Unique construction methods employed for a ventilation raise at Petro-Canada's Kipp coal project

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 76, No. 849, 1983

S.A.G. POPPEN Project Manager (Special Projects) and J. KONOPKA, Projects Engineer, Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd., Regina, Saskatchewan

Petro-Canada's project investigative and experimental underground work in the Gait coal seam at Kipp, Alberta included the construction of an emergency egress and ventilation raise from surface. The Gait coal seam is 206 m below the surface and covered by 8 m of shale, sandstone and clay beds of the Oldman Formation, 128 m of shale, bentonite beds and sandstone of the Bearpaw Formation, and 70 m of glacial till and basal gravel. Free water was encountered from sand lenses in the glacial till and the basal gravel. Excavation for the ventilation raise was a nominal 2 m diameter and it was lined with a welded, continuous, steel liner of 1.2 m I.D. Excavation in the glacial till was carried out with a surface bucket drill rig combined with hand mining. Ground support in the glacial till consisted of liner plates and backfill grout. The Bearpaw and Oldman formations were excavated by employing standard raise boring techniques. The individual liner sections of the continuous steel liner were assembled on surface and the entire liner column was lowered into the raise by employing hydraulic lift climbers. The liner column was backfilled with concrete.

Keywords: Underground mining, Raise boring, Ventilation raises, Kipp project, Coal mining, Drilling, Liners, Steel liners, Ground support, Glacial till.