ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews progress in the use of shotcrete in underground mines from the early 1900s to present times. From its humble beginnings of using dry-mix shotcrete to protect certain types of excavated rock from deterioration, to current use of high volumes of fibre-reinforced wet-mix shotcrete, with remote control, manipulator arm placement, with alkali-free accelerator addition at the nozzle, there is a sea-change in what is now possible in underground mining operations. Case history examples are provided on the use of shotcrete in the Vale Inco Mines in Sudbury, Ontario. They are useful in demonstrating the evolution of the use of shotcrete in mines in Canada from the 1970s to present times. The Northparkes E26 Mine in Australia was selected as a case history example, as it represents Australia’s first block cave mine where shotcrete was an integral part of the development of the mine. The Cadia East Mine in Australia was also selected as it represents one of the largest uses of shotcrete in an underground mine in the world. About 350,000 cubic metres of wet-mix fibre-reinforced shotcrete are applied in this panel cave mine every year, and without consistent supply of a high-quality shotcrete on time at the right locations, the project would stop. Finally, some case history examples are provided of shotcrete application in mines with permafrost ground conditions in Northern Canada, and remote control shaft lining with shotcrete.
