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Company insight The future of


ines are increasingly digging deeper to access unexploited minerals, but deeper mines present a whole host of challenges: rockbursts, large deformation, squeezing and creeping rocks are just a few. With this in mind, rock bolting and reinforcement are more important than ever – and it may not be easy to simply rely on traditional methods. Normet’s innovative D-Bolt system is unmatched in terms of its strength, durability and ease of use, despite attempts from competitors to reverse engineer a similar product. However, it is Normet’s range of self-drilling dynamic bolts (SDDBs) that really have the future in mind. A challenge with using traditional bolts is that a hole must be drilled before the bolt and grout is inserted. When rock that deep is under this much stress, there is a risk that the drilled holes will not stay open. Additionally, fractured ground allows for water ingress, which can dilute the grout or resin. Normet’s SDDBs overcome this problem as they can be drilled directly into the rock, making them ideal for fractured ground or unstable strata.


M The D-Bolt is designed for reliable rock reinforcement in squeezing and burst-prone strata conditions.


systems. Major mining manufacturers are already looking at developing new equipment for installing self-drilling bolts, so it’s really what the future demands,” Petranek says.


As Martin Petranek, the company’s director of products and production for rock reinforcement, explains: “Using a self- drilling bolt does half of the installation for you, and then all you need to do is use a pumpable grout or resin to bond the bolt. At Normet, we offer hydrophobic silicone-based resins, so it won’t be diluted or flushed by water ingress and is also able to flow through cracks to consolidate the rock.” The deformable resin is able to absorb some of the energy from the rock, further reducing the risk of bursts. As for the self- drilling bolts themselves, their installation can be fully mechanised, so workers are able to stay back at a safe distance. “You can use machinery to install these bolts, and the operator is located in a certified cab safeguarded by rock protection


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Ahead of the competition With other companies bringing self-drilling bolts onto the market, what is it about Normet’s portfolio that sets it apart from the rest? “Normet is ahead of its competitors because we offer variety with these bolts,” Petranek says. “We have two basic designs based on the material property and we have several products made from these two basic models that differ in shape. We have the bolt made of seamless tube, with a thread on the outer side that is rolled evenly on the left and the right of the tube. These bolts are commonly either 1.5m, 2m or 2.5m, and they can be extended with a coupling. By offering an extendable solution, we are able to substitute cable bolts if you need to drill much deeper into the rock. “We are not limited to any size, it’s very customisable,” he continues. “Bolts can be tailored to customer demand, for length, diameter and even the length of the threaded section. We can also


customise what kind of drill bit they want to use, as bolts will need to be able to drill a hole that is bigger than a coupling if the customer is doing extended drilling, but they must still be kept as small as possible to limit how much grout is needed.” It is not just the customisable design that sets Normet’s locally anchored self- drilling hollow rock bolts apart from the competition. The company has paid close attention to using materials that are best suited for mining applications. “Conventional rock bolts are usually manufactured from ordinarily construction steel, which is not really ideal. It has certain load-bearing parameters and is fine for applications such as concrete reinforcement, where it is pretensioned, but for mining there are challenges with the impurities in the steel,” Petranek says. “The steel is rolled in just one direction when it is manufactured into a bar, and the resulting impurities can make it very weak because of the microscopic bubbles in the steel. The material that we use for dynamic bolts is homogenised, which requires a different treatment to get a uniform structure and is much stronger.” ●


www.normet.com World Mining Frontiers / www.nsenergybusiness.com


rock reinforcement


Normet is a leader in the transition towards digitalised and sustainable underground mining and tunnelling. It supports its partners to continuously improve their processes, increase the safety and productivity of their underground activities, and advance the sustainability of their operations.


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