Various underground mining roof support products are available on the market. If you are mining underground, you cannot afford not to install some kind of support as it will mitigate the incidence of rock falls underground, which can be deadly.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the most commonly used underground mining roof support products on the market to try and determine which is best.
Wood Support
Wood support systems have been used in underground mining for centuries. Timber can be cut and installed in various ways, depending on the situation. Wood is flexible enough to yield as the ground moves but is not as strong as other materials.
However, wood is highly combustible, which is not ideal for underground mining.
Steel Support
Steel support systems are varied. Generally, they are extremely strong and dependable. However, steel support systems can get pretty expensive.
The cheapest and simplest steel support system is an ordinary H section steel girder cut to the appropriate size and wedged into the gap.
Other types of steel supports involve hydraulics and work as a jack to prop the roof up. While these are strong, they are prone to giving way under enough pressure.
Roof Bolting And Netting
Roof bolting is an effective and cost-effective way of reducing the risk of the roof collapsing. Bolting secures the strata in such a way that it actually supports itself. However, the layer of strata secured with bolting is relatively thin, so its effectiveness is limited.
Boling is often paired with shotcrete and/or wire netting, which is effective at preventing further fracturing of the rock and smaller pieces from falling through.
Cementitious Support
Cementitious support structures are highly effective because they can be as strong as the rock itself. However, it can be difficult to transport large and heavy concrete pillars and slabs underground.
One thing to try is an underground mining roof support product – Tufbag’s woven polypropylene bags – filled with cementitious grout, which provides column-type support in underground mining.
A Lightweight Solution
Traditional supports, like wood and steel, are heavy and complicated to transport underground and install. By comparison, woven polypropylene bags are extremely lightweight and can be transported underground with relative ease.
Installing these bags is also fairly simple, as they simply need to be positioned and then pumped full of cementitious grout until the requisite space is filled.
This reduces logistical complexity and also cost, making it easier to access remote mining sites underground and provide the roof support needed to keep miners safe.
A Cost-Efficient Solution
Woven polypropylene bags are inexpensive to produce, as is cementitious grout. Filling these bags on-site is quick and easy and eliminates the need for heavy and expensive materials like steel or specialised hydraulic systems.
This makes it a much more effective and cost-efficient solution for large-scale applications underground.
High-Pressure Stability
When filled with cementitious grout, the woven polypropylene bags harden into a solid, supportive column with strength comparable to the surrounding rock. Despite this, the bags maintain a degree of flexibility, which is essential in mining, where ground conditions often fluctuate. This flexibility allows miners to adjust the support to the varying stresses on-site.
High-pressure filling further enhances the column’s strength and stability while allowing it to adapt to the unique shape and size of different underground spaces.
Ease of Installation
When using woven polypropylene bags filled with cementitious grout, flexibility is built in, as these bags can be easily moulded to the required shape or size, which significantly speeds up installation.
Using steel supports or wooden timbers requires precise measurements and fabrication before placement, which creates a complex situation and adds time to the installation process, putting everyone at risk.
Here at Tufbag, we are proud to innovate underground mining roof support products that work. If you are looking for solutions that are cost-effective and guaranteed to ensure your underground safety, contact us today.