SAFETY SUPPLEMENT New rescue drill unit digs deep Underground mining has historically been a dangerous profession, necessitating complex rescue operations with specialised machinery. In its effort to achieve zero harm, South African coal mining houses have jointly funded the purchase of new rescue drilling equipment, designed to make underground rescue as seamless as possible. Vicky Sidler reports. machine capable of outperforming earlier rescue drill hole versions,” says John Venter, Colliery Training College MD. IN SHORT South Africa’s Colliery Committee has invested R69 million into purchasing a new rescue drill unit to assist in achieving the industry’s goal of zero harm. T he worst mining disaster in South African mining history occurred in 1960 at Clydesdale colliery in Coalbrook where a fall of ground and gas poisoning claimed the lives of 435 miners. At the time, there were no drilling machines available that could drill holes large enough to give rescue workers alternative site 56 MINING REVIEW AFRICA ISSUE 3 2014 access, and none of the bodies could be recovered. It became clear to the industry that there was a need to develop a drill capable of boring a hole from the surface down underground to rescue trapped miners. “The first rescue drill unit has been in existence since the late 1960s. This is the third generation The first drill purchased in 1967 by the coal producing members of the Chamber of Mines was a Wirth L10 drill, which was the best equipment available at the time but considered to be too slow to adequately serve its purpose. This was upgraded in 1977 to the world’s fastest rescue drill in its day – the T5 rescue drill and T4 pilot drill. Although that equipment has been successfully operational since then, it was becoming increasingly outdated, unreliable and difficult to source parts for.