Miining - Rock Bolting in Metal Mines of the Northwest

SUCCESS in any underground mining operation is determined by accessibility of the orebody, which in turn is dependent upon maintenance of passageways to the mining zones and temporary support of the voids caused by extraction of ore. This is accomplished by one or a combination of the following methods: timbering, back-filling, pillaring, or, more recently, rock bolting. Timbering has usually been the principal means of maintaining these underground openings necessary for mining operations. Timber, however, does not prevent ground movement beyond the scope of localized sloughing, which is indicated by the gradual failing of the timber itself. Besides this, timbering has always been a costly process, and with the decline of available supplies of timber close to the mining areas, mining men have constantly sought other methods of controlling ground. Rock bolting is now replacing timbering at an ever increasing rate. Experience has proved that this form of ground support is just as applicable to blocky igneous rock as to stratified rock. Besides preventing sloughing of the walls and back of underground openings, Fig. 1, rock bolting has a stabilizing effect on the surrounding ground in much the same manner that steel reinforcing rods add to the strength of concrete structures. Further, rock bolting is flexible and may be applied to any shaped excavation, whereas timber sets are in a fixed pattern and the ground must often be changed to conform with this pattern. Rock-bolting installations were made in metal mines of the Northwest as early as 1939. An exhaust air crosscut was driven that year in one of the Butte mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The crosscut was rock-bolted and gunited at the time it was driven and is still being used to exhaust hot humid air from the 3400 level of the Belmont mine. It is interesting to note that no sloughing or caving has taken place in the 14 years it has been open. Even though these early installations of rock bolts were successful, few men recognized their potentiality until recent years, when the coal mines started their programs of mechanization and the great trend toward roof bolting began. In some areas of the Northwest stopes that previously required heavy timbering and close backfilling are now being mined by the more economical cut-and-fill and shrinkage methods. When used in conjunction with timbering, rock bolting increases the efficiency of the operation by decreasing hanging wall dilution and by making it possible to blast larger rounds. Most of the rock bolts installed to date in mines of the Northwest have been the 1-in. diam slot and wedge type, but there has been a recent trend to- ward using the 3/4-in. diam expansion shell bolt shown in Fig. 2. In addition to these commercially manufactured steel bolts, wooden bolts have been used with considerable success by the Day Mines of Wall'ace, Idaho. Installation of the slot and wedge type requires three distinct operations, with tools for each operation: 1—drilling the hole to proper diameter and depth, 2—setting the bolt, and 3—tightening the nut. Holes are drilled and bolts set with pneumatic rock drills. A number of setting or driving tools have been used successfully, but most follow the same general pattern. Usually the driving tool is designed to accommodate a short length of drill steel on one end and the rock bolt on the other end. In this manner the hammering effect of the rock drill is transmitted through the steel and driving tool to the bolt. When machines not having stop rotation are used, slippage is allowed between the driving tool and bolt or between the drill steel and driving tool. The rock bolt nuts are tightened either with pneumatic impact wrenches or with hand wrenches. Impact wrenches are desirable because they are faster and assure adequate tightness. Expansion shell bolts have the following advantages over slot and wedge rock bolts: 1—No special equipment other than a wrench is needed for their installation. 2—Installation is faster. 3—They are removable. 4—Holes need not be drilled to a specific depth as the expansion shell will anchor anywhere along the length of the hole. These advantages are offset somewhat by the lesser strength of the bolt, since expansion shell bolts are generally made from 3/4-in. diam steel as compared to 1-in. diam steel for the slot and wedge type. One manufacturer, however, is now fabricating expansion shell rock bolts from steel of high tensile strength, which gives this ¾-in. bolt a much greater strength than that of the mild steel bolt. Table I illustrates tests made by the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. to determine the proper hole size to use with various types of bolts and to determine