Abstract
The purpose of our work as a team is to enable a safer more rapid design for tunnelling in mines using drill and blast to excavate. We are utilising as much as possible equipment typically available in most underground operations today in order to minimise capital and operating cost and present a very realistic method that can be applied today by all underground companies. We are operating as a respectful competitive consortium which eliminates the need for confidentiality documents and enables extremely flexible nimble sharing to solve challenges as a group live as they occur. The scope is an entire tunnelling cycle that can be completed without the mine operator ever approaching the face closer than 5 m or slightly more than the length of a typical round. In proving the 5 m cycle the granulated details required to support a fully tele remote tunnelling capable cycle will have been perfected. A few tele remote capabilities are also being tested in the 5 m work. Not having the mine operator within the risk zone at the face eliminates all exposure to face related risk, for example falling or ejected material. By mechanising all tunnelling tasks for this 5 m cycle, the second level of health enhancement for the mine operator is the elimination of physical duress and related chronic stress and strain related injuries. In the macro scale of an entire career the operator can tunnel right up to retirement date. Some new technologies have been utilised, for example the TesMan robotic loader arm, which enables from 5 m, cleaning, loading explosives, connecting caps. One rapid technique being utilised is the staggering of the ground support cycle, aimed to bring the present total cycle from 17 hours down to 11