OOO "Thyssen Mining Construction East" enterprise group Thyssen Schachtbau:

Kaledin O. S., Technical Director, e-mail: kaledin.oleg@ts-gruppe.com

The deeper level mining calls for new, high-enabling technologies of mine shaft construction. A demonstrative example is the construction of two mine shafts VS-10 and SCS-1, 2 km deep each, in the Skalisty captive mine within Komsomolsky Mine of the Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Company. The both projects have similar technical parameters, conditions and scale. Ventilation shaft VS-10 is the air outlet, it has two hoist units. A skip hoist unit is intended for rock drawing from horizons (capacity of 240 thou t/yr). A cage hoist unit is meant for evacuation of personnel in event of accident and for putting down/lifting of large-size equipment. Skip-and-cage shaft SCS-1 is the principal shaft for ore drawing (to 1.5 Mt yearly) and for up/down moving of mine personnel. The shafts with inner diameter of 9 m are constructed from daylight surface down to final depth by drilling-and-blasting. Hoisting of rock is executed in the both shafts by double-faced double drum hoists with buckets 5 and 7 m³ in capacity. Loading of rock in the buckets is done with air-operated grabs with capacity of 0.8 and 1.2 m³. A distinguishing feature of the shaft construction is the concurrent shaft sinking and equipment. This enables minimization of commissioning period upon completion of construction. The sinking uses highly mechanized 7-deck sinking platform. The principal singularity of the sinking platform over 200 t in weight is that it is not suspended on stage winch cages but is self-supporting and capable of moving in the shaft without wenches. This multi-deck sinking platform can be compared with highly mechanized tunnel shield. In the case under discussion, the sinking is vertical, and after the sinking platform has passed, the shaft above it is ready for operation, with complete outfit of equipment, pipes and cables, for the fixed usage period. The highest construction speed is only achievable at maximum correlation of all operations and abidance by accident prevention rules and adherence to work technique. All processes should be harmonized to minimize shutdowns and spare time.