Rustenburg Central Deep Shaft

 mine, platinum mine/processing, mine shaft

This shaft is no longer in service and has been decommissioned.

The central deep shaft is a four-compartment shaft of “square-rectangular’’ section, measuring 24 1/4 feet by 11 1/4 feet inside timbers. Single-decked cages capable of carrying forty persons arc installed in the two south compartments. These cages are sufficiently large to accommodate trucks of explosives, mining timber, etc. Skips are of five-ton capacity and are interchangeable with doubledecked cages capable of carrying forty persons. The choice of the “square-rectangular” shaft section was made for two reasons, to ensure a large volume of air being delivered to the underground workings, and to facilitate the loading of men and material into large-sized cages. A headgear of comparatively light construction is erected at all three vertical shafts.

The ore or waste rock hoisted is tipped into a small headgear bin from which it is led by
conveyor either to an ore bin situated over the mine surface haulage railway line or to a
waste bin whence it is taken by self-dumping skip to the waste dump. A 15” three-compartment sub-incline shaft is now in the course of sinking in the Waterval area. This shaft will be equipped with two 10-ton skips. Ore and waste will be delivered to their respective passes at the top of the incline and trammed to the Waterval vertical shaft tips by overhead electric locomotive. Generally, except in the eastern extension area, the haulage of ore underground is by overhead electric locomotives pulling trains of 4-ton hoppers through footwall haulages. In the eastern extension area 2-ton diesel
locomotives are in use.

Reference for information:
www.platinummetalsreview.com/pdf/pmr-v5-i3-102-108.pdf