The world’s most powerful Raise Boring Rig, the RBR900VF manufactured by Herrenknecht, is in operation at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. The powerful Rig is employed for the construction of 730 meter deep ventilation shafts in hard rock. Thanks to its design, the remote controlled system with the newly developed pipe feeder ensures both efficient workflows as well as significantly greater work safety for the personnel during installation and removal of the drill string.

Customer quote from Macmahon: “The design of the new raise drill has eliminated most of the manual lifting, pushing and maneuvering efforts required by operators. This is a major step forward that will not only boost safety but also increase productivity.” The machine is designed for long raises up to 2,000 m and large reaming diameters for ventilation and haulage shafts. The robust and powerful Rig with its highly efficient variable frequency drive ensures reliable operation in various conditions.