Case Study - Safety Spear

Fosterville Gold Mine was searching for an effective solution to prevent falling drill rods in their mine. The chosen solution needed to be proven beyond doubt, fast to install, lightweight and cost-effective.

The difficult ground conditions at Fosterville were making the hazard of stuck drill rods in overhead production blast holes a tough challenge to overcome. If these heavy steel rods came loose and fell onto miners or equipment, the results could be catastrophic.Solving this problem was important for smooth and efficient operations.

Fosterville had previously tried plating over or grouting the holes when a broken or stuck rod had to be abandoned. But these methods were expensive, time consuming, and known to frequently fail. Even the simpler, wooden “Kelly” plugs weren’t proven by solid testing and research, so couldn’t be a trusted solution. Fosterville then turned to the SafetySpear™. With the SafetySpear™, Fosterville Gold Mine was able to answer each of the concerns from the drill operators, to the supervisors, to the executives.

• The SafetySpear's™ heavy-duty plastic construction made it lightweight, corrosionproof, and easy to install.
• It had been thoroughly tested to many times more force than would ever happen in an underground environment.
• It was crusher and mill-friendly, and wouldn’t harm Fosterville’s sensitive Biox plant.
• It could be installed by the same drilling rig that had lost the drill rod, right then and there, instantly making that hole safe.
• It could withstand intense heat and cold, as well as varying bore sizes and blast conditions.
• It wasn’t the cheapest solution by unit, but it was easily the most cost effective in saving time and lives.

The SafetySpear™ was repeatedly demonstrated to the crews under punishing conditions. The SafetySpear™ consistently showed its value in design, ease of install and reliability, earning the hard-won respect of all who saw it in action. Fosterville Gold Mine quickly implemented the SafetySpear™ into its daily operations and immediately reaped the rewards of their forwardthinking approach.

The mine enjoyed instant benefits in labour and material costs, and the crews loved it. The SafetySpear™ had delivered on its promises of fast and easy installation, lightweight handling, adaptability to conditions, and no interruptions to scheduling. The most important benefit however, was the risk of falling drill rods had been eliminated. The crews were confident to work under holes made safe by the SafetySpear™, and the supervisors were at ease knowing their crews were protected.