ABSTRACT
Ground Support in Mining and Underground Construction-Villaescusa & Potvin (eds.) © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 90 5809 640 8
ABSTRACT: In January 2003 a new mining regulation came into effect, which requires that the employer must ensure that a quality assurance system is in place, which ensures that the support units are appropriate for the expected loading conditions. This places more stringent requirements on mining companies and by implication suggests a more structured approach to support evaluation and quality control of support products. A brief review of the industry indicated that very little work had been conducted on quality assurance with approaches differing between support manufacturers and mining companies. Within AngloGold Ashanti Limited the evaluation of new support products and quality assurance was generally conducted on an exception basis by individual mines and the Materials Engineering Department with the SA Region Standards Committee performing a co-ordinating role. This approach often resulted in inconsistencies in terms of procedures and technical requirements. This prompted the AngloGold Ashanti Limited South African region to embark on a programme to develop a consistent approach for the evaluation of support products and ongoing quality assurance.
