[Job Story] Raising Australia deliver time and labor savings with Rhino 100

The arrival of the Rhino 100 mobile raise borer has proved a game-changer for underground contractor Raising Australia, part of the Byrnecut Group. Since introducing its first Rhino in 2017, the company has been able to slash slot-raise production times, improve productivity for its customers, and significantly increase its revenue.

‘Slot raises’ play a crucial role in the development of many underground mines in Australia. Created by raise boring machines, these wide-diameter holes provide void spaces in the stope into which blasted ore can expand, improving fragmentation. The problem is that the traditional raise boring machines used to drill slot raises are cumbersome to transport and have high demands for labor and time. It can take 2-3 days of preparation before drilling begins, resulting in potential bottleneck and delays in production.

So, when Perth-based contractor Raising Australia heard of an agile and highly mobile raise borer being developed in Europe, they were keen to have a look. In 2014, a team from the company traveled to Finland to inspect the Rhino 100, developed by TRB-Raise Borers and distributed by Sandvik. They were duly impressed. Mounted on rubber tires, the Rhino 100 could travel under its power within a mine, required just one operator, and could begin boring within 45 minutes of arrival on site.

Raising Australia initially went down the route of developing and trialing its mobile raise borer, but in 2016 General Manager Mark Hanigan inspected the latest generation Rhino 100 and realized it was exactly what the company needed. After working with TRB to tweak the borer to allow for additional drilling angles, Raising Australia took delivery of its first Rhino in September 2017. Hanigan says the business, which is a division of contract miner Byrnecut Group, has scarcely looked back. “That first Rhino went straight to [Saracen’s] Carosue Dam Operation near Kalgoorlie and it’s been there ever since,” he says.

“The previous contractors were drilling 150 metres a month, and we have achieved up to 400-metres-plus a month. Between October 2017 and December 2019, we drilled just under 5,000 metres, so we’ve doubled their output.”

Raising Australia promptly ordered another two Rhino 100s. The first arrived in August 2018 and was sent to Northern Star’s Jundee gold mine at Wiluna in Western Australia. The next was delivered in October 2018 and has been a campaign machine, traveling to a range of customer sites. The company has since ordered a fourth and fifth machine, which are being delivered in 2020 and are expected to be immediately put to work on major mining projects.

Hanigan says “We have significantly increased our revenues since 2017 when we took delivery of the first Rhino, and we’re hoping the next two Rhinos will help us grow again,” he says.”It used to be drilling the slot rises that would hold up the development process. Now, they can bring the stope online when they want and not have to wait for the hole to be drilled.”

So fast is the process with the Rhino 100, one of the biggest challenges for Raising Australia has been convincing clients that it will live up to its promises. “Every time we get a new client, we will tell them how it works and what it delivers, and they will be skeptical. That’s until they see it and their minds are blown.” Jarko Salo, Managing Director for TRB-Raise Borers, says the positive experience of Raising Australia is common among Rhino 100 customers across the globe. In one case, a Brazilian miner reported productivity gains of up more than 90 percent due to more efficient working techniques enabled by the raise borer.