Blind boring of the vertical vent shaft was carried out using one Abergeldie’s drilling rigs, which are the largest of their type in the world.
This was the first ventilation shaft in Australia designed and constructed to serve two mine seams. To enable the shaft to serve coal seam workings at two different levels, the hydrostatic lining was installed in two sections, with an unlined gap of 10m at the level of the uppermost coal seam.
The upper 320m were lined with composite steel/concrete segments, welded together to form a continuous sleeve, the annulus between the raw bored surface and the liner sleeve was grouted to create a hydrostatic seal. The lower 60m of the shaft was lined with simple, welded steel tube liner segments.
