Active R&D resulted in several new products

Duraset has been particularly active of late in terms of R&D, which has resulted in several significant new products, among them Duraguard™, a mobile face support system now about to enter underground trials with Impala Platinum; a still-to-be named rock anchor which is an enhancement of the current Gemini™ design; Ventset™, a cellular concrete integrated support and ventilation wall paddock; and the Duracan support unit, which is based on technology from the USA.

Duraguard™ (which featured on the front cover of the March 2009 issue of Modern Mining) is Duraset’s most revolutionary product in breakthrough mine safety technology, developed in conjunction with the University of Pretoria’s Mechanical and Mining Engineering departments. Designed to counter rockfall problems at the working face, the Duraguard™ is a mechanically operated face support system. It is expected to dramatically reduce injuries in the face area of stopes. Consisting of two similar steel support units connected to each other via two crank mechanisms, the Duraguard™ can handle stoping widths of 600 m to 1 600 mm, has a preload force of 50 kN per leg, is steerable and can advance in 300 mm steps. It can be integrated with blasting barricades, netting and rock drills and is simple to install and maintain. The first full-scale underground trial is currently being undertaken at Impala Platinum in Rustenburg.

Other new product designs are soon to be launched by Duraset, including a solution for full column grouted mechanical anchor bolts by eliminating air pockets as well as the Ventset system which makes use of Duraset’s cellular concrete (Cellcon™) which is pumped into retaining polypropylene paddock wall structures. These are constructed in the stoping or development environment to improve ventilation flow and reduce thermal loading of the ventilation air.