Raise boring on a new level in China 29 Jun 2017

A Terratec TR3000 raise boring machine has completed a series of inclined raises with a high level of accuracy at the Huanggou pumped storage power station project in Heilongjiang Province, China. Since starting work on the project in Summer 2016, the machine has completed five inclined shafts at angles ranging from 30- to 50-degrees with raise lengths varying from 350m to 370m and a reaming diameter of 2.4m.

Terratec TR3000 RBM

Each shaft, including pilot hole and reaming, was completed over a period of approximately two months and despite the challenging inclines, a high level of accuracy was achieved in the medium strength 120MPa to 150MPa rock with limited downtime for maintenance. The machine will now go on to bore a further eleven shafts for the 1,200MW scheme.

Manufactured at the Terratec workshop in Tasmania, Australia, in June 2015, the machine was transported first to copper mines in the Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces of China where it completed a number of 300m deep x 3.1m diameter raises in medium strength rock, of 100MPa on average, for ventilation, manways and ore passages. The reaming work for one of the bores was completed in 16 days and represents a record for raise boring in the China for its size of shaft. The machine was then moved to North China where it undertook several more 300m deep inclined shafts of 2.4m in diameter.

Terratec RBM on site

The RBM is robust, designed for ease of operation and maintenance, and reliability. It has a boring size of 3m diameter and a depth of 500m with a standard pilot hole diameter of 311mm. Its maximum pilot drilling torque is 78,000Nm, with reaming torque of up to 237,000Nm and breakout to 266,000Nm. Maximum down thrust force is 1,600kN and up thrust 4,500kN from total installed power on the machine of 352kW.

Terratec has similar raise boring machines working around the world. Experienced engineering and field service teams assist buyers from the planning stage including custom design specifications, through to assembly and operation of the units on site. The range includes standard raise boring machines, combination down-reaming/rise-boring machines and universal borer machines (UB Series).