Mackay innovation brings cable bolting breakthrough

Mackay's JET Group has reached a milestone in the development of new equipment that removes the dangers of manual handling from cable bolting work in underground coal mines. Its cartridge bolting system is about to go into use at the Ulan West coal mine in New South Wales for its first trial underground. JET Group chief executive officer Pat McCoy said the workplace trial was an exciting phase for the company and would prove the system's worth to potential customers. Mr McCoy said JET Group had taken on the challenge of finding an effective way to drill steel rods into the mine roof and retract them without manual handling within the constraints of the coal mining environment. The process is already automated in hard rock mines - which commonly use carousel or cartridge systems to load drill steels for cable bolting. But the risk of ignition means no electricity can be used to power the cable bolting work that supports outbye areas of underground coal mines, leaving air-operated and hydraulic machinery. Game changer in outbye work "(The cartridge bolter) is a real game changer for not only for taking away the risk of people getting hurt, but just fatigue," Mr McCoy said. "When you're in the outbye world in underground coal mines, it's mainly work that's done by contractors - the likes of Mastermyne, Lunar, PIMS - and it's tough going. They're generally in the hottest, darkest places of the mine. "And units like this are not only get them out of the firing line, but mean that they're not having to do as much manual labour. "So at the end of the day, they're going to be more productive, they're going to be happier, and they're going to be more willing to actually put in a little bit more.... From HSEQ (health, safety, environment and quality), to production and performance, it just ticks all the boxes." JET Group chief executive officer Pat McCoy. The cartridge bolting system can be fitted to a range of machines including the commonly used AirTrack or QDS bolting units. "From the first drill steel that goes in the unit is basically fully automated," Mr McCoy said. "The robotic arm puts the first drill steel into the actual drilling unit and then, as that gets drilled to the roof, it puts the second drill steel in et cetera, et cetera, and then exactly the same on the way out. "As you drop your drill steels out, basically you put your drill steels down, and then you unscrew each drill steel at a time and the arm and the cartridge system actually takes it back and puts it into place. "So from the time you actually start drilling till the time you finish, there's no human interaction in that line of fire at all. It's completely eliminated." Origins at Mastermyne Mr McCoy was employed with Mastermyne when his work on the cartridge bolting system began, with former chief executive officer Tony Caruso creating a role dedicated to driving innovations that would have an impact on the industry. He said Mastermyne HSEQ manager Rod Erwin had been keen for him to look at something to improve the cable bolting process. "There's a lot of work in the industry that's gone around automating stuff with the longwall and automating stuff in development," he said. "But the boys and girls that are in the belt roads and back ends of the mine doing the secondary support, it's still very archaic and they don't have the advantage of having electricity or anything like that. "So he asked me to focus on that because it is one of the biggest (sources of) injuries in the industry, injuries due to bolting drill steels. "There have been some really bad ones across the industry where we've had drill steels fall and go through people's feet, smash hands, multiple fractures." He chose to work on the project with JET Group due to their track record for innovation, including the underground tyre handler the company developed. The joint project stalled around the time of COVID restrictions and JET subsequently took full ownership, with Mr McCoy moving across as chief executive officer there just over a year ago. "Most people would not know the innovation and the effort that JET actually puts in because it's stuff that has just been done for different customers at different stages," he said. "But I don't think there'd be a business, certainly not a business our size anywhere in Queensland or in the mining industry, that actually puts the effort and funds into research and development, and with the aim of actually trying to come up with stuff that's going to be industry-changing, not just making revenue." Mr McCoy said he would like to think that once mining companies saw that the cartridge bolter worked every operation would be investing in it for the safety of their workforce. "We always say there's no price on safety, but this particular type of piece of equipment, I guess, tests that theory, because my line of thinking and the way my mind works is that if this is available and it can stop people from getting hurt, then everybody should be looking at putting it on every piece of equipment it can go on," he said. Below: Footage taken during the device's development with Mastermyne shows how the cartridge bolter reduces the amount of manual handling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vfAuudPNVuJY

Mackay innovation brings cable bolting breakthrough

Industry Queensland

Related News

BHP reports lift in metallurgical coal production

Renegade pinpoints Cloncurry targets with 3D modelling

Pacgold launches 800-hole drill program at Alice River

Get access to breaking mining news, now.