Researchers at CRCMining are collaborating with Peabody’s Wambo coal mine in Australia’s Hunter Valley to dramatically improve cable-bolting processes in underground coal mining, with an innovative new water jet bolt hole drilling technology. A continuous water jet drilling technique is being developed to improve the safety and productivity of underground cable-bolting. Water jet drilling uses a high-pressure water jet cutting head for rapid and continuous drilling of holes of varying length, connected via a flexible hose, removing the need for manual adding or removing of drill rods as part of the cable bolt installation process.

The Wambo site will host field trials of a prototype drill to assess its performance in the cable bolting application.

Mine Manager Andrew Boyland said, “Cable bolting is a highly manual process with numerous man-machine interactions. Designing these interactions out of the process requires a step-change solution.”

CRCMining Underground Coal Program Leader Scott Adam explained the benefits of the technology, “Waterjet drills can be deployed using a flexible hose instead of using rigid jointed drill pipes. This results in a continuous drilling system which eliminates the hazards of manual handling of drill rods, and enables remote controlled operations, removing operators from man-machine interactions.”

The researchers are working towards a field trial assessment of a prototype drill at the Wambo site in 2014, with support from both the Wambo mine and contractor R.G.N. Mining Services.

Adam highlighted the collaborative effort that ensured the project’s success, “This initiative is an excellent example of the benefits of CRCMining’s industry-driven collaboration process. This project has received strong support from the Mine Operator (Peabody Wambo), the funding provider (ACARP), OEM’s and the contract service provider.”