Flagship Service

Shaft Sinking & Equipping Surveys

The discipline at the heart of Survey House Group: precision control for sinking and equipping vertical shafts, where a few millimetres of deviation over a kilometre of depth decides whether a shaft is safe and serviceable.

What it is

Shaft Sinking & Equipping Surveys — engineered for accuracy.

A vertical shaft is one of the most unforgiving structures in mining. It must stay plumb over depths that can exceed a kilometre, and the steelwork inside it has to align closely enough for a hoisting conveyance to travel at speed without contacting the guides. Survey House Group provides the survey control that makes this possible — from the first box cut at surface through to the final guide installed at shaft bottom.

During sinking, verticality is referenced against plumb, established with plumb wires and optical or laser plummets, and the shaft centre and radius are checked continuously as the lining advances. The company's proprietary vertical shaft-sinking methods were developed specifically to hold accuracy over great depth — and were independently checked by the University of Johannesburg, deemed correct and accurate, and accepted by Sasol for their future mining projects.

Equipping is the second half of the discipline. Bank steel, headgear, buntons and guides are set out and verified so that the guide string is straight, correctly gauged and continuous at every joint. Misaligned guides cause conveyance wear, vibration and — at worst — safety incidents, so every set is surveyed against the design centreline before it is fixed in place.

Delivered as one continuous programme, the result is a shaft that is plumb, on-centre and correctly equipped, backed by the records to prove it.

Where it's used

Typical applications

Box-cut preparation & collar setting-out
Headgear & bank-steel installation
Shaft plumb & verticality control during sinking
Curb-ring / shaft-lining alignment
Bunton & guide installation survey
Conveyance-clearance verification

What you receive

Typical deliverables

Shaft centreline & plumb reports
As-installed steelwork alignment data
Guide gauge & straightness records
Setting-out marks & control points

FAQ

Shaft Sinking & Equipping Surveys — frequently asked questions

Clear answers to the questions clients and search engines ask most about this service.

How accurate does a vertical shaft need to be?

The steelwork must hold the hoisting conveyance within tight guide clearances over the full depth, so control is referenced to plumb and verified continuously. Even small cumulative deviations over hundreds of metres can put a conveyance out of tolerance, which is why specialist shaft-sinking survey methods are used rather than general survey practice.

What is the difference between shaft sinking and shaft equipping surveys?

Sinking surveys control the excavation and lining of the shaft barrel so it stays plumb and on-centre. Equipping surveys set out and verify the steelwork installed inside it — bank steel, buntons and guides — so the conveyance runs straight and safely. Survey House delivers both as one continuous programme.

Have Survey House's shaft-sinking methods been independently validated?

Yes. The company's vertical shaft-sinking survey methodology was checked by the University of Johannesburg and deemed correct and accurate, and has been accepted by Sasol for their future mining projects.

Which shafts has Survey House surveyed?

Projects include Sasol's Thubelisha and Shondoni shafts, Petra Diamonds' Cullinan, Northam's Zondereinde and De Beers' Venetia, among others across Southern Africa.

Related Projects