Mine to Market November-December 2012 - Mount Isa Mines

Main decline
reaches final depth
A Jumbo Operator drills the face of
the underground decline at EHM
Last month, the Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) underground
team achieved a significant milestone, completing the
development of the main underground decline.
After making the first cut for the main decline on
20 February 2008, the team overcame numerous challenges
during the development, including managing heat, ventilation
and water issues to achieve this impressive result. Now complete,
the decline is approximately 5 kilometres long and reaches a
depth almost 1 kilometre below the surface.
Adam Beswick, EHM Underground Manager, says the
outcome is a credit to the efforts of all personnel involved
in the project.
“The team has done a fantastic job to get this far and it
means we are on track to reach other project milestones in
the near future,” Adam says.
“We are now mining towards the crusher chamber, and we
hope to commence construction of the crusher by the end of
the first quarter next year.
“We are also working our way toward the bottom of the
shaft, where we will begin construction of the loading station
in 2013.”
Underground shaft
and headframe
construction
continues at EHM
Works continue at Ernest Henry Mining (EHM)
to progress the shaft sink and headframe
construction, two major components of
EMH’s underground development project.
Once complete, the shaft will be 936 metres deep and
transport six million tonnes of ore to the surface every year.
Jo Louw, Manager Project Construction, says the project
is coming along in line with schedule.
“We are now in the third phase and will complete the
remainder of the headframe construction concurrently with
the shaft sinking by the end of December 2012,” Jo says.
As work on the headframe continues directly above, shaft
sinking activities have been underway beneath the surface.
The main sink activities kicked off in May 2012 and a dedicated
crew of 70 have worked around the clock to sink the shaft more
than 200 metres below the surface to date.
The shaft sink is expected to be complete by the end
of 2013. It will then take another two months to install the
shaft sink steel work and loading equipment.
Designed primarily for ore haulage, the shaft will
also provide man riding for emergency egress from
the underground.
The headframe winder beam is installed at EHM
mine to market
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