![\"Removing](\"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2604_No_minute_unsupported_Image_4_Removing_people_from_under_or_near_unsupported_ground_Boltec_E10.png\")
Not pictured: Epiroc Boltec E10 with pumpable resin option.
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As underground operations push deeper, \u201cmining teams are confronting significantly elevated stress environments that amplify seismic risk and deformation demands,\u201d Sandvik\u2019s Daria Fuerstenau told North American Mining<\/em>. At the same time, geology is becoming increasingly complex, with more variable rock masses exhibiting highly anisotropic, brittle behavior that \u201cchallenge design assumptions and installation execution.\u201d The industry is also under pressure to accelerate development rates and increase output, straining the consistency of installation quality and forcing mines to seek additional efficiencies from existing resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At mature mines, operations grapple with aging infrastructure, corrosion, and long-term rock mass relaxation, all while remaining in production and requiring ongoing rehabilitation. \u201cIt can be a challenge to apply and implement new solutions into these older mines, where operational processes have been embedded for years,\u201d noted Laura O\u2019Connor at Epiroc. It is also becoming harder to find skilled workers willing to do the job, O\u2019Connor\u2019s colleague at Epiroc, Adrian Berghorst, added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compounding these challenges, according to Fuerstenau, is a shift toward large-scale bulk mining methods, such as block and panel caving, which create larger voids, higher convergence, and more dynamic ground conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a picture of increasing challenges, then, and one that is \u201cdriving operators toward engineered, high-capacity systems designed to deliver reliability and control in high-stress environments,\u201d Fuerstenau concluded. Yet for many operations, the gap between available ground-control technology and what is implemented is often surprisingly wide, driven by difficulties in integrating support systems, installation equipment, and monitoring into a cohesive strategy that performs under stress. \u201cThis is an area where more integrated OEM approaches can help bridge gaps between design, installation, and monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent developments in ground control technology are reshaping how deep and high-stress mines manage deformation and seismic demand. This includes adopting deformation-tolerant reinforcement systems and high-capacity dynamic bolts that can absorb large amounts of energy without catastrophic failure, according to Alain Guenette, a colleague of Fuerstenau at Sandvik.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, advances in polymer and resin chemistry \u2013 particularly in fast-reacting urea-silicate systems \u2013 enable more controlled expansion, rapid early-strength development, and consistent encapsulation performance. \u201cThese innovations accelerate installation times,\u201d continued Guenette, \u201cwith improvements in viscosity stability, curing control, and bond performance under variable temperatures and high-stress conditions. This reflects a broader shift toward integrated systems, where reinforcement, installation, and materials are engineered as a unified solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staying with resins, Epiroc\u2019s Berghorst pointed to the increasing use of pumpable resins, which removes people from working under or near unsupported ground \u2013 a huge safety benefit. The use of pumpable resins also reduces cycle times, resulting in major operational benefits, and \u201cwe\u2019re seeing improved quality of installation, which means the bolts installed are working better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And installation quality matters. Even high-capacity dynamic bolts underperform when installation fundamentals fail due (for example) to inadequate hole cleaning, poor resin mixing, or mismatched bolt-plate-resin combinations. This is prompting a shift to mechanized and semi-automated bolting platforms to ensure precision in drilling, hole cleaning, resin mixing, and bolt installation. The result is improved installation quality and operator safety; it also meets the rapid development rates modern mines demand, noted Guenette.<\/p>\n\n\n In O\u2019Connor\u2019s experience, \u201cby the time a change is noticeable by the human eye, the event that has caused the change has usually already started to occur or has occurred.\u201d This is where technology and connectivity are helping, as mines rely less on workers to see something, report it, and ensure it reaches the necessary channels. Real-time monitoring systems, such as instrumented bolts, convergence sensors, and wireless geotechnical networks, are increasingly integrated with daily operations, enabling continuous tracking of load evolution, deformation, and ground response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But monitoring alone does not create predictive ground control. \u201cThere are two major challenges in the move from reactive to predictive ground control,\u201d explained Epiroc\u2019s Berghorst. \u201cFirst, understanding what a support system can handle \u2013 the actual capacity or limits. The second is predicting the demand that will be placed on the support system by ground conditions.\u201d This still leaves \u201ca lot of unknowns that need to be solved,\u201d he added, noting that there is much work being done to understand both elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking up the story, Sandvik\u2019s Fuerstenau pointed to a significant expansion in modeling capabilities, enabling engineers to represent underground conditions more accurately, including features like brittle failure mechanisms, stress-induced fracturing, and the complex stress paths that develop as excavations advance under high loads. \u201cThese models form the backbone of digital twin environments, where scenario-based simulations can evaluate excavation sequences, support strategies, and seismic impacts before implementation,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within this Brave New World, integrating monitoring data into mine planning and sequencing is essential to understanding how excavation geometry, stress redistribution, and production timing influence ground behavior over the life of a heading or stope. While monitoring devices are readily available and easy to implement, underground mines can be slow to integrate them. According to O\u2019Connor: \u201cMine sites may have the budget to purchase monitoring devices, but lack the capability to use the technology to its full advantage.\u201d A good example is the need for personnel to manually collect data from these instruments, rather than retrieving it automatically via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When applied effectively, \u201cthese capabilities translate into earlier reinforcement of high-risk zones, dynamic reassessment of excavation strategies as conditions change, and a more proactive approach to rehabilitation,\u201d concluded Fuerstenau, \u201cenabling crews to address developing hazards before they result in damage or downtime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As ground control systems become more integrated and data-driven, ensuring full compatibility between the selected bolt type, prevailing ground conditions, and chosen installation method is a critical engineering consideration. A unified approach in which equipment, support systems, and monitoring technologies work together seamlessly is needed: one that demands robust data management, clear ownership of monitoring workflows, and strong engagement from operators and engineering teams to interpret signals and distinguish meaningful trends, according to Sandvik\u2019s Guenette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Achieving consistent reinforcement behavior also requires comprehensive training, so crews understand the procedural steps and the underlying performance requirements. With the rise of real-time monitoring, careful calibration of system thresholds is essential to prevent alarm fatigue while still enabling early detection of meaningful changes in ground response. \u201cThere is a lot more overlap between ground support systems and installation equipment,\u201d Epiroc\u2019s Berghorst. \u201cWe are seeing increased development rates and reduced cycle times for putting in quality ground support. A common shortfall here is not keeping up with monitoring technologies, understanding where and how we need to use them for optimal results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the most common support failures still stem from predictable pitfalls: incompatible bolt-plate-resin combinations, inadequate hole cleaning, or an overreliance on instrumentation at the expense of routine visual inspections and quality checks. Leading operations thus continue to emphasize standardized QA\/QC protocols, routine pull testing, and a closed-loop reporting structure between engineering and operations, ensuring that observed field performance continuously informs design assumptions and future installations.<\/p>\n\n\n As underground mines move toward greater automation, the need for consistent and predictable ground support is growing in importance, despite the challenges autonomous and teleremote equipment face in adapting to local variability. \u201cWe are seeing the first steps in automating the ground support installation process, which is a huge step towards zero-entry mining,\u201d said Berghorst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOEMs are working more closely with ground support suppliers,\u201d Berghorst\u2019s Epiroc colleague, O\u2019Connor, noted, pointing to the company\u2019s acquisition of New Concept Mining and Yieldpoint, as well as its partnership with Master Builders on pumpable resin. \u201cThese partnerships have been lacking in the last few years due to different parties working on projects separately. Now, there has been a surge in collaboration between these teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sandvik has followed a similar path, acquiring DSI Underground to bring together ground-support products with its mechanized drilling and bolting platforms. \u201cThe integration has allowed us to offer customers a complete, in-house ground support offering,\u201d Fuerstenau explained, \u201cfrom the equipment that installs the support through to the consumables and monitoring systems, all engineered to work together as a unified system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning to automation and remote operations, Fuerstenau noted that, by reducing human exposure, operations can install heavier, higher-capacity reinforcement systems that would have been ergonomically challenging or impractical in manual environments. The progression of robotics and teleremote bolting is also enabling support to be installed earlier in the mining cycle, often immediately following excavation, reducing the window during which ground is unsupported and improving overall cycle stability in high-stress headings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here we loop round to the monitoring. According to Fuerstenau, as mines advance toward true zero-entry conditions, \u201cthe entire reinforcement strategy becomes dependent on highly reliable monitoring and verification systems, ensuring that support performance, load evolution, and ground response are continuously confirmed in the absence of direct human presence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next frontier of ground control is defined by the \u201cconvergence of intelligent reinforcement systems, predictive analytics, and fully mechanized installation,\u201d said Sandvik\u2019s Guenette. He cites the example of smart dynamic bolts equipped with embedded sensors, which can provide continuous insight into load evolution, deformation, and energy absorption, turning each reinforcement element into a data-generating node that strengthens both design validation and real-time decision-making. Meanwhile, full mechanization, including autonomous bolters, will continue to enhance installation consistency, allowing advanced support systems to be deployed earlier and with far greater repeatability than manual processes can achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parallel advances in materials science, including higher-capacity, corrosion-resistant alloys and energy-absorbing composites, will extend the life of support systems and improve performance in deep, high-stress, and chemically aggressive environments. \u201cOn the material side, it is important that we can research galvanizing or coatings that will make ground control and different steel fixtures last longer,\u201d Epiroc\u2019s O\u2019Connor noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Guenette, digital twins will underpin all of these and serve as real-time decision engines, allowing engineers to simulate excavation sequences, predict stress redistribution, forecast seismic and unstable conditions, and evaluate support strategies before their application. Or, as Epiroc\u2019s Berghorst put it: \u201cIt\u2019s important to have data, but that data must allow active decision-making. That is the next big step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n As mines push deeper and automation increases, no single discipline can meaningfully manage the full complexity of stress redistribution, seismic response, material performance, and equipment capability. Ground control is thus becoming a multidisciplinary art, with outcomes depending on collaboration between geology, geotechnical engineering, operations, maintenance, data scientists, and OEM partners who understand design intent and installation realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Sandvik\u2019s Fuerstenau, success will hinge on integrating people, processes and technology into a unified system: geology characterizes structures and failure mechanisms; engineering translates that information into reinforcement designs; operations execute those designs with mechanized bolting systems; and maintenance ensures equipment performs reliably. Meanwhile, OEMs will provide the engineered tools, dynamic reinforcement technologies, and data-enabled hardware that tie it all together \u2013 a role that Fuerstenau noted is crucial \u201cas the industry moves toward more integrated platforms, ensuring consistency from design through installation and monitoring.\u201d This model provides continuous feedback loops in which \u201cmonitoring data refines design assumptions, equipment capabilities inform practical installation strategies, and ground support performance influences future product development,\u201d concluded the Sandvik specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Epiroc\u2019s Berghorst pulled us back to ground control\u2019s raison d\u2019\u00eatre: safety. \u201cWe always say the miner is the most important thing to come out of a mine,\u201d he concluded. \u201cWe must always advance new technologies with this in mind, optimizing safety and ensuring people return safely at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adrian Berghorst is the head of marketing for Ground Support in North & South America at Epiroc. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As underground operations push deeper into high-stress ground conditions, integrating smart support systems, mechanization, and real-time modeling is redefining what ground control can deliver. by Jonathan Rowland As underground operations push deeper, \u201cmining teams are confronting significantly elevated stress environments that amplify seismic risk and deformation demands,\u201d Sandvik\u2019s Daria Fuerstenau told North American Mining. At the same time, geology is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[4584,4583,90,852],"coauthors":[1635],"class_list":["post-12548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-ground-control-systems","tag-pumpable-resins","tag-sandvik","tag-underground-operations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tDYNAMIC SUPPORT; DYNAMIC GROUND<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bolt](\"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2604_No_minute_unsupported_Image_1_Bolt_installation_quality_matters_Boltec_E10.png\")
Not pictured: Epiroc Boltec E10 fully mechanized bolting rig.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFrom reactive to predictive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The integration challenge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Pumpable](\"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2604_No_minute_unsupported_Image_3_Pumpable_resins_reduce_cycle_time_Sandvik-DD422i.png\")
AUTOMATION AND THE ZERO-ENTRY MINE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
INTELLIGENCE AND CONSISTENCY CONVERGE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2604_No_minute_unsupported_Image_2_The_Sandvik_DS312.png\")
A MULTIDISCIPLINARY FUTURE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MEET THE EXPERTS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Daria Fuerstenau is the business line manager for Ground Support at Sandvik U.S.
Alain Guenette is the director of New Technology and R&D at Sandvik.
Laura O\u2019Connor is a product & applications specialist for Ground Support at Epiroc.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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