ARCHIVE

Valley helps alter mine plan courses

Valley Longwall Drilling has completed more than 10,000m of directional drilling at Newlands ahead of schedule and on budget. The contract, which saw a series of 1200m-plus holes drilled with unerring accuracy, was the second completed by Valley at the central Queensland mine.

Staff Reporter

Valley Longwall Drilling has completed more than 10,000m of directional drilling at Newlands ahead of schedule and on budget. The contract, which saw a series of 1200m-plus holes drilled with unerring accuracy, was the second completed by Valley at the central Queensland mine.

A spokesman for Valley said the drilling of curved holes to specific development panel targets, and negotiation of geological structures, were two of the technical challenges resolved during the latest drilling program.

"The value of directional drilling for mine exploration has been proven by Valley Longwall Drilling at a number of underground mine sites during 1999," the spokesman said. "Particularly successful programs have been conducted at Glennies Creek, where seam faulting was investigated, and at West Wallsend, where a sill was intersected in the middle of a proposed longwall panel."

At the Powercoal-operated Myuna mine near Newcastle, Valley has assisted in defining the seam profile under Lake Macquarie.

"The information in each of these cases has influenced mine planning and avoided potential costly surprises," Valley’s spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Valley’s USA joint venture continues to successfully transplant Australian directional drilling techniques across the Pacific. In-seam exploration programs have been successfully carried out or are planned at the West Elk, Drummond and Skyline mines in the US. Valley’s spokesman said Australian drillers and equipment had assisted in the drilling programs and the joint venture was poised to take its expertise into other international markets such as China and Eastern Europe.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalogue of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.