Hilti says the 2.5m fibre bolt is a world first for rib support, essential in overcoming collapsing holes and providing better conditions for longwall retreat.

The new system is part of the organisation’s $A30 million-plus investment into research and development in Australia in the next five years.

Hilti Australia head of mining Peter Jones said the new rib and roof support system will allow coal miners to develop roadways to reach deeper bands of coal.

“Building roadways is a means to an end for coal mines; with the ultimate goal to provide safe and effective access for coal extraction,” he said.

“Efficient roadway development ensures the mine can advance to production phase and get coal out of the ground faster.

“Moving deeper into the earth allows a significant extension to the life of a mine. However, the challenge many mines face as they move to greater depths is increased pressure, which causes traditional anchoring methods to become inefficient and potentially unsafe.”

Hilti claims the OneStep is the world’s fastest bolting system as the conventional method of anchoring involve five steps; drilling a hole, retracting the drill; inserting resin, inserting the anchor and then activating the mix to ensure it bonds.

Mines that have replaced the conventional method with OneStep have had productivity gains of up to 15%, reduced operator exposure to unsupported rock and reduction in time-consuming errors.

“Replacing traditional, time-consuming rib bolt application with the new cuttable OneStep fibre rib bolt will speed up the bolting process by up to 50 per cent, without sacrificing quality or reliability of installation,” Jones said.

“Significant increases in the rate of roadway development will enable organisations to get to the core business of coal extraction faster.”