On February 18, 2022, a precise breakthrough was achieved on schedule with safety and accuracy between -80mL access drift of air intake shaft constructed by JCHX Kinsey and 1# shaft constructed by Lianshao at Timok Copper & Gold Mine in Serbia.
The -80mL access drift between 2# shaft and 1# shaft is 1153.2m long and constructed by single-heading development. In order to realize precise breakthrough, orientation survey was conducted twice by the engineers on site, followed by verification and calibration. Besides, resurvey of traverse was carried out twice when only 100m was left before breakthrough to ensure the precision is in line with relevant requirements.
The development of -80mL access drift was prioritized since January to ensure timely breakthrough. For which tremendous efforts were made by the management personnel and specialists on site, including planning in advance, innovative thinking, various technical measures, which all better facilitated underground ventilation and efficient mucking.
Though not as a record-breaking work in terms of total length, this breakthrough is of great importance as it significantly improved the ventilation on -80mL, particularly the ventilation condition at UZ-2 block, and laid a solid foundation for the future ramp up.
