surface along with scraping off by rotating and
reaming the drill strings can prevent this buildup, but slows the
drilling process. [87. Walsh 1991]

Figure 30 - Calyx drill

Calyx drill
For small shaft diameters up to 3 metres, doublewalled core-drills or calyx-drills have been
developed and used that are even suited to mediumhard rock. These use mud flushing through the
annulus and mud between the shaft and the wall for
added lubrication. The drill excavates a hollow core
leaving much the same result as with blind hole
drilling, but with significantly less energy.
Only one company is known to date that produces
this size core-drill.

Figure 31 retrieved segment of core from calyx drill

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47

3. Assessment of methods
Varying geologies
At first it was assumed a solution was necessary to extend the possibilities of raiseboring through
instable overburden. However, on examining this method, a fundamental problem with raiseboring
presents itself: the shaft is constructed bottom-up. This severely limits the potential of raiseboring.
Firstly, only shafts with bottom-end access can be constructed. This is not always available, for
example when creating primary access shafts or when a tunnel or adit is not ready in time for the shaft.
However this is not the biggest issue that is raised by bottom-up construction.
More importantly, it makes many construction methods used to stabilise the shaft impossible. When
progressing downwards, drilling muds, shaft lining, mesh and bolting, fibrecreting and so forth can be
used. Bottom-up construction doesn't allow access to the shaft to apply any of these methods. This is
why, when looking at constructing shafts through unstable overburden, the scope has been expanded
to allow for top-down construction.
Table 13 - Local and economic factors that influence the shaft design method.

Local and Economic factors

Influence on design

Availability of equipment and experienced

contractors

- design choices

Required speed of construction

- capital expenses / mine planning

Remoteness of location

- creates high transport costs for large equipment

Acceptance of groundwater pollution

- is chemical grouting acceptable?

- what drilling muds and additives are acceptable?

Level of acceptance of risk-taking

- is having men down the hole acceptable?

- what safe stable span is accepted?
- what amount of geotech. research is undertaken?
- will a top-down or bottom-up approach be used?

Legislation

- are men allowed down the hole?

- are men allowed to replace reamers?
- what are the liabilities for accidents?

It would be a severe shortfall if blind drilling and mechanical excavation methods were excluded from
the possible set of solutions simply because they are not raiseboring.It should be made clear that many
different methods are plausible, but that it depends on many factors, which solution is optimal. While
looking at the methods used the factors that determine if a method is effective, have been noted. These
factors are shown in Table 13. Where possible, tests are indicated which may be used to quantify
them.

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49

Besides conditions implied by design or geology, some conditions are enforced by local and economic
factors. These may be implied by government, by the availability of equipment and the attitude of
mining companies and contractors. They are listed in Table 14.

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Table 14 (Hydro)geological and design parameters that influence shaft construction

PARAMETER

SYMBOL

UNIT

TEST

NOTES ON TESTING

Triaxial
Abrasion test
Siever's miniature drill
test

[119 Barton: p15]

[119 Barton: p15]

Geological conditions
Rock Drillability
-Unc. Compressive Strength
-Abrasion Value
-Siever's J-Value

UCS
AV
SJ

MPa
-

-Drilling Rate Index

DRI

Rock penetrability
-Sand density or clay plasticity
-Presence of rock/gravel/boulders

Dr / PI

kN/m

CPT/SPT

Rock/soil stability
-Degree of weathering
-Unc. Compressive Strength
-Cohesion [soils]
-Tensile strength [rock]

UCS
c
q;u

[I-V]
MPa
MPa
MPa

Core samples/ Age

Triaxial
Triaxial
Simple shear / triaxial

- Soil/rock elasticity

MPa

Triaxial,
Seismic velocity

Rock fracturing
-Number of joints

J;n

Core samples,
Seismic velocity/amp

J;r
J;a
SRF

-Joint roughness
-Joint alteration i.e. filling
-Dip angle of shear zones/ in situ
stresses/ intersecting joint sets
-Depth of weak
layers/overburden
-Sensitivity to alteration

Related to
UCS/Abrasion

[78 Goodman]

[90: Barton] Q-System

[89:A.McCracken &
Stacey]
[110: Logan & O'Toole]

Rock stress state

- primary stresses and directions
Hydraulic conditions
Height of water table
Presence of aquifers and
hydraulic head in aquifers
Permeability
Flow rate due to
pumping/aquifers
Salinity of groundwater

CCBO Overcoring,
Hydraulic fracturing

1,3

MPa

C;v
q

Lugeon
m/s

wireline in borehole
Core samples,
thermal capacity
Packer test
2 borings with tracer

ppm

borehole sample

[138. Obara et.al.]

Design parameters
Diameter
Total depth
Shaft smoothness
Shaft inclination and azimuth
Access to bottom of shaft
Possible alternate locations

D
d
D

m
m
mm

Accepted size of
overbreak (i.e. for
laminar flow)

degrees
[y/n]

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Workers in shafts
The initative to this work was the demand for a safe method of shaft construction through unstable
geologies. Of all safety aspects, there is a single key issue in shaft construction that outways all other
safety measures: The amount of time workmen are active inside the shaft.
For this reason any method that still requires workmen down the shaft is a poor one.
The methods discussed in the previous chapter are first assessed according to the amount of work that
is necessary in the shaft. Methods with a low or moderate safety will be abandoned, as shown in Table
15 .
Shaft excavation will be reviewed in more detail in chapter 4, as it forms an alternative to constructing
short pre-sinks without heavy equipment, where shafts are not long enough to install a complete blind
hole drilling rig. Also the development of remote controlled equipment means there may be room for
further development in this area in the future.
Blind Hole Drilling will be researched in further detail in chapter 5, because it appears to be able to
tackle nearly any geology effectively, yet it is one of the safest methods available.
Grout treatment and grout minipiles will be elaborated further in chapter 6. Grouting can be a very
cheap method, especially when used on localised targets. Also the understanding of the effect of
grouting is still poorly understood, leaving room for improvement and a desire for a better knowledge
base.

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Table 15 Level of safety of each construction method.

Method

Work done in the shaft

Safety

Down-the-hole shaft sinking methods

Conventional drilling and blasting

Drilling, blasting, mucking & reinforcement.

Low.

V-mole with pilot-hole

Maintenance, reinforcement

Moderate

Shaft-boring machine

Maintenance, reinforement, mucking

Moderate

Rock-bolting & meshing

Rock-bolting & meshing

Low

Cast-in-place lining

Lining.

Moderate

Precast lining elements

Lining.

Moderate

Forepoling/Boodex

Forepoling and final lining.

Mod. high

Blind Hole Drilling

Lining only. (see lining methods)

Very high

Shaft Excavation (from top)

Lining only. (see lining methods)

Very high

Floated pre-cast lining

None.

Very high.

Caisson lining

Excavation beneath lining shoe.

Very high.

Remote shotcreting

None.

Very high

Horadiam stepwise benching

Some drilling, blasting, mucking &

reinforcement. (from above)
Raiseborer maintenance.

Low (for
unstable
areas)

Horadiam alimak raising

Some drilling, blasting, mucking &

reinforcement. (from below)
Raiseborer maintenance.

Very low
(for unstable
areas)

Grout treatment & Grout minipiles

Raiseborer maintenance.
Final lining & watertighting.

Mod. high

Secant piles

Raiseborer maintenance.

Mod High

Diaphragm walls

Raiseborer maintenance.

High

Freezing

Raiseborer maintenance. Final lining.

High

Calyx drill

Raiseborer maintenance. Final lining.

High

Down-the-hole lining methods

Remote shaft sinking methods

Remote shaft lining methods

Raiseboring

Raiseboring with pre-reinforcement

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4. Shaft Cutting Machines

Shaft cutting in this context refers to removing soil and rock material from the surface rather than
raiseboring. The methods that can be used will be discussed below.

Excavation mechanisms
Augering
Augering refers to removal of soft plastic soils by applying torque to a helical blade, as shown in
Figure 32. The amount of torque that is necessary depends on the depth and diameter of the shaft. For
small diameters and limited depths this is a very competitive technique. Diameters up to 500 mm are
common, however diameters of approx. 2 m diameter are possible by more elaborate rigs. In the
Cannington area in Australia augers have also been used to hollow out a 6 m diameter shaft pre-sink
where smaller cores were removed from the greater circle. The maximum depth is about 22 m.
Augering is limited to low soil strength., although it can be combined by a diamond drill bit at the tip
to break moderately sized boulders. An obstruction may cause an auger to fail if its diameter is larger
than a third of the diameter of the auger.

Excavation
Excavation of the shaft can be
performed by full-face mechanisms
such as a microtunnelling machine
or a V-mole. However, these
systems have proven to be
inflexible and costly, and are being
replaced by non full-face machines.
Atlas Excavations has performed
extensive shaft sinking with a
small, down-the-hole excavation
machine which has fittings for
Figure 32 - Excavation of a shaft with a large diameter auger.
shovel, bucket tooth or hydraulic
hammer. This makes the machine extremely versatile. Such machines were used, for example, for
excavation of about thirty shafts for the Super Collider in the U.S. Unfortunately this machine requires
a controller, which makes it relatively unsafe for shaft sinking. As developments in underground
mining are going at the moment, this equipment will be controllable by computers from the surface
within the next decade, and this may be a promising alternative to the heavy equipment required for
blind hole drilling.
Shaft Sinkers inc. of India have developed a boom operated excavator for remote excavation of shafts.
This has the added advantage that the shaft can be excavated wet in areas with a high water table. For

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depths of up to 30 m it is reasonable to consider a boom operated excavator, but legislation limits the
length of the boom to 22 m in some countries. In sandy soils wet excavation is an especially efficient
method.
An alternative to surface excavation in areas with a high water head is down-hole excavation under
pneumatic pressure. This method, where a caisson is sunk gradually as excavation proceeds from
inside, has serious health-and-safety hazards. The pneumatic system requires decompression of all
personell working at the bottom of the shaft. Hence this method is ralery used knowadays.
In all cases either an airline or fluid flushing can be used to get th e soil to the surface. The question
remains how to support the shaft wall in combination with a shaft cutting machine that excavates topdown.

Caisson-style lining
Skin friction
The top-down approach allows access to the shaft wall for applying support. It would be economical
and safe if it would be possible to insert prefabricated rings into the soil from the surface. This will be
referred to as caisson-style lining.
For soft plastic soils, it is most common to use steel lining elements which are pressed in to the soil
hydraulically. IHC Calland has the largest available equipment designed for off-shore construction
purposes. They have pushed steel tubes of up to 5 m diameter at least 20 m deep into soft marine soils.
In sands smaller diameters are possible, however as the relative density increase it becomes more
difficult to get the lining to penetrate. In sands it is common to use vibratory equipment which locally
liquifies the sand next to the steel lining. The following problems lead to jamming of pipes when
pushing them in to the ground :
Excessive skin friction as the length, diameter and soil density increases
Ovalisation of the lining
Elastic deformation of the lining as length increases. This makes it harder to vibrate or ram the
lining any further.
Determining the penetrability of sands is beyond the scope of this study, however extensive
knowledge is available from pile foundation engineering. A dynamic pile driving analysis could be
performed to determine if a casing could be driven into stiff sands.
Also it is generally excepted that the friction along a pile shaft is related to the in-situ vertical effective
stress and the friction angle between the lining and the soil as follows :

2
3

v 0 tan v 0 tan
The total resitance to skin friction can be derived by a simple summation of the area of the lining.
The following measures can be taken to reduce the shaft friction and thereby increase the depth
attainable by driving a lining :

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 Greasing the lining to reduce skin friction.

Use of an oversized tip to excavate slightly larger than the diameter of the lining and reduce soil
pressure on the lining.
Pumping lubricating fluids along the outside of the lining.
Use of thicker steel to reduce ovalization and increase the blow that can be applied to the shaft
bottom.
Excavate during driving and in combination with a down-the-hole hammer
Because skin friction generally determines the penetrability rather than the tip resistance, linings are
simlarly made of concrete. Caisson style shafts are common up to approximately 20 m depth and 5 m
diameter.

Conclusion
Caisson-style sinking is a suitable alternative where soft soils and sands occur, along with high
phreatic levels. Dredging or wet excavation from a boom is a safe and economical way to get to
depths about 20 m. At greater depths, boom-length and skin friction start to restrict further progress.
The skin friction resistance and drivability of shaft elements can easily be analysed by analogous tools
designed for pile foundations.

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5. Blind hole drilling

Introduction
This chapter will discuss the method of blind
hole drilling (BHD) sometimes also referred
to as blind hole boring. This method is
derived from reverse circulation drilling (or
RC-drilling) which has been used extensively
in mining and oil-drilling to get core samples
from layers of rock far beneath the surface.
In the 1980s several companies developed
BHD equipment, but there are two main
companies serving the majority of large
diameter shafts (>3m). Wirth of Germany
Figure 33 - Headframe for shaft drilling
spent a lot of its efforts on a down the hole
type boring machine. The V-mole, which uses a pilot hole to remove cuttings downwards, was a
success, but a similar machine which was to be its successor, which had the cuttings lifted first by a
muck hoist and later hydraulically, was abandoned [17. Keeble, 1990]. Wirth decided to adopt a blind
hole drilling machine positioned on the surface of the shaft.
Ardent Underground from North America, previously known as Zeni, is expanding around the world.
Because of the use of drilling mud that can support the shaft walls, they are doing very well in
Australia where thick layers of instable overburden are common.

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Description
Blind hole drilling uses a cutter head similar to those used in raiseboring that is rotated from the
surface by drill rods. The hole is filled to the rim with drilling fluid, which can have clay or polymer
additives to make it cohesive and heavy so it will support the shaft wall. The fluid is also used to
transport rock cuttings from the bottom of the shaft, through the inside of the drill-rods.
The following steps are required to construct a shaft by the BHD method:

1. Excavation of a 3-5m deep presink, and construction of a

concrete foundation.
headframe
foundation
To retention
basin
drill
rods

3. Start of drilling. The presink is filled with mud and the

cutter lowered into the shaft.
Drilling progresses and every 11m a new drill rod is
attached. Cuttings are pumped to the surface and transported
to a retention basin, where they are left to settle.

4. Upon reaching the required depth, the cutter head is lifted

from the shaft by raising and disconnecting each of the drill
rods.

drill
rods

lining

grout
pump
tremie
pipe

2. Setup of headframe and mud-plant.

lining

5. A composite lining is lowered into the shaft. The 3m

segments are welded together as they go down the shaft.

6. Small diameter drill rods are lowered down the outside of

the lining and grout is pumped in from the bottom up. The
shaft is pumped clean and the headframe and equipment are
removed.

grout

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A significant depth is necessary (>100m) to

make the method economical because the
transport and setup of the headframe can take
up to four weeks, including creating a concrete
foundation on-site.
Either a power swivel or a rotary table is used
to power the drill rods.
A high degree of accuracy is required, both for
the successful construction of the shaft as for
its final use. Especially access and haulage
shafts need to be exactly vertical for lift cables

Figure 34 - Composite lining elements which will be

welded together as they are floated into the shaft.

to function effectively. The cutter head is kept

on course by 200-400 tonne weights near the
cutter. Due to the pendulum effect the cutter
should always follow an exactly vertical path.
Strong, dipping veins like quartzite tend to
cause the cutterhead to lose track. In this case
drilling should be slowed, or the cutter head
can be lifted slightly and lowered again to get
it back on track. Accuracies of 0.25% are
attainable by well controlled drilling. By
drilling a small-diameter pilot-hole and using a
leading pointer higher accuracies up to 0.1%
have been achieved. Such a hole should be
filled with a gel-grout to avoid loss of the
drilling fluids. [17 Keeble, 1990]

Figure 35 - Drill pipes and the airline-nozzle [left] which

is lowered through the pipes.

Cuttings Removal
The transportation of rock cut from the surface is done by reverse circulation drilling. This means
drilling fluid from outside the shaft is pumped up through the
inside of the drill string. Generally a thin airline is lowered
down inside of the shaft with a nozzle at the bottom. Wirth
either uses a double walled drill string, where air is pumped
down the annulus between the outer and inner wall, or an
airline fastened to the
Figure 36 - Detail of drill-pipe flanges
outside of the
and connection bolts. To transmit the
drillpipe which has a
drill torque and carry the weight of pipes
and cutterhead they are thick and are
special connection at
made from high-grade steel.
each flange. This air

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59

is pumped into the inner pipe reducing the density of the fluid. This creates a flow which is able to
carry pieces of rock up the pipe, some just smaller than the inner diameter of the drill pipe (up to
340mm).
At the top the fluids are collected in a retention basin, where cuttings are left to settle and drilling
fluids can be pumped off the top and reused. Reverse circulation was invented because the upward
flow in the inner pipe can carry cuttings better than the outer pipe (traditional forward circulation). The
inner cross section is small compared to the cross-section outside the pipe, resulting in high flow
speeds. This is necessary in big hole drilling where the diameters are so great that forward circulation
is impossible. Also chunks of rock tend not to jam easily because the diameter of the inner drill pipe is
relatively large being round (rather than when the annulus was used).
The air that is pumped inside the drill pipe lowers the density and thereby reduces the head. This is
why water or drilling fluid is required right up to the top of the shaft. The weight of the drilling fluid
drives the upward flow through the drill pipe.
This is an important restriction because it
means water, under high pressures, must
always be used.
Some rocks may dissolve or react with water,
resulting in significant loss of strength. As
well as this, the washing of clay and minerals
from fractures combined with high pore
pressure can make fractures turn into instable
shear planes.
Another danger of the pressure of the drilling
mud, is the risk of blow-out into nearby
Figure 37 - Settling ponds for drilling mud
cavities. Areas with washed out cavities or
existing mine openings may not be able to
withstand the high pressures of the mud. The shaft walls may suddenly burst into these openings
rapidly flushing the fluid away. This will stop the drilling progress, damage the shaft wall and
potentially cause the rest of the shaft to collapse. More importantly it will endanger peoples lives if
they are present in the adjacent mine openings.

Lining
The lining segments, each about 3m high, are generally pre-cast on site. The linings consist of a 2030mm steel outer ring with a layer of 100-200mm thick concrete poured inside. A thin ring is welded
to the outside of each segment to allow it to be lifted mechanically.
The lining is dropped down into the mud, with a plug at the bottom that is filled to the top with
concrete. This weight is necessary to stop the lining segments from floating in the drilling mud. As the
lining is floated in, each segmented is welded onto the previous one. A space of 100-200mm is
required between the shaft and the lining to stop it from jamming. It is very important for the success
of this stage that the shaft has been drilled as close to vertical as possible.

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When the lining reaches the bottom, common drill rods around 72mm used for core-drilling are
lowered between the annulus behind the lining. The lining is carefully grouted from the bottom up,
creating a solid connection between the lining and the rock. The mud cannot be emptied until the grout
has hardened because fluids behind the lining compromise its strength, potentially causing it to
buckle. When the grout hardens it ensures stresses are transferred to the stiff rim of the lining through
arching. [70. Hunt, 2003]
For some deep shafts, where rock strength increases at greater depths, the drilling can be done in
stages. This way costly and thick drilling muds can be exchanged for water for the deeper section.
Because water is lighter and more viscous than muds, it makes cuttings removal easier. Also it lowers
the pressures at the bottom of deep shafts - reducing the chance of a blow-out. To be able to lower the
lining in the second stage, and grout behind it, the second section of the shaft must be drilled at a
smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the first.
Alternately blind hole drilling can be done without drilling fluids. In this case a pilot hole must be
drilled or raise bored, to allow for removal of the cuttings. This is not common practice.
The speed of drilling is generally limited by the weight at the cutting head. Pressure cannot be applied
to the cutting surface from above because this would cause the drill string to flex and the cutting head
would deviate from its vertical course. To achieve large diameters above 5m the shaft would be
drilled in more than one pass. A reamer would be used to enlarge the hole to the ultimate diameter of
up to 7m.
It should be noted that floated in lining only becomes strong once it is grouted up at the back this
transfers the horizontal pressures to the outsides through shear, unlike with fluids [Hunt et.al. 1995,
Casing collapse at the CT-8].

Cost
The cost of blind hole drilling is generally twice the cost of raise boring. The main costs of blind hole
drilling is the setup of the drilling equipment, can take up to 30 truckloads and four weeks. Once
drilling starts, costs per meter are only 20-30% higher than raise boring [Zeni 2004]. For remote
locations such as those in the Northern and Western deserts of Australia, pre-reinforcement options
tend to outweigh the high cost of setup. Despite the extra costs, there are many reasons why blind hole
drilling can still be the preferred method.
Firstly the liabilities of BHD are lower; for raise boring a reaming head must be positioned from the
bottom of the shaft, which is a very dangerous position to work from. For long shafts through hard
rock, the cutters become worn and damaged and must be changed, again putting workmen at risk.
In situations where soils or rock are unstable, raise boring requires a pre-sink. This pre-sink can be
done to about 20-30m below the surface by an excavation arm, but below this a working platform with
a protective cage is required. If the rock is hard, drilling and blasting is used, which is a dangerous and
cumbersome operation. This is where blind hole drilling starts getting an edge.

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Often it is easy for mine planners to be able to have a shaft ready to go as underground workings reach
it. With raise boring the underground opening always has to be excavated first, and the cuttings
removed as the shaft is constructed. This can have significant economic disadvantages compared to
blind hole drilling.
Alternatively it is possible to combine raise boring and blind hole drilling. This way the unstable shaft
can be drilled by the more expensive blind hole drilling, and raise boring can be done for the
remainder of the shaft. This poses some difficulties.
It should be noted that it is not possible to raise bore first, then blind hole drill. The pilot hole will lose
the drilling muds, and as the blind hole drilling approaches the raise bored hole, the drilling muds will
suddenly be breach into the opening, causing shaft collapse.
The hole will have to be blind hole drilled first, then raise bored. This is possible, but three problems
arise during the raise boring:
Additional stabilizers are required because the drill strings are not supported by the pilot hole at
the top of the shaft. Although the drill strings are in tension, they may deflect because of the
torsion that is applied.
The foundation of the raiseboring machine is more complex. The shaft beneath the raise boring
machine means it is hard to transfer the vertical load to the ground beneath. Beams across the hole
are required which divert the load to a large area foundation.
The beams that cross the hole need to support very large vertical loads from the raise boring
machine. Because of this they may deflect op to 20mm, which means control of the raise boring
head becomes very difficult.
Eventually the costs of setup of both the blind hole drilling and raise boring machine may not
outweigh the costs of simply blind hole drilling all the way, but combinations of raiseboring and a
short pre-sink should always be considered in areas of weak overburden.

Limitations
With a common drill pipe diameter of 20, depths of 700-800m can be drilled, depending on rock
conditions. A smaller setup with 12 rods can reach 600m (and up to 3,5m diameter) rock conditions
permitting. At great depths drill strings start to get 1-2 rotations of windup. This is elastic
deformation of the drill pipe between the top where torque is applied and the resistance on the cutter
head at the bottom. Because rock is never completely homogenous, this can cause sudden spinning
followed by sticking of the cutter head, as the deformation travels up the shaft. The only solution for
this problem is a larger diameter drillpipe with better quality steel combined with heavier equipment.
Depth is hardly limited by the drilling fluids as it is usually possible to simply pump more air down
the nozzle. The increasing weight of the drill pipes is a bigger problem; it requires stronger drill pipe
with thicker flanges (or better quality steel) and larger equipment.
Diameter is still limited in blind hole drilling. Because the weight is supplied through gravity and not
through tension in the drill strings like in raiseboring, the thrust is limited, and thereby also the
diameter. A two-phase sink head or sumped cutterhead can be considered where thrust is a problem,

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but these are still being developed for shaft drilling. An untried solution may be to place an anchor at
the end of a pilot hole, which can be tensioned and thereby apply thrust to the cutterhead.
Blind hole drilling applies large pressures to the surroundings. In the neighbourhoud of cavities and
existing mine openings this can form the danger of a blow-out. Generally a 20-30m barrier between
the shaft and neighbouring openings is considered quite substantial to support the fluid stresses (up to
30Mpa for very deep shafts). For soft coal seams which may be weaker and have high stresses, up to
50m may be required to support the standing head.
Uncemented sands, unstable weak rock and large water inflows are supported by the drilling mud. In
these cases bentonite is added which makes the mixture thixotropic and supports the shaft walls. This
must be balanced against keeping the drilling fluids viscous enough to easily transport the cuttings.
Some karstic limestones and similar rocks dissolve in the drilling mud and cause the walls to break
and dissolve. This can be solved by adding bentonite or polyacrilonite to the drilling mud which
makes the fluid thixotropic. This means it forms a solid cake around the outside of the fluid which
keeps the fluid together and stops it dissolving the walls. To prevent washing soluble clays potassium
chloride ions can be added (at around 20,000 p.p.m.). These form a molecular bond with the clays,
effectively hardening them. A simple test where core samples are dissolved in buckets of water with
various concentrations is sufficient to find out how much additive to use to stop solution of the clays.
The potassium chloride can cause some environmental problems where the chlorides cannot be
disposed of safely. Here a more expensive alternative is used (at about 10 p.p.m).
Areas of uncemented sand in combination with reactive clays can form a problem. This is because
bentonite is used to make a thixotropic solution which forms a cake and stabilizes the sand.
Bentonite consists mainly of smectite which is a reactive clay. This added clay prevents the addition of
potassium chloride, the additive that is used to prevent the solution of the reactive clays.
Open fractures can allow the drilling muds to escape. This is a problem that can be solved by using
sure-seal or other cellulose products, which are added to the drilling mud. Typical products such as
paper clippings or wood chips tend to get carried into the fractures by the high flow rates, where it
swells and blocks the hole.
Alternatively a ring of grout columns has been drilled to reduce the permeability of fractures, for
example in cases where shafts have been constructed near water catchment areas. The penetration of
drilling muds into the groundwater and surface retention basins can form an unacceptable
environmental hazard, restricting the use of blind hole drilling. Drilling with polymers or dry-drilling
combined with remote shotcreting may be an alternative in this case.
In Chapter 8 the rules for shaft drilling will be assessed and compared to other construction methods.

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Table 16 - Blind Hole Drilling guidelines [Zeni 2004, Weber]

Blind Hole Drilling, guidelines

For shallow depths up to 100m consider alternative methods, cheaper in setup.
Suited to depths up to 500m at diameter of 3,5m with 12 drillpipe.
Suited to depths up to 700m at diameter of 3,5m with high-strength steel 20 drillpipe.
For diameters of 5m and over drill in two or more passes
Remote locations: consider alternative methods
Proximity to existing openings (evaluate fluid pressures and rock strength)
medium strength rock: 20-30m
soft coals seams: 50m
Unstable shaft: Use thixotropic solution with bentonite clays.
Danger of fluid escaping into cavities: cellulose mud-additives on-site (sure-seal, wood-chips, etc)
Expansive clays in fractures: Add potassium chloride ions to drilling mud to bind clays.
Environmentally sensitive areas: Pre-grout perimeter to reduce permeability, use polymer muds.

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6. Pre-reinforcing with piles

Introduction
One of the most efficient methods of drilling is raiseboring. Raise boring has some major advantages
compared to other methods of drilling. It is a fast, continuous process with no need for mucking out
the hole. The machine is relatively small and easy to setup. Machines can be used with different sized
reaming heads and under different angles making them very flexible. One major limitation on raiseboring is the need to have access to the bottom of the shaft to fit the reaming head, but this is usually
common in mining and tunnelling applications.
The other limitation to raiseboring is that there is no access to the shaft to apply any form of
reinforcement. This means that any unstable rock and soil must be reinforced from the surface before
raiseboring begins. Two commonly used methods are grouting and freezing.
This chapter looks at potential ways of constructing pre-reinforcement. The methods of drilling and
inserting grout are discussed, along with the potential of these methods in different geologies.
Alongside the different drilling methods, grout can also be applied differently. It may be poured into
the drill hole or it may be pressurised into joints and weakness areas. Also it may be reinforced with
steel rods or fibreglass. Ways for maintaining the accuracy of drilling are also reviewed.
Some problems that occur during grouting are assessed such as the problem of grout flow, grout wash
and the penetration of grout in narrow and clay-filled joints. Also there is some reflection on the way
grouting can increase stability.

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65

Drilling methods
Secant Piles
Secant piles are commonly drilled with an auger, which is a corkscrew shaped drill that transports
cuttings to the surface by rotation. In very soft rock, augers can be used with a drill bit at the tip. The
problem with augers is the limited torque that can be applied to the auger to overcome friction. In soft
clays augering works very well, but sands already start to become problem. As depth increases so does
the friction on the auger, reducing penetration rates until finally the auger refuses to pentrate any
further.
Table 17 - Secant pile guidelines [134. Herrenknecht AG.]

Secant piles, guidelines

Depth up to 22m, in soft soils <2MPa
Depth up to 44m, in very soft soils <1MPa, where connectivity of piles is not crucial to stability

1
D A for auger diameters D A 300 mm
3
1
Maximum obstacle size (boulders etc..) D D A for auger diameters 300mm D A 800mm
4

Maximum obstacle size (boulders etc..) D

Another important vulnerability of an auger is where boulders and solid obstacles occur, which also
jam the auger. As a guideline, drillers can use augers up to a depth of 22m for soil and rock strengths
up to 2MPa. By connecting two augers together, a depth of up to 44m may be possible in rock and
soils less than 1MPa.
This is obviously an uncommon geology especially in mineshafts as it is generally only encountered in
alluvial deposits or extremely weathered zones (e.g. karst). Generally any boulders cause problems
blocking the auger, as well as great depths because the friction increases with depth. If unstable clays
are encountered a casing can be used to support the shaft, which is driven by a vibrating block at the
same time as the auger drilling. In areas with only a few boulders, it may be viable to use jet-grouting.

Jet grouting
Although more expensive, jet-grouting has less problems with higher strength sands and gravel. Jetgrouting is suited to porous soils where the particles can be moved by a pressurised jet of air and
water. Areas with a large amount of large boulders should not be grouted as the boulders can stop
penetration of cement in their shadow.
Jet grouting is not very common in mining engineering because it is expensive, inappropriate to rocky
conditions, and error-prone at large depths.

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Rotary percussive DTH-drilling

The most suitable form of drilling for drilling grout holes, and the most common method used today,
is rotary-percussive down-the-hole hammer drilling.
Simply rotary drilling implies you are pushing a diamond cutting head into the ground along with a
rotating action. This is usually used in conjunction with a diamond core barrel which allows core
samples to be pumped up through the inside of the pipe to allow for geological analysis.
Rotary-percussive drilling, however, uses some form of percussive hammer along with the rotation
which greatly increases drilling speeds. It is easiest to place the hammer in the headframe and drive
the pipes from the top. However as the depth increases, the shockwave from the hammer needs to pass
through more and more drill rods. The drill rods exhibit elastic behaviour and dampen the blows. For
greater depths a down-the-hole hammer is used. Diesel hammers are common, but are being replaced
by hydraulic systems which are fed by a hydraulic pump at the surface.
An example of a machine specially designed for drilling pre-grouting holes has recently been
introduced by Indau of Finland. The newly developed machine, costing 450,000, which can drill
piles at 2-3m/hr in soft rock and 1-1 m/hr in hard rock using a tri-cone bit at 381mm diameter (diam
range 171-381mm). One man can work the machine and both setup and take-down takes a team of two
men one day. A 50m length pile requires two stabilizers at 1% deflection, monitored by a Swedish
Reflex AB down-the-hole camera. A 100m length would require three stabilizers at 1% accuracy. Air
flushing can be used for clays, gypsum and other solubles. Indau uses armoured concrete rather than
steel reinforcement to prevent damage during raiseboring: otherwise large deflections that may occur
during drilling and placement of the pre-reinforcement will cause the reaming head to run into solid
steel. [88. Roger Nylund, 2004]
Table 18 - Rotary percussive DTH-hammer drilling guidelines [88. Roger Nylund, 2004]

Rotary percussive down-the-hole hammer drilling, guidelines

Depth up to hundreds of metres

Diameters 90-400mm
Accuracy dependant of drilling contractor and quality of survey: 0,5 % - 2%

MUD-support
For drilling in any soft soil or rock, some form of drilling fluid or 'mud' is used. The fluid cools the
drill bits, transports tailings back to the surface and, if necessary, supports the walls of the hole. When
extra stability of the hole is required, montmorillonite clays (bentonite) are added making the mix
thick, but reducing cuttings transport. Another important function of the clays is to form a filter cake
on the surface.

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Often water flushing is adequate for small holes, except in soft or reactive clays and karstic geologies
that contain soluble rocks like gypsum and limestone. Also, situations where the in-situ stress is high
in one direction, and low in the other may require more than just water support, to prevent borehole
breakout.

Dry-rock-drilling
For reactive clays, gypsum and some limestones dry flushing can be used with air to support the walls.
Powermole or its Italian equivalent Technolgie Avanzate use this method on a regular basis, mainly
for directional drilling of pipelines (The PM903 system is used).
Dry-rock drilling, guidelines

Applied in geologies that react adversely to water-based drilling fluids:

expansive smectite clays, common in deeply weathered rocks (often granites) in acidic
environments
semi-expansive illite clays or micas, common in weathered rocks (often sandstones, shale) in
basic environments
rocks suscetable to solution: carbonaceous rocks (limestones), chalk, marl, mudstones, gypsum,
anhydryte, rock salts
Diameters 90-200mm

Odex
Odex is a form of drilling with an eccentric drill bit, specifically tailored to drill through overburden.
Where ordinary drilling uses a casing only for the first few metres and uses drilling fluids to support
the hole, Odex uses a casing all the way down to the bedrock.
Odex is an eccentric bit that folds out of the casing by rotation, cutting a path just outside the diameter
of the casing. Because overburden can contain blocky and weathered rock that can jam the bit, the
Odex drill bit also has top bits that can drill backwards. When the rotation on the Odex bit is reversed,
it collapses so it can fit inside the casing and be lifted to the surface. This also allows the drill bit to be
exchanged for a hard-rock bit which allows drilling to proceed easily into the bedrock.
Table 19 Odex drilling guidelines [62. Verfel 1989]

Odex drilling, guidelines

Depth up to 72m for 140mm diameter holes

Depth up to +/- 100m with a telescopic arrangement
Diameters 90-240mm
Odex also uses a down-the-hole hammer, which has been improved in a new system called DEPS
where the thrust and percussive action of the hammer is passed on to the drill bits more effectively,
greatly increasing drilling speeds [123. Atlas Copco 2004].

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Abrasive water-jet-cutting
In the interest of selective mining and mining through very hard rocks, significant research has been
done into cutting with water jets or jet-kerfing. Generally water-jet cutting has insufficient cutting
speed to be effective for large diameter shafts in soft rock.
Besides speed, the costs of water and abrasives used and the cost of replacing the water nozzles is far
too high. [117. Vijay 1992]
The use of water-jets in combination with drilling is quite useful as it removes tailings effectively.
However both drilling and cuttings transport through water-jets are highly complex mechanisms
description of these phenomena and how they collaborate requires extensive research. The
development of integrated drilling systems is being led by the exploration sector of the oil-industry.
[121. National Acacdemy of Sciences 1994]
Abrasice water-jet cutting/kerfing, guidelines

Not suited to pre-reinforcement.

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Drilling Accuracy
Measuring and correcting deflections
A vital part of succesful grouting is getting the grout into the areas that need reinforcing. This not
only means accurately surveying grouting operations, it also means drilling accurate geotechnical
investigation holes.
Firstly, this means grouting should be performed as close to the target as
possible, such as from completed mine activities close to the shaft.
However, having workmen down the shaft is a problem, so drilling grout
holes from the surface is preferred. Also this is more economical as it is
difficult to get large equipment into the shaft.
Accurate grouting is also necessary if raiseboring is to be performed after
drilling. An ventilation shaft in north-western Australia could not be
raisebored because reinforced grout piles had deflected inside the shaft

N
Azimuth

Inclination

perimeter, which would have caused the reamer to jam. Fibreglass

Figure 38 Measuring
borehole deviation: azimuth
reinforcement is a more expensive alternative which prevents this
and inclination.
problem.
From several examples have shown that the selection of the drilling contractor and surveyor plays a
vital role in the succes of grouting operations. Several tools can be used to measure deflection of
boreholes, one better than the other.
Timed mechanical tools that lock a gimbaled compass on angular scales.
Tools taking a timed photograph of the graticule on a floating ball.
Tools that measure (changes in) magnetic field, magnetic azimuth and acceleration in three
directions, in a single shot.
Tools that measure (changes in) magnetic field, magnetic azimuth and acceleration in three
directions, at intermediate points down the hole.
Timed mechanical tools, which are becoming outdated, are tedious and inaccurate. It relies on the
drilling operator to run a stopwatch and ensure correct positioning of the tool down the hole at exactly
the right moment.
Timed single shot photographic tools are still tedious, but more
reliable because correct positioning of the tool down the hole can be
checked on the photo. This eliminates the danger of incorrect
centering of the tool in the borehole.
More advanced tools are now available, that measure magnetic field
in three components. Disruptions of the earths magnetic field occur
frequently in rocks with a high metal content, and result in incorrect
azimuth measurement. These disruptions can be detected by
measuring changes in magnetic strength and dip, allowing incorrect
readings to be ignored. Also it helps detect drilling tools that are

70

Hard vein
(e.g. quartzite)

Figure 39 - Deflection caused by

hard, dipping layers known as
'rat-holing'

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disrupting magnetic readings. This can be solved by moving the measuring tool away from drilling
equipment using non-magnetic aluminium extension pipes.
Such modern tools also contain three-component accelerometers rather than a graticule, which
provides for more accurate readings. Also it helps prevent error introduced by movement of the tool
during measurement. To provide more continuous operation, these tools may be used with a wireline,
to directly connect the measuring tool to the surface. This works well in conjunction with a Navidrill
or similar steerable drill that can then quickly adjust its direction with the help of a dogleg bend.
Reflex of Sweden also produce a multi-shot tool called Maxibor, which allows for quick measurement
as the tool travels down the hole. Rather than a single shot, Maxibor takes measurements up to as little
as 3m between, which is possible because it only
takes a few seconds to create an image. The system
should also be rotated between measurements to
average calibration mistakes in all directions.
One area of concern is where hard layers such as
quartzite veins intersect the borehole at an angle.
This is a typical location for deflections to occur
due to the phenomenon of rat-holing where the
drill bit is pushed away from its target, as shown in
Figure 39. Drilling should be performed with less
pressure on the bit when traversing these layers,
along with extra measurements so that deflections
can be quickly corrected.

survey
error

Widely spaced survey Closely spaced survey

misses dog-leg bend
detects dog-leg bend

Figure 40 - Improved accuracy through multi-shot

survey

Common problems in measuring drilling accuracy are listed in Table 20. Calibration and initial survey
of equipment are by far the most common sources of borehole deflection. [139, 140. Reflex instrument
AB]

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Mechanical gimbaled compass (Pajari Prod S)

Photograph of graticule (Icefield MI-3)

Electronic Single-shot ( Reflex EasyShot)

Electronic Multi-shot (Reflex MaxiBor)

Poor centering of the down-the-hole Use 2-3 stabilisers. Check with photo.
tool in the hole.

Poor tool calibration

Calibrate away from magnetic disturbance

(equipment/metaliferous deposits)

Missing deflections because of

distance between measurement
(See Figure 40)

Decrease distance between shots

Cumulation of tool error in readings Rotate tool between readings

n/a n/a n/a

Drilling equipment upsets magnetic Extend distance between survey tool and drill
readings
rods with up to 8m of aluminium rods

Metalliferous deposits upset

magnetic readings

Ignore azimuth readings in metalliferous

zones

Rat-holing

Reduce pressure on the bit

Table 20 - Guidelines for

troubleshooting drilling accuracy
problems. Solid bullets indicate survey
systems that are susceptibile to errors.

Problem

Solution

Poor survey of initial inclination

Employ reliable surveyors,

Check calibration of survey equipment,
Check verticality of drilling mast,
Check for surface magnetic disturbance

Approximate error :

72

2%

2%

1%

,3%

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The grouting process

The purpose of grouting
Grouting generally has a positive effect on the stability and impermeability of a fractured rock zone.
The purpose of grouting can be split into :
Increasing normal stress across joint planes and thereby increasing joint shear strength
Increasing cohesion of joint planes, through removal of infill material and cementation or binding
of the joint surfaces
Blocking pore and fracture space to inhibit water flow. Water decreases stability by reducing
normal stress on joints and also by weathering material in joints or the joint surface. Besides for
stability purposes, large amounts of water will render a shaft useless.
Connecting joint planes by hydrofracturing followed by grouting of the joints.
Encapsulation for shear reinforcement rods or armouring.
The most crucial function of grouting is the increase of normal stress across the joint, and secondly the
reduction of permeability.

Quality of grouting
To determine wether grouting will be effective, the factors that influence the result should be
identified It is important to get grout sufficiently far into joints and pores.
The distance grout can penetrate is determined by:
joint thickness, joint roughness and joint filling (clays gouge, etc)
initial normal pressure on the join
stiffness of the rock surrounding the join. Stiff rock can prevent fractures from opening. On the
other hand hydrojacking may allow opening of joints and further penetration.
filtration effects achieved by cement particles blocking holes
thickness of the grout mix (expressed by a Bingham fluid with viscosity and cohesion)
grout choosing the path of least resistance, instead of going into all cracks.
grouting pressure
reduction of grouting pressure due to hydrofracturing
The strength of the bond is dictated by:
Shrinkage called slump due to high water ratios, resulting in pore space
Dry powdery grout because of inadequate water .
Inadequate water occurs where :
o the grout is too thick
o The grout flow slows along the pore walls where friction is highest
o Absorption of water by dry rock
Additives like bentonite or superplasticizer (e.g. Intraplast) that weaken the grout
Dissolution of grouts due to groundwater wash.
Weathering after grouting due to in-situ water flows
Hydrofracturing causing new fractures

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Accurate grout-control is needed for succesful grouting. Lugeon tests are a reliable way of testing the
permeability, and thereby the succesful penetration of grouting. During grouting accurate control is
necessary. [93. Lombardi 2003]
Firstly the grout mix should be closely monitored. Batches should be checked for proper mixing and
should not be too thin or too thick, in the form of measuring the Marsh flow time and the bleed. Also
samples should be kept and cured for triaxial testing to ensure the required strength is attained, taking
proper care to store the grouts in the same conditions (temperature and moisture) as where the grout is
injected. If insufficient strength is attained, water-cement ratio's may need to be adjusted, or the
amount of additives like superplasticizer or bentonite reduced.
Not only the mix, but also the grouting proces should be accurately controlled. It is recommended that
holes that may be clogged with clay, debris or drilling mud be flushed first with water. Also this wets
fracture surfaces making sure there is sufficient moisture for hydration of the cement. As grout pipes
may become clogged, it should be possible to flush them with water when necessary. In case of
flushing or if grouts do not meet quality standards, it should be possible te defer the flow of grout into
some sort of sump pit.
The flow rate and total amount of grout pumped should be monitored, as well as the grouting pressure
required. In case of large grout takes, the grout mix may be temporarily thickened to stop it
continuously disappearing into large fissures. When grout take starts to decrease, it should be readily
possible to lower the discharge of the grout pump accordingly, to prevent excessive grouting pressures
causing fracturing. Grout lines should be kept as short as possible so adjustments can be made
quickly. A return line allows deferring of poor grout and relaxation of pressures when necessary. It
may also be economical to defer a portion of grout into the next grout hole.
Finally, packer tests to determine the Lugeon value are the most practicable method of checking
grouting was succesful.

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Pressure grouting increases effective normal stress,

shown by the arrows. The extra pressure on the joint
increases the shear strength of the joint.

Through cementation or binding shear stresses can be

transferred through the joint. Increased shear resistence is
only useful at shallow depths because at high normal
stress, cohesive bonds are far weaker than internal friction.
Grout can block water flows. The total stress on the joint
remains the same, but water cannot transfer internal
friction so the normal stress in the water (blue arrows)
does not contribute to the shear strength.
Also, by stopping the flow weathering is reduced.
Hydrofracturing occurs when rock tensile strength is
reached before grout pressure is high enough to penetrate
further joints. This may be due to clay gouge (orange) in
the joints. Shear stresses (horizontal arrows, top) and
dilation (vertical arrows, top). The bottom block can resist
shear movement (bottom arrows) if the grout has some
cohesive strength.

Grout can be used to encapsulate reinforcement, either

in solid form or in fibres. The reinforcement performs
two functions: it increases in shear strength across the
joint; it prevents dilation of the joint and thereby also
increases shear strength.
Figure 41 Mechanisms of grouting for increasing stability

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Grouting and groundwater

Grout flow
It is important to get grout on target. Poor grouting can occur where grout flows away from the target
because grout flows along aquifers. It is common to use a packer test, however this only determines
the permeability, and thus only the potential for water movement. In sites where there is a potential for
fast flow of water, for example in minesites that pump
tracer
groundwater, or where large open fractures are common,
additional testing is advisable.
Crosshole radar tomography is a method of finding flow rates
where three holes are drilled in a triangular pattern. The first
hole is used to inject a tracer. The second and third holes are
used to transmit and receive radar signals that pick up the tracer.
The time it takes for the tracer to pass through the second and
third holes is a measurement of the speed of flow along that
flow path.

Borehole 3

Borehole 1
Borehole 2

Figure 42 - Crosshole radar

tomography to find flow paths

Radar tomography, although more expensive than a packer

test, is suited to shafts that are being grouted because the holes used for grouting can first be used for
the tomographic survey. A thorough understanding of water and grout flow can be attained by using
the software package NAPSAC to perform hydrogeological modelling [143. Serco Assurance
NAPSAC].
Because there is little to no control of grouting down the hole, contractors should have a good idea
what conditions to expect before attempting any grouting operation. A 4m diameter ventilation shaft in
Tanzania was excavated in weathered rock down to 75m. It suddenly breached and collapsed when a
water zone was encountered, however there was no indication of any water zone in the core samples,
because the core failed to intersect this body. In areas where pockets of water are likely to occur,
thermal imaging is a useful tool to detect bodies of water in the rock mass.
If high water flow rates are to be expected, grout relief holes should be drilled. By pumping away
water through relief holes, grout has a better chance of setting without being carried by water.

Grout wash
Water flow has another effect on grouts, especially on cement grout. Water flushes the cement
particles, reducing the final strength, called grout wash. This occurs mainly during grouting while the
mix is hardening, but also in hardened grout where flow paths have not been completely blocked. In
the Stawell mine in south-eastern Australia, it is assumed the breaching of pressurized aquifers caused
strong water inflows that washed grout and later caused the shaft to collapse.
This problem is exceedingly difficult in the cross zone from weathered rock into bedrock. Close to the
hard rock zone, rocks are increasingly saturated and weathered, sometimes leading even to running
sands at the cross zone. Grout not only takes the path of least resistence, but can also be washed by

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strong water flows across the bedrock. The Freestate mine 75 km SW of Johannesburf at 2.4m
diameter had high water inflows through dolerite layers. It was preconsolidated by a local grouting
company, but collapsed on excavation of the cross zone. All grouting efforts had been washed by
water flowing across the bedrock.
Some additives like quick hardeners can shorten the hardening time and reduce excessive grout wash.
The addition of bentonite kan keep the mix stable, controlling bleed, but this also weakens the
hardened grout. Bentonite works ineffectively for seawater inflows or other highly saline groundwater.
An alternative to quick-hardeners is the use of separate holes to concurrently inject sodium silicate.
Fast-gelling of the grout can be achieved because of the instant hardening when the two components
meet; this limits grout dilution and transport of grout away from the targeted areas.

Hot bitumen grouting

For permeation grouting hot bitumen is recently being used with a lot of succes, pumped through
insulated drill-pipes. This effectively stops groundwater flows because it hardens the quickest where it
is cooled most, i.e. where the flows are rapid. Because of the relatively high slump of bitumen, it may
need grouting afterwards to connect and fill the voids.
The reason hot bitumen works so effectively is that it cannot be flushed by water. When bitumen is
poured into fractured zones containing water, the outsides are immediately cooled by the water,
creating an impenetrable skin. Because bitumen is also a good insulator, this skin remains thin and can
be constantly melted from the inside by the hot bitumen, so that it extends as far as possible into the
joints. The hot bitumen is very viscous and has been known to seal apertures as small as 0,1mm.
Generally there is no refusal unlike cloggy cement grouts, with examples where bitumen traveled
over 100m.
For shaft stability the danger of hot bitumen should be noted, which is the strong slump that occurs
after setting, leaving joints slightly open. There is no bonding
between rock surfaces as it occurs with cement, so bitumen
must rely totally on internal friction. In soft rock asphalt will
contribute only slightly to increased shear strength because it
is so elastic. In very brittle rock the elasticity of the asphalt
Insulating tough skin
may be advantageous because it prevents progressive failure
(cooled by water)
of shear surfaces, as shown in Fout! Verwijzingsbron niet
Viscous bitumen centre (hot)
gevonden..
For the purpose of stabilising shafts, bitumen should be
Figure 43 - Penetration of hot bitumen in
combined with cement grouting for added stability and
durability. In one case aquifers were sealed so effectively, the water-filled joints.
rock mass failed repeatedly under the built up water pressures.
From this point of view asphalt grouting should be performed some distance outside the shaft
perimeter, and cement grouting within.
Road-bitumens should not be used for grouting as they are poor in quality. Rather high solidification
temperature bitumens should be used because they become harder. Bitumen is batched in heated and

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77

insulated bulk containers with a temperature booster at the facility, capable of maintaining a high
temperature (180-225 deg Celcius). Pipes should be preheated with hot oil and much care should be
taken when handling the hot material..
[132. Naudts & Hooey]

Grouting and joints

Small joints
Small joints are difficult to treat, because it is difficult
for grout to penetrate into them. Cementitious grouts
are less succesfull in treating small joints because it is
a colloidal mixture. Small cement and clay particles
may not remain in suspension and form a filter around
the grout that is penetrating the joint. These small
particles get in the way of others trying to penetrate the
joint, with the result that only water penetrates the
joint. This mechanism is termed bleed.

Only filtered grout

enters narrow joint
Cement particles
dropped from solution.
Colloidal grout mix
Figure 44 - Grout bleed

There are several approaches to getting the grout to carry cement particles into narrow joints:
The particles are made smaller, e.g. ultrafine cements.
Superplasticizers are employed to disperse the colloids better. Particles drop from the solution less
easily.
The pressure is increased, in order to widen the joint.
Use of polyurethane or silicate grout, or hot bitumen, which does not contain suspended particles.
Superplasticizers have a secondary effect the reduction in viscosity reduces wall friction on the
grout. The pressure at the front of the grout remains higher, causing joints to open further and grout to
be pushed deeper into the joint. The most highly jointed zones are often the deeply weathered zones
just above the bedrock. Fortunately high-pressures can be applied to these zones because of the
significant ground cover (1-2MPa).
Poly-urethane grouts have proven effective because they have viscosity less than water and penetrate
well because of the high pressures applied due to the foaming action.
An example of effective grouting is Paracale in the Philippines where advanced grouting with both
local Portland cements as well as by water-activated polyurethane resins took place. High water flows
were limited by heavy localised pumping through 'relief'-holes. In earlier attempts in Paracle, grouting
had been ineffective before because of typical errors in quality control:
grout holes had not been flushed clean of drilling debris and mud infillings
lack of control because there was no hydrofacture presure testing done
grouting occurred in one pass rather than controlled stage-down grouting
grouting pressures were too high (7-14 MPa) for the weak, highly fractured ground conditions,
which eventually caused a blow-out of the shaft bottom.
[124. Ayugat et.al 1998]

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Filled joints
Infill material can significantly reduce the shear strength of discontinuities. Soft materials such as clay
act as a lubricant between shear surfaces. Swelling clays are especially dangerous because they absorb
water and push apart joint surfaces so that nearly all internal friction is lost.
Theoretically clays can be washed from joints, but only at slow velocities of around 0.1 cm/s, and at
high pressures. Unfortunately clay usually fills the smaller joints, which, when washed, have higher
flow rates. Also hydrofracturing often limits the pressures that can be applied remove the joint filling.
[Verfel 1989 Rock Grouting & Diaphragm Wall Construction]
Treatment of clay fillings with cement, chemicals or bacteria that produce carbonates to improve
bonding is difficult. Penetration of joint filling with whatever particle can be in the order of weeks to
years.
Recent research in the Netherlands is looking at treatment of clay layers through electro-osmosis. The
aim in this case is to accelerate consolidation of clay layers and to create low strength foundations.
Through this method water is extracted from the clay and strengthened by drying. Because of the
complexity of clays and the remoteness of grouting it is hard to say if joint infill could be treated
succesfully by electro-osmosis.
At the very least clays that are to be treated should satisfy the following conditions:
Predominantly expansive forms of 2:1 clays such as smectites (e.g. montmorillonite) and poor
illite clays (e.g. vermicullite) that are sufficiently saturated. These are formed mostly from
sandstones and shales in high pH areas (where K+ and Al+3 cations are abundant).
Groundwater flows should be near zero, otherwise the driving current will be insufficient to
counteract flow.
Host rock needs to be non-porous. Porous rocks fill with water and have a high conductivity.
Electro-osmosis is worth further investigation as it may provide a solution to clay-filled joints that
cannot be grouted in any way. At the moment electro-osmosis is too uncontrollable to use effectively.

Hydrofracturing
Grout loss can also occur because hydrofracturing and hydrojacking opens extensive new flow paths.
It is important to conduct a hydrofracturing test, where water is pumped into the borehole through a
packer under increasing pressure. The maximum grouting (hydrofracturing) pressure can be found by
a sudden surge in water take, often accompanied by pressure drop.
There can also be a positive effect by hydrofracturing, although this is questionable. Hydrofracturing
creates new joints and thus also new weakness planes. It is common for hydrofracturing to occur in
vertical planes normal to the borehole wall. This means planes that dip towards the shaft are
intersected, which is a useful mechanism if it is hard to stengthen these joints directly. On the other
hand hydrofracture planes usually form parallel to the major principle stress, which is the exact
direction that a joint is most unstable. However, in weak rock where grout bonds are relatively strong

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79

compared to rock strength, and where grouting is inhibired by clay gouge or extremely narrow joints,
this may be the only way to get grout to intercept fractures.

Cavities and large fractures

For large cavities, sudden pressure drop can occur, with excessive grout losses. To solve this problem
at first the grout is first thickened so that large fissures which may contribute to instability are filled
with cement. If grout loss persists, it is likely that a cavity has been encountered, and cellulose
material should be added to the grout, such as paper pulp or woodchips. This material clogs the joints
that lead to the cavities and prevents further losses.
Some surveying may be necessary to ensure that an aquifer has not been encountered which is
washing the grout. In this case polyurethanes or hot bitumen should be used to reduce the flows,
before proceeding with ordinary grouting.

Conclusion
Grouting can be used to increase internal friction between joint surfaces. Other important effects of
grouting are blocking of water flow and increased cohesion.
There are abundant examples of shaft collapse after poor grouting operations. However, if grouting is
better understood, it forms a valuable, economical tool for reinforcement of shafts. The three most
common causes of collapse are:
Inaccurate positioning of grout
High groundwater flow
Poor penetration of grout
In this chapter we have seen that there are solutions for most of the problems that are encountered
during grouting. Accurate survey of grout holes and quality control of grouting operations is
fundamental. Grout wash can be tackled with appropriate countermeasures, such as the use of hot
bitumen grouting and pressure relief holes.
Poor penetration is more difficult to counteract, although reinforced minipiles that intersect joints are
an alternative. Grouting should not be applied when joints are blocked with infill material, and water
pressures also threaten shaft stability.
At the end of this chapter, a series of guidelines is given to ensure succesful grouting.

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Table 21 - Rules to ensure effective grouting

Effective grouting rules

Establish that grouting will stabilise the shaft (See Chapter 7 Shaft Stability)
Ensure accurate positioning of grout holes (See Table 20)
Monitor and correct the quality of grouting (See Table 22)
Detect and prevent problems with grout flow and grout wash (See Table 23)
Detect and prevent problems with grout penetration (See)
Determine weather to grout above or below hydrofracturing pressure. (See
Table 25)
Do not attempt grouting where joints are blocked by soft infill material and water pressures
also threaten shaft stability. Consider freezing instead.
Table 22 Ensuring the quality of grouting

Grouting setup

Keep grout lines as short as possible to lower reaction times.

Include a return line so grout pressures can be relaxed and grout deferred from the hole
Include taps at the hole to defer grout to other holes or to the return line, in case of problems.
Grouting should occur in stages with a packer or tube-a-manchette.

Start a grout batch with water, to wet all rock surfaces and to attempt to push away joint fillings
Quickly increase grout thickness, to prevent open fractures from filling with water instead of
grout.
Grout quality control

Perform packer tests to determine Lugeon values before and after grouting.
Continuously check grout quality.
Check for proper mixing (lumps) and correct water cement ratios.
Beware of excessive water as it causies grout slump and insufficient strength
Beware of excessive cement as it causes poor penetration, cement filtration and poor
bonding.
Beware of using bentonite, super-plasticizers and quick hardeners, as it often results in
significant loss of grout strength.
Monitor grout viscosity by using a Marsch funnel
Monitor grout bleed to warn for an instable mix.
Take samples for triaxial testing. Keep these stored in similar temperature/humidity conditions
as the grout that is pumped underground.

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81

Table 23 - Detecting and preventing problems with grout flow and grout wash

Detecting grout flow problems

Detect grout flow problems with a packer test. High permeabilities and nearby pumping
activities indicate high risk of grout flowing from its target.
When in doubt, pockets of water should be detected by thermal imaging from the borehole.
When in doubt, high water flow rates and paths should be accurately detected by crosshole
radio tomography. Modelling is possible with a tools such as NAPSAC.
When losing grout into large cavities, thicken the grout and employ cellulose material.
Preventing grout flow problems

Low groundwater flow-rates can be stopped by adding quick-hardeners to the grout.

Moderate groundwater flow-rates can be stopped by using two-component silicates from
separate boreholes.
Moderate to High groundwater flow-rates should be stopped by pre-grouting with polyurethane
or hot bitumen.
High groundwater flow-rates should be reduced by drilling water-relief holes before grouting.
Hot bitumen grouting guidelines

Take adequate safety precautions for handling high temperature materials.

Beware of road bitumens. Use high solidification temperature bitumens.
Guarantee bitumen temperature:
Use insulated, heated bulk containers
Have a temperature booster on-site
Use insulated drillpipes preheated with hot oil.
Beware of slump and low durability. For stability, combine with cement grouting. Apply hot
bitumen some distance outside the shaft perimeter as water pressure may build.
Open fissures and large cavities

Open fissures can be recognised by large grout losses, and should be filled by thickening the
grout mix.
Large cavities will continue to lose grout, and should be blocked by adding cellulose material to
the grout mix. Cavities may also be backfilled seperately with sand and gravel mixes.
Continuous grout loss should be treated suspiciously, it may indicate an aquifer is washing the
grout. Detect aquifers by drilling extra core samples, using thermal imaging and/or radar
tomography.

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Table 24 Guidelines for grout penetration

Grout penetration

Grout selection:
Joints > 1 mm with normal portland cements
Joints > 0.1 mm with ultrafine cement grouts
Joints < 0.1 mm with polyurethane/silicate grouts
For wide and unfilled joints where water wash is a problem, use hot bitumen
For narrow and filled joints where water wash is a problem, use polyurethane foams
Grout at a small incline (20) if vertical joints are closely spaced and need grouting.
Generally grouting should occur at maximum pressure, but below hydrofracturing pressure
Table 25 - Application of hydrofracturing

When to allow hydrofracturing [93. Lombardi 2003]

Hydrofracturing generally creates extra weakness planes vertical and normal to the borehole
Apply hydrofracturing if weak planes dip toward the shaft and cannot be penetrated by grout
because they are extremely narrow or filled with clay gouge.
Only apply hydrofracturing if the strength of the cement bond is high compared to the in-situ
stresses. This usually means at shallow depths only.
Determine hydrofracture pressure with a packer by increasing pressure until sudden water loss
occurs accompanied by pressure drop.

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83

7. Stability of shafts
Instability problems
Empirical methods for assessing shaft stability
The Q-System
Adaptations for raisebored shafts

84

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85

Analytical methods for assessing shaft stability

Shaft in isotropic horizontal stress field (Lams Problem)

86

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Shaft in anisotropic horizontal stress field (Kirsch Solution)

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87

88

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89

Wedge Analysis

Block Theory

90

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Application to shafts

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91

92

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Limit Equilibrium Analysis

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93

Joint stability

94

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Joint Orientation

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95

Joint Roughness

96

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Joint filling

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97

Conclusions

98

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99

8. Results
Introduction

100

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Reviewed methods

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101

102

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103

104

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105

106

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Guidelines for use

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107

Conclusion

108

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109

Recommendations for further research

110

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111

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machines (2002)
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Sons, New Jersey, 2002) p282-283
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Drill hole Deviation Survey Systems The art of straight holes http://www.reflex.se >
Downloads
Drill hole Deviation Survey Systems How Maxibor works http://www.reflex.se >
Downloads
Serco Assurance NAPSAC High performance package for modelling groundwater flow
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management > environmental assistance > NAPSAC

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136. Rocscience Unwedge theory manual http://www.rocscience.com > Products > Excavation
design > Unwedge > Theory Manual

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119

Glossary
Big hole drilling or
Blind hole Drilling
Boring

Clippings
Cuttings
Drilling

Fracture

Joint
Muck
Mucking
Mud

Overburden

Pre-reinforcement

Tailings
Shotcreting

Fibrecreting
Grout

120

Drilling of shafts from the surface through drill pipes. Cuttings

are flushed through the pipes with air or drilling fluids.
Excavation of a shaft, tunnel or hole by a machine with a
rotating cutting head. This boring machine is located at the
excavation front in contrast to drilling where thrust and
rotation are applied by the headframe on the surface.
Rock and rubble that has been cut loose from a rock face by
cutters or drill bits. Also known as cuttings or tailings.
Rock and rubble that has been cut loose from a rock face by
cutters or drill bits. Also known as clippings or tailings.
Excavation of a circular hole through soil or rock with a drill
bit that is powered from the surface. This may be through a
rotating drill string or a drill pipe supplying hydraulic pressure.
The method differs from boring in that pressure and rotation
are applied from a headframe on the surface, whereas boring
supplies rotation and thrust from a boring machine within the
hole or shaft.
A general term for any break in a rock, whether or not it causes
displacement, due to mechanical failure by stress. Fracture
includes cracks, joints, and faults.
A fracture or parting that cuts through and abruptly interrupts
the physical continuity of a rock mass.
A mixture of drilling fluids and rock cuttings
Transporting rock cuttings to the surface, for example with a
muck bucket.
Water with additives which is used to support holes or rock
faces, and often serves a double purpose as drilling fluid. Most
drilling muds are bentonites (a heavy mixture of water with
montmerillonite clays that stick together forming a cake).
The layer of soil and/or rock overlaying the bedrock of the
Earth's crust. Depending on the geologic history this layer may
be only a few metres or more than a hundred metres thick. It
can consist of fresh or weathered metamorphic rocks or
sediments such as sand and clay. Overburden is sometimes
referred to as the rheology.
Refers to stabilizing a shaft before excavation. For example
ground freezing, grouting around the perimeter of the shaft and
diaphragm walls are methods of pre-reinforcement.
Rock and rubble that has been cut loose from a rock face by
cutters or drill bits. Also known as cuttings or clippings
Spraying of a very plastic (fluid) form of concrete onto a
surface through a nozzle. In this way thin concrete linings of
around 200mm are constructed.
Shotcreting using a special mix that contains fibres that
withstand tension and buckling.
A concrete-like mix which is so fluid that it can be pumped
into the ground to fill voids and pores.

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Stepwise benching

Alimak raising

Fault

A top-down approach for drilling and blasting rock in steps of

a few metres at a time. A 'bench' is a stable rock face that has
room to expand horizontally, and is thereby easy to blast.
A (rather hazardous) bottom-up approach for drilling and
blasting rock in steps of a few metres at a time. An Alimak
climber crawls into a shaft from beneath, along a steel
monorail that is installed as work progresses.
A fracture or parting that cuts through and abruptly interrupts
the physical continuity of a rock mass. In contrast with a joint,
there has always been some displacement (throw and heave, or
slip) between fault planes.

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121

122

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[m]

Total Depth

Location

Phreatic level /
Overburden type

Overburden depth

Contractor

Mining
company

(Inner) Outer Diam.

Appendix A Database of Shaft Construction Examples

[m]

[m]

Drilling
method

Stabilis.
method

Final lining

raiseboring
(in the end:
conventional
shaft sinking)

minipiling

remote fibrecreting

raiseboring

jet-grouting. Also
augering of walls
to 30m depth and
augering out of
inside 6m
diameter

remote shotcreting

b.h.drilling

bentonite drilling
fluids + steel

grouted up final
liner (steel?)
composite concrete

AMC /
Wellnavinc

Newmont

Callie, N.T.,
AUS

4.5

Soft to hard rock with narrow clayfilled jointing. Dry down to approx
70m. weathering. Some hard
quartzite veining.

120

AMC / Bachy
Soletanche

Cannington
Mine

Cannington,
Qld, AUS

Running sands to deeply weathered

rock, dry

60

Ardent /
Abergeldie

BP Billiton

North
Qoonyella,
Qld, AUS

3.15

weath+fresh basalt, sand, clays

110

Springvale,
Nsw, AUS

(4.3)
4.7

1 auqifer
ex.weath.sandstone, sand

67

367

b.h.drilling

polymer mud +
steel

Leinster,
W.a., AUS

(2.4
pilot)
7.0

auqifer at 100m depth (Packer tests:

20 lgs)
10m silcrete, 28m mafic clays, 15m
dist.weath.amphibolite, 2m mafic
clays, 8m dist.weath.amphibolite

48/76

805

presink to 48,
raiseboring
2.4m diam,
b.h.post-sink
to 80m
Horadiam on
rest of shaft.

small diameter raise. Post-sink with

fibrecreting.
concrete lined presink, fibrecrete/bolts
through 38-76m.
Alternatives presented: (1)Blind shaft to
57m, support as you go down (2) 1m
diameter pilot with downbenching

Ardent /
Abergeldie
Coffey
Geosciences

WMC
Resources
Limited

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500

123

Crinum
Colliery

Bowen
Coalfield,
Qld, AUS

North Selby
Coalfield

Yorkshire,
UK

Drilling
method

Stabilis.
method

Final lining

Cage of
reinforcement
>400

Bendigo,
Nsw, AUS

2.4

4.8

Frontier
Kemper
Construction

White
County Coal

Illinois, U.S.

Frontier
Kemper
Construction

White
County Coal

Illinois, U.S.

Potash
mining
(some
Uranium)

Saskatchewan
, CA

124

Total Depth

Location

Phreatic level /
Overburden type

Overburden depth

(Inner) Outer Diam.

Contractor

Mining
company

6m

60

Two fast
flowing
aquifers

Moderate to hard
rock, alternated by
running sands.

Blairmore Formation which had

high-pressure sand aquifers

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42

257

9001100

Ground freezing
raiseboring

Extra grouted
cable dowels,
because drilling
was needed
anyway to check
for existing mine
workings

Notes:
One hole deviated
into the raise, but
was reamed
succesfully.

b.h.drilling

temporary lining
10mm thickness
steel can and
drilling mud

composite lining
102 2.46m tall x
3.86m o.d. x
210mm thick
composite concrete
segments

raiseboring

freezing

ring and shotcrete

conventional
d&b /
excavation
and hoisting

freezing &
tubbing, cement
grouting

Lake Meed
Constructor
s,
subcontracto
r: Zeni

Las Vegas,
Nevada

Longos Mine
mainshaft

United
Paragon
Mining
Corp.

Paracale,
Camarines
Norte,
Philippines

Stawell
minesite

Stawell
Gold / WMI

Total Depth

6,510m

Lake Mead
Intake No. 2,
access shaft

Overburden depth

Location

(Inner) Outer Diam.

Contractor

Mining
company

??

70+

??

grouting

water surge on top of diorite zone at

-257m, with water inflows of
500GPM
granidiorite, quartz diorite intrusives.
Water inrush occurred 5m above
mafic-granidiorite contact. This zone
was 1m thick ultrafine mafic hybrid
zone overlain by 1,5m thick sands
where most water flow occurred.
Ultramafics were sealed with quartzcalcite fillings wheras granidiorites
were open, interconnected, waterbearing fissures.

257m

500

conventional
d&b /
excavation
and hoisting

cement and polyurethane grouting, water

relief holes
cast-in-place concrete

Along stawell fault, wonga and mine

schist, high horizontal stress
conditions (reverse fault) Host rock
is psammo-pelitic rocks i.e.
sedimentary fine-grained rock like
mudstone, clayey sandstone. Also
lodes in shear system strike 330-340
deg, dipping 50-80 deg SW

76m

Phreatic level /
Overburden type
mostly below water table
soil, weathered rock in first metres

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Drilling
method

Stabilis.
method

Final lining
reinforced cast-inplace concrete

Notes:
Abandoned in 1984 with water inflows >
850 GPM, Fixed with intensive downthe-shaft grouting, polyurethane
grouting and intense monitoring

403

125

pilot hole: was drilled to just above

transition zone and grouted there.
Then the shaft was redrilled
(grouted outer diameter 66cm,
inner diameter 38cm diamond
cored) Simultaneous dewatering
hole was drilled.

Middelbult
and
Bosjesspruit
mines
(3 shafts)

Sasol
Minings
(RUC)

Dendrobium
Mine

BHP
Billiton

Dendrobium
Mine, NSW,
Australia

SoletancheBachy

Eastern
Harbour
Crossing,
Honk Kong

Freezewall

126

7,1m

Speckholzerh
eide, Holland

4,6m

Anonymous
example

4m

Phreatic level /
Overburden type
Shaft 1: Sandstones and siltstones
<100 MPa Shaft 2: some dolerite
areas with 1,4m blocks and a few
serpentine (dissolves in air) filled
zones

Shaft freezing with insulated pipes

10m

Total Depth

Location

Overburden depth

(Inner) Outer Diam.

Contractor

Mining
company

Stabilis.
method

Final lining

Raiseboring;
Concrete shaft placed to 10m depth
for weak overburden - Then
percussion holes drilled, grouted
and reinforced to 5m beneath
dolerite depth. (250mm diameter,
0,5m from shaft and 0,5m between
centres) - Also cable doweling (24
x 89mm diameters) on a 1,2m grid.

some flash
shotcrete to
stabilise serpentine
layers within 55
days of reaming.
Notes:
Biggest raisebored
shaft in the world

60m

pre-grouting, drilling and remote

shotcreting

some polyurethane
remote postgrouting

+/40m

hydrofraise

Diaphragm walls

72m

hydrofraise

Diaphragm walls

100m

Anonymous cost estimation example.

US$600.000 installation plus US$20.000 p.w.

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90 &
173

Drilling
method

Appendix B List of experts consulted

Name

Company

Location

Subject

Warren Peck

Australian Mining
Consultants

Melbourne, Australia

Ventilation shafts, pre-grouting

techniques, remote shotcreting

Max Lee

Melbourne, Australia

Shaft stability, jointing

Dr. Bill Bamford

Australian Mining
Consultants
Melbourne University

Melbourne, Australia

Civil tunneling

Wilhelm J.
Kogelmann

Atlas Excavation &

Tunnels

Nederland, Texas,
U.S.A.

Markel Hoffman

White County Coal

Corporation

Carmi, Illinois, U.S.A.

Continuous shaft cutting

machines, shaft sinking in
Texas area, Supercollider
example
Constructed shaft
conventionally through flowing
aquifers with pre-freezing.

Mike Woof

World Mining
Equipment

www.wme.com

Mining equipment, raisebore

and shaft drilling machine
manufacturers.

Juergen
Schauwecker

Deilmann-Haniel
company
SE Tecnologie
Avanzate
(Powermole)
Atlas Copco
Construction &
Mining Australia

Germany

Shaft Cutting Machines, shaft

drilling
Air supported drilling of grout
holes

Wheelers Hill,
Australia

Raiseboring expert, drillability

expert

Geotechnical
Engineering
Wellbore Navigation
Inc.

www.geotech.net.au

Expert on minipiles for civil

construction
Manufacturer of Navi-drill
accurate drilling equipment

Deep Foundations
Institute (ASCE);
formerly Institute of
Shaft Drilling
Technology
Byrnecut Mining Pty
Ltd.

Seattle, U.S.A.

Reference for excellent drilling

and grouting articles

Kalgoorlie, Australia

Conventional shaft sinker and

aiseborer

Stanley Mining
Services

Malaga, Australia

Good contractor in grouting

drilling

Alan Halse

Nick Morgan

Steve Coughlan

Ortona, Italy

www.wellnavinc.com
Tustin, Canada

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127

Mark Berry

Dr. Jim Boland

Sharyn Dawson

Alain Dumont

CSIRO Exlporation &

Mining (Head of
Mining Geoscience
Group)
CSIRO Exlporation &
Mining (Head of Rock
Cutting & Drilling
Group)
CSIRO Exploration &
Mining (Head of
Mining Automation
Group)
Montali Inc.

www.dem.csiro.au
Kenmore, Australia

Assessement of ground
behaviour during mining

www.dem.csiro.au
Kenmore, Australia

Head of study group stufying

rock cutting mechanisms and
drillability

www.dem.csiro.au
Kenmore, Australia

Head of group studying

automated mine systems /
robots

www.montali.com
Quebec, Canada

Specialist contractor n complex

projects: shaft sinking &
Alimak raising

Bill Shaver

Dynatec Corporation,
mining services
division

www.dynatec.ca
Ontario, Canada

Specialises in complex projects:

shaft sinking, caisson style
sinking raiseboring & shaft
lining.

Alan Zeni

Zeni Drilling
Company

www.ardent
underground.com
Morgantown, United
States

Expert contractor:
Blind hole drilling.

D. Keward

Dosco Overseas
Engineering Ltd.

Newark, United
Kingdom

Retailer of shaft excavation

machines

Dan O'Toole,
Delia Sidea
Bob Gee

Coffey Geosciences

Perth, Western
Australia
Rhodes, Australia

Mining Consultanti:
Expert horadiam technique
Expert Civil tunnelling
engineer. Head of AUCTA.

J. Donohoe

FreezeWall

www.moretrench.com
Rockaway, U.S.A.

Expert wall freezing contractor.

Eric Downing

Walter Construction

AUCTA

Freysinet (Austress in
oz)
Soletanche-Bachy
Michael Cals

128

Wirth Europe

Shaft support specialist

www.freyssinet.com/

Vlizy , France
www.soletanchebachy.com
www.wirth-europe.de

Jetgrouting experts, Cannington

mines.
Expert grouting contractor.
Blind Hole Drilling expert.

Fout! Opmaakprofiel niet gedefinieerd.

Wirth Europe

www.wirth-europe.de

J.S. Redpath

www.jsredpath.com
Ontario, Canada

Henry Laas

Murray & Robberts

RUC

Marius
Oosthuizen

Murray & Robberts

RUC
Indau

www.murrob.com/RU
C/
South Africa
www.murrob.com/RU
C/
South Africa
Finland

Skansk

Sweden

Gunnar Nord

Atlas Copco

Sweden

Jol Jardine

Mechanised mining
services

Australia

Manfred
Voerckel
George Martin

karl Guilfoyle

Australia

Lombardi Engineering
Mark Berry

Minusio, Switzerland

www.reflex.se
Frontier Geo

www.frontiergeo.com

IceField Tools (IFS)

www.icefieldtools.co
m/docs/
www.bennetmg.co.uk

MG Bennet &
Associates Ltd
David Holton

Serco Assurance

W. Heinz

Rodio

Verstraeten
Funderingstechniek

Raiseboring and shaft drilling

export (Formerly RUC)
Accurate drilling expert,
Examples of superb accuracy
(<500mm over 300m)
Pre-grouting machinery
manufacturer
Raiseboring machinery
manufactorer
Innovative problem solver in
tunneling and drilling
Helpful practival mining
Engineer
Mining engineer, expert on
surveying. Knowledge of shaft
collapse at Stawell minesite.
Expert on rock mass grouting
Research group on accurate
borehole surveying

CSIRO Exploration &

Mining (Borehole
Surveying)

Kjell Gustaffson

Raiseboring / Shaft sinking

equipment expert
Raiseboring / Shaft sinking
equipment in Canada

www.sercoassurance.c
om
Harwell Didcot,
United Kingdom
Freestate, South
Africa
www.fundex-group.nl
Oostburg, Netherlands

Fout! Opmaakprofiel niet gedefinieerd.

Expert surveying equipment

manufacturer.
Surveying equipment
manufacturer
Surveying equipment
manufacturer.
Shaft sinking for water basins,
Engineering Design Consultants
Developer of connectflow
geohydrology package

Expert on pre-reinforcement.
Extensive knowledge of shaft
collapses in South Africa
Expert on cut-and-cover
methods, shaft drilling in soft
soils.

129