Patent ID: 8070394
Filing Date: 2011-12-06
Classification: E04G,E21D

Abstract:
1. A support assembly for providing support between a foot wall and a hanging wall of an underground mine comprising: at least one support elongate; a grout bag having a top operatively associated with the hanging wall, a bottom operatively associated with the foot wall, and sides interconnecting the top and bottom, the grout bag defining an interior inflatable with settable granular material or grout pumped into the interior through an inlet, wherein the support elongate extends through a passage formed through the grout bag from bottom to top, and wherein the inflated grout bag extends from the bottom at the foot wall to the top at the hanging wall so that an entire length of the support elongate is substantially surrounded, in plan view, by the grout bag and a substantially continuous mass of set granular material or grout contained therein; and a series of vertically spaced restraining rings operatively encircling the sides of the grout bag to provide outer circumferential support for the grout bag.