On April 22, 2020, the air intake shaft at the Shaling gold mine reached the depth of 1,000 m. As the depth of auxiliary shaft exceeded 1,000 m on February 29, 2020, it means both shafts constructed by JCHX have now exceeded a depth of 1,000 m within only one year, breaking the shaft sinking record in China.
Located in Laizhou, Shandong Province, Shaling gold mine is designed with a capacity of 11,000 t/d. The air intake shaft is designed with a diameter of 6.5 m and a depth of 1,349 m, while that of the auxiliary shaft is 8.2 m diameter and 1,559 m depth. On May 9, 2019, the construction of the two shafts was commenced. Shaft sinking experts and experienced engineers were dispatched to support and provide guidance. JCHX Chairman Wang Xiancheng and President Li Zhanmin paid several visits to sites to ensure successful execution of works.
With joint efforts from management team and all crews on site, multiple challenges were overcome such as broken ground and water ingress (controlled with grouting), with sinking progress kept on schedule by strict process control and smooth shifting between different operations. In September 2019, the monthly sinking rate of the air intake shaft achieved 153.6 m, while in November that of the auxiliary shaft achieved 129.6 m (8,611 m3), a record high for the project.
In April 2020, the monthly sinking rate for the air intake shaft and auxiliary shaft respectively stood at 143.1 m and 109.71 m. On February 29, 2020, the auxiliary shaft first exceeded a depth of 1,000 m, while breaking four records at the same time, being the largest diameter shaft, with the biggest monthly excavation volume, the highest average sinking rate, and the first shaft over 1,000m.
As a scientific research project on ultra-deep shafts for the National 13th Five-Year Plan, Shaling gold mine was challenged by a limited construction schedule and technical difficulties. Large sinking equipment was procured to ensure the timely completion of works, such as V, VI-type headgear, 4 m winder, 7 m3 bucket and 4.8m high shutter.
