A box cut (box pit) is a small open cut built to supply a secure and safe entrance as access to a slope to an underground
mine. Generally the box cut is sunk until sufficiently unweathered rock is found to permit the development of the decline.
The portal is generally made safe with
rock bolt
A rock bolt is a long anchor bolt, for stabilizing rock excavations, which may be used in tunnels or rock cuts. It transfers load from the unstable exterior to the confined (and much stronger) interior of the rock mass.
Rock bolts were first use ...
s, wire mesh, and
shotcrete
Shotcrete, gunite (), or sprayed concrete is concrete or mortar conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a construction technique, first used in 1907 invented by Carl Akeley. It is typically ...
, which prevents accidental rock falls from closing access to the decline.
See also
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Underground hard-rock mining
Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. It also involves the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Box Cut
Underground mining