Implementation of a Roof Master 1,7 roof bolting rig to be operated in the bituminous shale basin of Eesti Polevkivi, Estonia
From 16th to 22nd May 2007, there was implemented a Roof Master 1,7 roof bolting rig to be operated in an „Estonia Eesti Polevkivi” mine. Results of tests of the rig exceeded expectations of the Estonian partner. In an extremely heterogeneous multi-layer structure of the roof drilled for roof bolting, they obtained the efficiency of 20 bolts within 1 hour (applied bolts were 2.2 m long and a diameter of the head was 38mm). Obtained test results are a good prognosis for the future. One should stress that one of the leading world manufacturers of drilling and roof-bolting rigs tried, unfortunately unsuccessfully as of today, to solve the problem of drilling with drillings suction in the Eesti Polevkivi basin. Other world manufacturers of drilling and roof-bolting rigs did not decide to offer their machines to meet specified high requirements of efficiency (application of 18 bolts within 1 hour) raised by organizers of the tender for Eesti Polevkivi.
