The cost of sinking new shafts is high. In addition, it can take a considerable amount of time from planning and approval to completed construction. In this respect, shaft renovation is of particular importance.
Opencast and blind shafts are of central importance for the infrastructure of a mine. They perform important tasks for supplying the mine with fresh air, energy and building materials. These include, for example, ventilation or supply shafts. They also serve as ropeway/material transportation shafts to bring personnel and the required machinery to their place of work. As hoisting shafts, they represent the economic bottleneck of production plants. This is where the extracted product is conveyed to the surface for processing and finally for sale.
Existing shafts often have many decades of continuous operation behind them. During this time, they have been exposed to a wide range of influences, some of which are highly stressful, such as climatic/atmospheric conditions (weather shafts) or mechanical influences caused by mining operations. Despite the particularly durable construction methods and materials commonly used in mining, shafts are subject to a certain amount of wear and tear. This can impair their suitability for use. As shafts are in operation over a long period of time, it is not unusual for their requirements to change over time.
Both the lining of a shaft and the shaft installations (essentially the guide equipment and stops/shaft chairs) are subject to unavoidable wear over the years. We offer you comprehensive services to maintain the performance of your shaft.
We offer you not only the operational implementation of your renovation project, but also the planning and delivery together with our long-standing partners:
The shaft lining plays a central role. It ensures the stability and serviceability of the structure itself and also provides the anchoring option for almost all shaft installations. A damaged shaft lining may no longer be able to adequately perform the tasks assigned to it.
A defective removal also carries the risk of safety injuries to personnel and the shaft installations due to falling parts. In this case, special care and haste are required.
We are happy to support you in assessing the damage, analyzing the causes and developing and implementing an individual renovation concept. A distinction must always be made as to whether the damage is "structurally relevant" or "constructive". Statically relevant damage to the shaft lining impairs the geotechnical stability of the structure. Constructive damage, on the other hand, reduces the serviceability, for example due to constrictions caused by nesting, germination areas for incrustations or by increasing the weather resistance.
We develop various options and support you in the decision-making process. We are familiar with the high demands on the availability of your shaft and know that longer interruptions to operations are generally not feasible. This is why we also offer campaign-based refurbishment during your annual breaks in operation or over public holidays. We optimize the refurbishment process to ensure that the shaft is returned to you on time after a break in operations so that you can resume regular operations on schedule.
Common types of damage include
As a rule, this type of damage is repaired by first removing the affected areas. The cause of the damage is then determined, on the basis of which appropriate measures are taken to replace the damage.
Such measures can be, for example
We will be happy to support you in evaluating this measure.
The requirements for a shaft can change over time. We therefore offer you a comprehensive service package. This includes planning as well as professional and timely execution to ensure that your existing shaft meets your new requirements. The necessary conversion measures are usually highly individual. We will be happy to provide you with further information and advice.
Possible types of shaft conversions can be as follows:
In contrast to shaft modification, which primarily refers to the use or intended purpose of a shaft, we understand shaft extension as the modification of the structure as mine workings. This includes in particular the enlargement of the diameter or the deepening of the shaft.
As with the intended use of a shaft, the requirements for the diameter and depth of an existing shaft can change over the decades. Older shafts in particular used to be produced with a smaller diameter and/or shallower depth.
We will be happy to advise you on your shaft expansion project and offer you our complete service portfolio. This includes planning, selecting suitable construction methods and supplying all the necessary technical equipment. Of course, we will also carry out the work for you. Get in touch with us!
Soil freezing is one of our core competencies in shaft, civil engineering and tunnel construction. This environmentally friendly process effectively secures and seals water-bearing soils and loose soils.
We are your partner for shaft construction and mine maintenance - from refurbishment and backfilling to rope replacement. We also plan and install shaft pipelines, secure and rehabilitate routes and develop efficient solutions.
Taking all relevant factors into account, we prepare feasibility studies and analyses and derive well-founded time and cost estimates. From approval to execution, we guarantee efficient planning in accordance with applicable standards in Germany and abroad. We ensure sustainable solutions through innovation and development.
Whether conventional or mechanical, on a pilot hole or full face sinking - we bring your shaft safely and on schedule to the final depth.
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