By rosebell
With the aim of moving polyhalite ore from beneath the North York Moors National Park to a processing plant on Teesside, the tunnel at British mining company Anglo American’s Woodsmith Project near Whitby has passed 30km in length.
Being recognised as the longest continuous drive by a single TBM, the drive has been developed by tunnel boring machine (TBM) Stella Rose.
Continuing its daily advance, this tunnel has overtaken the previous record of 25.8km as Anglo American said.
While the responsibility of constructing this tunnel is up to contractor Strabag, it is due to house a conveyor forming the core of the project’s mineral transport system (MTS).
In order to reaching what is described as the largest known polyhalite resource globally, the Woodsmith development is designed.
Polyhalite is a naturally occurring fertiliser mineral containing potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium, and is anticipated to be used in sustainable agricultural applications.
As the longest of its type, delivering the conveyor tunnel is up to Strabag.
The 30km tunneling landmark was overseen by Ronnie Birkett, senior occupational health advisor at Strabag UK.
According to Woodsmith Project director Andrew Johnson:”We are incredibly proud of this milestone. The Woodsmith Project is one of the most innovative mining developments in the world today and construction is progressing well.We currently employ 1,100 people in the area of which 75% are local – something we are incredibly proud of. We are also proud to have a small international workforce with the specialist expertise we need for this unique world-class engineering project that will provide employment for hundreds of local people for many many years to come.”
