Shaft Sinking and Material Handling Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern large block cave mines face significant delays due to the conventional practice of installing material handling units after shaft sinking, which slows down the development process and increases initial investment, making financial success sensitive to development speed.
Innovation Solution
Integrating a material handling unit within the shaft during its formation, allowing for simultaneous excavation and transportation of material, using a system comprising skips and a transfer station that can be moved downwardly as excavation progresses, and employing a rotary cutting head earth boring machine with rock drills for efficient excavation and blasting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If material handling unit is installed after shaft sinking, then shaft construction is completed, but mine development time is significantly delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The material handling unit is installed during the shaft sinking operation rather than after completion. The shaft is sunk to a first level while the material handling unit is being installed, and tunneling operations can commence once the unit is in place, eliminating the sequential delay between shaft completion and material handling installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft sinking operation and material handling unit installation are merged into a single integrated operation. Both activities proceed simultaneously rather than sequentially, with the material handling unit being installed within the shaft during its formation, thereby reducing overall development time.
2Loss of time
If conventional sequential installation is used, then material handling unit is properly installed, but development cost increases due to extended timeline
Solution Approach 1:
By installing the material handling unit during shaft sinking rather than after, the project can commence tunneling operations sooner, reducing the total development timeline and associated investment costs while ensuring proper installation of the material handling unit.
3Ease of operation
If shaft sinking is completed before tunnel launch, then shaft access is established, but no other underground development can commence
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft sinking operation is merged with the material handling unit installation and tunneling operations. The shaft is sunk to the first level while the material handling unit is installed, and tunneling can commence immediately afterward, allowing multiple development activities to proceed in parallel rather than sequentially.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces development time and initial investment by enabling continuous material removal and transportation, allowing tunnel launching to commence sooner, thus accelerating the mine development process and improving financial viability.
Implementation Method 1
an excavator disposed below the material handling unit for transporting excavated material to the surface region. In that case the excavator may be an earth boring machine comprising a rotary cutting head.
Implementation Method 2
The cavern may be excavated by drilling and blasting and removing excavated material.
Implementation Method 3
The cavern may be excavated by drilling and blasting and removing excavated material.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
In developing an underground mine a mine shaft (80) is formed by excavating earth and removing excavated material from the shaft (80) by a material transport system comprising skips (36) movable up and down on skip guides within the shaft. Tunnels (82) are launched from a bottom part of shaft (80) by excavating a cavern (81) in which a tunnel boring machine is assembled and operated to bore the tunnels (82). Material from the tunnel excavation is transported from the tunnels via conveyor (87) to the material transport system established within the shaft during formation of the shaft which is operated to transport that material to an earth surface region.