China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI) has announced that a mining tunnel boring machine (TBM), which recently came off the production line in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province, has been exported to Africa.
The machine will be used in the tunnel construction project for Zambia’s Chambishi Southeast Ore Body.
This marks the first time a Chinese-manufactured mining TBM has been exported to the African continent. The machine has an excavation diameter of 5.63m, a length of approximately 130m, and a weight of around 800 tonnes. It features a minimum horizontal turning radius of 50m and can operate on gradients of up to ±15 degrees.
The project involves the creation of a 9.7km tunnel as part of Africa’s first digitised mining initiative. Construction will address challenges such as long stretches of hard rock, fault fracture zones, tight-radius turns, eccentric excavation, long-distance retraction, cage transportation, and high geothermal conditions.
In response to these complexities, CRCHI’s research and development team introduced several technological innovations. These include modular designs, small-radius turning capabilities, a backup track-free system, auxiliary gripping mechanisms, immediate support systems, and advanced geological forecasting. These features aim to enhance the TBM’s performance in challenging geological conditions.
The TBM is also equipped with a customised refrigeration system, a tool monitoring system, integrated office and rest facilities, and other operator-friendly features to improve working conditions and support the construction effort.
The project represents a total investment of $830m and is expected to have an annual ore mining and processing capacity of 3.3 million tonnes, producing 60,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually.
CRCHI stated that the tunnel’s completion will significantly enhance transportation capacity at the copper mine, contributing to the overall efficiency of the operation.
