Station excavation into a production shaft

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 88, No. 990, 1995

P. Hickey, Ram Raising Limited, Timmins, Ontario, and A. Oliver, Dome Mines, Placer Dome Incorporated, Timmins, Ontario

In March 1993, Ram Raising Limited was faced with a challenge. Placer Dome Incorporated, Dome Mine Division, requested from Ram Raising that they design station excavation into the existing No. 8 shaft from No. 3 mine levels. This work had to be done without loss of production time in the underground department. Due to the time frame of the project, every detail had to be carefully considered, with extra care that all pros and cons had been worked out. Ram Raising submitted a work plan that had been worked out with the Redpath Group which included the infrastructure requirements; the engineering design; the scheduling and sequence of work; and the excavation design and blasting procedures. A proposal was put together by both Ram Raising and Placer Dome outlining the infrastructure requirements, including the engineering design, scheduling and sequence of the work, excavation design and blasting procedures. The proposal was accepted by Placer Dome and, on July 30, 1993 work commenced to breakthrough eight stations. Work continued until December 1993 with the completion of four stations. The project was then stopped to allow the station access drifts from No. 3 mine to be completed. The second phase of the project began on May 27 and was completed on September 15, 1994. This paper shows how, through innovative design and the full cooperation between client and contractor, a project of this nature can be completed successfully.

Mots Clés: Underground mining, Excavation underground, Mine design.