CHAPTER 3 SHAFT SINKING

CHAPTER 3
SHAFT SINKING
3.0. Introduction

Shaft sinking or shaft excavation may be undertaken in either hard rock or in loose and
unconsolidated material or formation, the method of excavation being dependent on type
of formation. Information on nature of ground to be excavated must therefore be available
during the preliminary investigations to help decide on the method of sinking to be
adopted. Several methods are available for carrying out these sinking operations.

After deciding on the main features of the shaft, the sinking or excavation procedures
should then be planned. An important decision at this point must be made: whether the
sinking operation should be undertaken by the company’s own personnel or it should be
contracted out to a shaft contractor. It is generally cheaper to use the company’s own
resources however; sinking is faster with a contractor as he would have had his own hoist
and head frame and other equipment ready to move to any job at any time. Should the
company however, decide on sinking its own shaft it should be remembered that the
proper cycling of the unit operations of drilling, blasting, mucking and lining should be
adhered to as this is very important for the most effective cost control.

The following sections discuss the various activities in the shaft sinking set up in hard and
competent ground.

3.1 Organising Sinking Operations

Shaft sinking involves three main operations that are also made up of several inter-related
unit activities and require careful planning, coordination and execution. The three main
operations are:
i) Ground excavation (drilling, blasting, mucking, stripping and installation of temporary
supports).
ii) Construction of permanent lining or supports.

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iii) Equipping the shaft (installation of ladders, pipes, cables, etc.)

3.1.1 Coordinating Sinking Operations

In coordinating the sequence of the main operations two methods are available:
a) The alternate or successive method of sinking and lining; and
b) The simultaneous or parallel or synchronous method of sinking and lining.

In the alternate method, sinking alternates with the erection of permanent lining or
support. This method takes extra time for the sinking process.

In the case of the simultaneous method however, sinking and lining/supporting take
place simultaneously either in the same section of the shaft or in different sections of the
shaft. In this case the work is so organized that while ground is excavated and temporary
lining/support is set up in the lower section, permanent lining of say, concrete or steel is
erected in the upper section above a protective platform or stage. For excavation drilling,
blasting and mucking may be done in one of two ways:
a) Drilling and blasting crew drill and blast on one shift while the mucking crew work on
the next shift, in which case a rigid work schedule must be maintained; or
b) All operations may be carried out together (i.e. drill, blast and muck) on one shift, in
which case the work should be so organized as to avoid interference. Labour is thus
used indiscriminately to drill, blast and muck during the one shift, while the next shift
takes up work left over from the previous shift. This system gives a faster work rate
but may have a higher unit cost of sinking because skilled labour is used for other
unskilled jobs such as mucking, etc.

3.2 Preparation for Sinking the Shaft

The following need to be put in place before sinking of the shaft can be started:

Access Roads: The shaft site must be made accessible by constructing roads for the

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necessary materials and equipment to be moved to the site after the site has been cleared
and prepared.
Erection of Essential Structures: These would include offices, staff accommodation,
workshops, stores etc. These may either be temporary or permanent structures. Essential
services such as electricity water, compressed air, telecommunications, etc. are then
provided.

Sinking Plant: The sinking plant consists basically of the following components:
i) Hoisting plant;
ii) Sinking stage/plant;
iii) Hoisting signal system; and
iv) Mucking/cleaning equipment.

We shall discuss (1) - (3) units in the following sections while the 4th will be treated later
under shaft cleaning operations.

Hoisting Plant: This is made up of: Head frame; head sheaves; winding machines;
winding rope; guides and shaft vehicles.

Head frame: Serves as support for the head sheaves for hoisting ropes and in the case
of winding towers, accommodates the winding machines. They are usually built of metal
or may be built of reinforced concrete and are able to carry or bear heavy loads.

Head sheaves: These serve as guides for the winding ropes. They are located at the top
of the head frame above the sheave platform. They may be cast in one piece or in
sections riveted together to form one circular unit. The diameter depends on the size of
the winding ropes but may be as large as 4 – 5 m. The grooves of the pulley may be as
wide as 4 - 5 times the size of the winding ropes.

Winding Machines: Comprises of motor-driven hoist equipment with service and

emergency brakes and instrumentation with emergency brakes. They are variously called
winders, winches, windlass, etc.

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Winding Ropes: These are a vital part of the hoisting installation because the safety of
hoisting is largely dependent upon their reliability. Winding ropes are round and are built
up of strands of wire laid around a hemp core. The diameter of individual wires making
up the rope range from 1.2-3.0 mm, while the overall diameter of winding ropes ranges
between 50 mm and 70 mm.

Shaft Guides: Shaft vehicles or machines travel in the shaft along guides that keep them
in a definite position when in motion. The guides are made either of wood or steel. As part
of their construction the shaft vehicles have special shoes that hook on the guides to
provide the stability. The shaft vehicles are equipped with special devices that are
automatically activated should the rope break or become detached to bring the vehicle
gently to rest.

Shaft Vehicles: These include cages and skips; and in the case of sinking activities:
buckets and kibbles. Cages that may be constructed of single deck or multiple decks are
used mainly for carrying men, equipment and supplies to and from the underground.
Skips on the other hand are used solely for hoisting ore and waste to the surface. They
are loaded from chutes that communicate with shaft pockets located below the shaft
station. Usually the shaft pockets are located below the lowest level of the mine.
Measuring pockets are provided at the chutes in order to fill the skip with the measured
quantity of material so as to avoid spillage. The gate to the measuring pocket open
automatically as the skip reaches the pocket and closes automatically after the skip has
been filled. Two types skips are generally available:
i. Overturning or dump skip (up to 15 tons capacity); and
ii. Bottom discharge skip (up to 50 tons capacity).

Buckets or kibbles are used in shaft sinking operations for hoisting blasted material from
the shaft bottom. They are usually equipped with crossheads that guide the bucket in the
shaft. The crossheads disengage from the bucket at the bottom of the guides at the shaft
bottom when going down to load and in the head frame when dumping or discharging on

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the surface. In the setup there is a mechanism called torpedo nut that is clamped to the
hoisting rope that picks up and releases the crosshead.

Sinking Stage: Generally, sinking operations are carried out from a platform suspended
in the shaft. This platform may be of a single deck or multiple decks. It holds the
compressor and other equipment required for the sinking operations. A passage is
normally cut in the platform to allow the sinking bucket or kibble to pass through. To
completely mechanize the operations for high speed sinking a multi-deck platform, which
is its self completely automated, has been developed (Fig. 3.1).

Figure 3.1 Sinking Stage

The design of this platform is based on 4 main requirements:

1) Rate of sinking and lining;
2) Spacing of the divider sets;
3) The method adopted for mucking; and

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4) Length of concrete pour required, insofar as the lining is done simultaneously with
the sinking.

Its own hoist called stage hoist operates the platform. The mucking equipment is normally
attached to and located at the bottom of the stage. Short stages require that frequent
moves of the stage be made to lower concrete form rings for the lining operations.
Platforms generally descend to about 15 m (50 ft) from the shaft bottom. Chain or flexible
wire ladders are attached to the bottom of the platform to enable the sinking crew to go
down and up the shaft for their normal duties and in times of emergency.

Hoisting Signal System: In hoisting operations in shafts there is no direct contact

between the hoisting machine and the shaft. To direct and coordinate activities therefore,
a signaling system in the form of bells operated both pneumatically or electrically has
been invented and used throughout the mining world. For example, in very shallow
excavations, especially at the very early stages of sinking, a simple bell wire and gong is
quite adequate and effective. However, as the depth of the shaft increases so also does
the weight of the wire and hence the unreliability of the signals sent out as the operator
requires more energy to pull on the additional weight. This thus makes the use of this
simple system unsuitable. A more sophisticated electric belling system may therefore be
required. Features of hoisting signaling systems are: visual or sound devices in the hoist
room that should indicate the position of the shaft vehicle; the landing chair position;
station where the signal originates; position for the hoist man to reply to all signals; etc.
In Ghanaian underground mines signals used by the various mines have been provided
for by the Mining Regulations and the Chief Inspector of Mines must approve any
modifications to these signals.

Shaft Collar: This may be slightly above the surface in firm ground. The wall plates are
bolted together as well as the dividers, all above the excavation onto suitable concrete
foundation. Another method of anchoring the collar set is to build masonry or concrete
walls across the ends of the shaft excavations deep enough to have solid excavation.
The end plates are then extended on the walls. A concrete mat may be placed to support

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H or I beam bearers.

Cycle of Sinking: This consists of the following:

i. Drilling;
ii. Blasting;
iii. Mucking;
iv. Ventilation;
v. Trimming the shaft to finished dimension; and
vi. Placing the set or concrete in position and then preparing to drill the next round.

Drilling Machines for Sinking Shafts: The drilling machines usually employed in sinking
operations include: hand-churn; single or double hammer and piston or hammer drills;
and mounted drilling machines. It is believed that hand-churn drills in the hands of
energetic workmen may be advantageous in soft rock.

Mounting of Drills in Shaft: In rectangular shafts, drills may be on shaft bars placed
across the longer axis of the shaft. Tripods are sometimes used, but they are more
cumbersome than bars and are therefore not recommended for rectangular shafts. They
(tripods) are most suitable for circular and elliptical shafts. In most European countries,
sinking frames have been devised for circular shafts. Drills are mounted on them and
they command the entire area of the shaft. The frame together with the mounted drills
are hoisted to the surface before blasting operation.

3.3. Delay Elements in Shaft Sinking

Factors that cause delay in the sinking process include:

i. Removing drills and other equipment from shaft bottom before blasting operation,
ii. Ventilating the shaft bottom,
iii. Cleaning or dressing of the shaft walls of loose rock after blast,
iv. Supporting and securing bad ground, and
v. Lowering of supporting materials and other equipment.

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Most of these delay elements can be handled between shifts, where there are two shifts
per day. Where three shifts are employed, no such opportunity exists, speed of operations
therefore needs to be increased, but at slightly greater cost per unit advance than with
two shifts.

3.4. Incentive Packages

These consist of bonuses and other privileges made available to labour. Their nature and
value are peculiar to each country of operation.

3.5. Safety Precautions

The requirements of safety precautions depend on the Mining, safety and explosive
Regulations pertaining to shaft sinking in each country.

3.6. Blasting

Explosives used for blasting shafts must necessarily be water-resistant due to the
accumulation of water during drilling activities, even if the strata are not water bearing.
Such explosives include dynamite, the emulsions and slurries.
Initiation of charges is generally by electric detonation or the non-electric initiators such
as the NONEL detonators.

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