OUR PROJECTS

Providing the Complex Infrastructure Needed to Build Better Communities

Steel can concrete composite liners on mine site

Drill head raised with work crew standing near

Austar Ventilation Shaft

Austar ventilation shaft project consisted of designing and constructing a 465m deep ventilation and people riding shaft for Austar’s Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley. The shaft provides ventilation and access to the mine’s stage 3 underground workings.

The composite steel and concrete lining has a finished internal diameter of 4.5m. The liner is fully water-tight and maintenance free.

Client

Austar Coal Mine Pty Ltd

Year

2012

Region

NSW

Shaft Depth

Finished Shaft Diameter

Allowable Shaft Tolerance Achieved

Scope of Works

Site facilities establishment
Survey and set out
Access road
Temporary electricity supply
Pre-sink excavation
FRP concrete shaft collar
FRP concrete working platform for drilling rig
Temporary process water supply
Site clearing, excavation and embankment earthworks for process water settlement ponds
Erection and operation of blind bore drilling rig
Clearing and earthworks for composite steel/concrete liner fabrication, casting and curing
Manufacture and installation of composite steel/concrete shaft liner segments
Treatment of silt-laden process water to standard required for release into local waterways

Complexity

A particularly challenging aspect of the project was maintaining true verticality throughout the entire depth to eliminate possible complications when transporting workers through the shaft upon its completion.

A directional pilot hole was drilled for the blind bore head to follow. This methodology allowed for the shaft to be constructed within 250mm of its centreline. This represented an allowable tolerance of 0.05% for the entire shaft length.

The blind bore drilling rig used on this project is one of three owned and operated by Abergeldie in Australia and is the largest of its type in the world.