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Mining Contract: Rapid Response Rescue Drilling System Development for Mine Rescue Application
Keywords: Boreholes Boring miners Drilling Drilling machinery Emergency planning 
 Escape and rescue equipment Rescue
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Contract #
200-2011-40682Start Date
9/1/2011End Date
8/31/2013Research Concept
Drilling boreholes—to offer assistance or rescue—is often the most time-consuming part of a rescue operation, and domestic mines need rapid response drilling technology to improve mine rescue situations. This contract will identify equipment needs, available contractors, and the development and demonstration process for a rapid response drilling system for mine rescue operations.Topic Area
Rescue Technologies and Training
Contract Status & Impact
This contract is complete. To receive a copy of the final report, send a request to mining@cdc.gov.
Mining professionals who work in the underground mining industry face the danger of becoming trapped by explosions, fires, inundations of water, or mine collapses. Two noteworthy successful mine rescues occurred in the Quecreek Mine (Somerset, PA) in July, 2002, and in the San Jose Mine (Copiapo, Chile) in October, 2010. The mine workers were reached by drilling a large-diameter borehole from the surface to the area where they were trapped. These two dramatic rescues demonstrate that boreholes can provide an alternative rescue method in cases where traditional means of escape are not available.
Through this contract, OMSHR recognized the need to capture and document the knowledge, methodology, and drilling equipment used in the above rescues in order to increase the probability for a successful rescue of any future mine workers trapped underground. The research funded under this contract analyzed the cumulative past experience of how to respond when miners are trapped underground and further developed existing drilling technology to develop an escapeway for these trapped miners. Past experience has revealed that trapped miners must be rescued in a timely manner to survive. The drilling of large-diameter boreholes has proven to be a reliable alternative method when other rescue efforts are either not applicable or unsuccessful.
This contract resulted in the development of a Rapid Response Rescue Drilling Protocol (RRRDP), a system designed to be implemented when drilling is the preferred method of rescuing trapped miners. This system includes specialized drilling equipment, a listing of all the drilling contractors in the United States capable of utilizing this specialized equipment, and a protocol that can be incorporated into a mine’s existing Emergency Response Plan (ERP). Using the RRRDP, if a mine emergency occurs, the mine’s Emergency Response Team can contact the drilling expert and mobilize the specialized drilling equipment in minimal time so that rescue operations can begin quickly and increase the likelihood that trapped miners will be rescued successfully.
The specialized drilling equipment fabricated under this contract research can be used to drill a 28-inch-diameter borehole from the surface to an underground location in a mine. In the event of a mine emergency, the fabricated drill bits and 200 ft of can-rods are available for immediate use in any application of the RRRDP and are stored at the Pittsburgh site, Bruceton, PA, of the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research.
See Also
Accurate Directional Borehole Drilling: A Case Study at Navajo Dam, New Mexico
Cableless Electronic Surveying Systems for Horizontal Holes
In-Mine Test of the Bureau of Mines Preproduction Wireless Survey System
Mine Rescue Training Simulations and Technology
New Equipment and Protocol for Drilling Large-Diameter Rescue Boreholes
Probability of Encountering Coalbed Discontinuities During Vertical and Horizontal Borehole Drilling
Rapid Rescue Drilling Equipment Transferred to National Mine Health and Safety Academy
Reducing Control Selection Errors Associated with Underground Bolting Equipment
Rotary Drilling Holes in Coalbeds for Degasification
Seismic Detection of Trapped Miners Using In-Mine Geophones
Snake Robot for Mine Rescue
Page last reviewed: July 18, 2016
Page last updated: August 15, 2014
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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