Given Australian miners' preference for opencut mines or decline-centric underground workings, it could be thought that the nations shaft sinking skills are lacking. However, when it comes to strip and line shaft development, Australian shaft developers are up there with the best of them. Indeed, the development of the shaft at the Telfer underground gold mine is a case in point. The Telfer shaft, at 1170m below the collar, is pretty deep for a strip and line shaft. Strip and line shaft sinking involves getting access to the bottom of the shaft and using a raisebore to pull a reaming head back up to the surface. However, some experts believe blind sinking, where instead of a raisebore the shaft is dug completely from the top down, could also have a place in Australian mining, particularly as more ore bodies are discovered at greater depths.
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