Services

DESCRIPTION
A Hand Mining shield is fabricated at the leading edge of the steel casing or bolted to the leading edge of reinforced concrete pipe/box. The tunnel is mined and jacked-in-place simultaneously as the heading is excavated under the protection of the mining shield, so that there is no ‘open excavation’. The excavated soils are transported by a haul train to the working shaft and hoisted to the surface grade for disposal off-site. The line and Grade of the tunnel are checked at regular intervals by conventional surveying instruments, and manual adjustments can be made as necessary by Keefe’s experienced mining personnel.

APPLICATION

Hand Mining is a method for installing a number of different pipe materials such as steel casing, reinforced concrete pipe, and reinforced concrete box segments.

Hand Mining is a labor intensive process and is typically utilized in ground conditions not conducive to auger boring/tunneling and for shorter runs of large diameter concrete pipe/box segments. Hand Mining can also be employed in conjunction with other trenchless construction methods in the event that occasional obstructions and/or boulders are encountered within the tunnel alignment.