UNDERGROUND SPACES

Mancala design, excavate and support unique caves and underground spaces using an experienced team of engineers and underground professionals.

From the wineries of Europe to the outback of Australia, people have long taken advantage of natural and engineered caves. Stable temperature and humidity along with the inherent relaxing qualities of an underground space make underground rooms exclusive and highly attractive.

For clients who have cliff top water front properties, exclusive access to the water can be provided by a combination of tunnel and shaft with associated underground rooms as required. Past clients have installed in conjunction with the shaft/tunnel wine cellars, dining rooms, water craft storage, libraries and peaceful quite retreats.

Add value to your property by creating new usable spaces on your existing real estate footprint.

Specialised Services

Slope Stabilisation and Ground Support

Mancala’s slope stabilisation and ground support grew team specialise in the provision of installation of ground support on shear slopes and in areas inaccessible to traditional elevated work platforms. 

Clients who have utilised Mancala’s skills include hydro-electric utilities (access road embankments etc), state government bodies and local councils (road cutting stabilisation) and rail utilities (tunnel and embankment slope rehabilitation).

Mancala competencies in this area include: 

• Mechanical ground support installation;
• Hand held ground support installation on steep and traditionally inaccessible terrain;
• Shotcrete/fibrecrete spraying;
• Steel set installation;
• Road and rail cuttings scaling and stabilisation;
• Rock fall catch fencing;
• Mesh and pin slope stabilisation and
• Grouting of fractured ground for stabilisation.

REHABILITATION OF TOURIST MINES

Mancala’s highly skilled team of traditional miners have the ability to rehabilitate and repair historically significant mining heritage sites to today’s safety standards while retaining the outward appearance of a historical mine openings. Woking flexibly with the client, rehabilitation can be undertaken without interruption of the tourist  attraction.

From coal mines in New Zealand to gold mines in Victoria, it is likely Mancala has made the tourist experience not only authentic by safe.

Typical work undertaken includes:

• Rehabilitation of narrow mine workings (1.0m x 1.8m);
• Timber lined tunnel rehabilitation;
• Multi compartment timber shaft rehabilitation;
• Installation of steel shaft collar work to blend into old period workings;
• Coloured and textured shotcrete spraying; 
• Hiding of modern ground support elements behind traditional support to blend into historical workings;
• Steel set installation with timber coverings to blend into period workings;
• Drill and blast excavations to extend and blend in with old workings and
• Non drill and blast excavation for tourist mine to extend and blend in with old workings.

LABOUR HIRE

Mancala is proud to have attracted and retained for many years a core team of miners and mining supervisors who are miners in the true sense of the word, not simply mine equipment operators.

Mancala’s mining labour hire employees are a highly skilled group, capable of safely tackling those jobs frequently deemed too hard, or difficult or not possible. Whether it’s installing ground support over a live conveyor or rehabilitation of an ore pass, Mancala with its proven safe system of work can get the job done.

 Some examples of work performed by our mining labour hire group include:

• Selective high-grade mining by traditional or mechanised methods providing supplementary ore supplies;
• Rehabilitating ore passes via shrinking with ground support installed as the muck pile is bogged;
• Installing ground support in an active crusher chamber;
• Rehabilitating a conveyor drift above active conveyors;
• Installing ground support in a tail race and generator chamber of an active hydro power station;
• Excavating stone via drill and blast methods in a coal drift to permit continued operation of a long wall;
• Assembly and installation of mine egress systems;
• Long term provision specialist mechanised mining labour and
• Rehabilitation of a 30m x 9m underground coal bin during an annual 21 day shutdown.