Raise Drilling

Demand for raise drilling is increasing, as mine operators constantly seek productivity improvements without compromising safety imperatives. RUC Mining is regarded as the industry leader in this specialised area, with extensive experience across the widest range of conditions. With a large fleet of raise boring equipment suitable for every situation, the company is in a unique position to deliver the most effective solutions, whether raise drilling of vertical shafts, or vertical and inclined drilling of boxholes.

Applications include pilot hole reaming for shaft sinking, escape rises, ore passes, ventilation shafts and borehole hoisting.

There are few innovations that have given miners as many benefits as modern raise drilling. By reaming rather than blasting, smooth-walled bores are created that may need little or no ground support. Diameters can range from 0.66 m to over six metres, with pinpoint accuracy delivered up to 1,000 m or more in depth.

The implications for safety and manning levels are just as impressive. By using non-entry methods, no personnel enter the hole during boring, no blasting takes place, and there is limited exposure to falling rocks or harmful exhaust fumes. With only two operators generally required per shift, cost benefits are obvious - raise drilling is by far the cheapest, safest and most cost-effective approach to creating vertical and sub-vertical openings in mines and construction projects.

In the raise drilling areana RUC leads the field in deep large diametre holes, where, in the last 4 years we have successfully reamed over 4,300 metres at between 5.5m and 6.5m diametre. RUC Cementation holds the record for the largest completed raise borehole in Australia with a record of 930m @ 6.0m diameter, completed for Cadia Mines in Orange in NSW.

Accuracy & Precision

Raise drilling offers operators the advantages of not only extremely rapid boring within a safe operating environment, but also the benefits of smooth bores drilled to extremely tight tolerances.

RUC Mining constantly strives to create new industry benchmarks for accuracy and precision in raise drilling. At the Oyu Tolgoi development in Mongolia, the company succeeded in drilling a ventilation raise with a final deviation of just 20 mm over a 1,300 m raise, a variation of less than 0.002%.

With the new generation RVDS units RUC Cementation have consistently achieved pilot hole deviations less than 0.1% of hole length. By drilling to such exacting standards, RUC Mining enables operators to enjoy the enhanced productivity and reduced maintenance costs that come from accurate mine development.

The diversity of the raise drilling fleet allows for a high degree of flexibility and availability when servicing our client's needs. We are ideally located to service the industry's needs anywhere within Australasia . Our Logistical expertise also allows us to effectively export rigs anywhere in the world, evident from our operations in Indonesia, Mongolia and Hong Kong.

All twenty one raise drill rigs operated in Australia are owned by RUC Cementation Mining Contractors.

Some of our projects:

Location	Client	Description
Cadia East (NSW)	Newcrest	4200m @ 6.0 metre diameter RVDS 3290m @ 5.0 metre diameter 930 metres @ 6.0 metre diameter (Australian Record) RVDS
Athena/Hamlet	St Ives	2000 m blind slot raising per annum
De Grussa	Sandfire Resources	Raise Boring various ventilation shafts @ 4.5 m diameter 36 month boxhole boring contract
Telfer VR12	Newcrest	Pilot and Ream 370 m @ 4.5 m diameter 900 m @ 5.0 m diameter RVDS
George Fisher Shaft Ext	Xstrata	400 m @ 6.4 m diameter RVDS
Wallaby	Barrick	Variety of 4.1 m diameter raise bores up to 300 metre depth
Savanah		370 m @ 5 m and 220 @ 4.5 m diameter
Gwalia Deeps (WA)	St Barbara	350m @ 5.5m dia (RVDS) U/G. Various 4.5 m + 5.5 m U/G Raisebore holes for vent extension.