Aspects of drilling and blasting during work in permafrost - the example of the Norilsk WS-10 shaft sinking project in Russia

Managing shaft sinking projects in the north polar regions poses great demands on man, machine and technology. Apart from extreme climatic conditions, due to the exposed position of the Norilsk region - which can only be access by Arctic Ocean with ice-breakers or by plane - the permafrost is an extreme problem, and the problems caused by it not always can be solved with conventional working techniques.

(This article was published in AMS Online 01/2011)

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Up until the early 1990s global demand for the construction of mine shafts in excess of 800 m in depth was still at a very high level. The Thyssen Shaft Sinking Group alone constructed a total of twelve shafts between 1990 and 1995.
Over the course of the following ten years, however, there was a general stagnation in global shaft sinking activities. In view of the fact that the demand for mine shafts is now rising again, the period 1995 to 2005 can be regarded as something of a consolidation phase.

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