Mining has become a highly competitive business. To survive in this market, mine operators are constantly looking for ways to minimize capital expenditures and optimize production. For many mines, this goal is being accomplished with drilled shafts.

The techniques developed by North American Drillers have driven structural change in the mining industry. We have demonstrated that blind drilled shafts result in the lowest overall cost through numerous advantages including:

• Completion ahead of mining with no interruption to underground works
• Safest available shaft construction method
• Proven in bad ground and aquifers with minimal environmental impact
• Installation of ancillary equipment ahead of mining
• No explosives required

Our friends in the mining business are truly special people. They constantly dream up new ways to utilize our technology including many "harebrained ideas" which have become standards for the industry. Among these many innovations are:

• Bleeder ventilation shafts for longwall and continuous mines
• Separate intake and return shaft systems installed ahead of mining
• Permissible down hole pumps approved for use in underground mines
• Vertical belt haulage in a drilled shaft
• Drilled elevator shafts with counter weights in a separate hole
• Bunker shafts to drop material to a lower mine level
• Steel liners to minimize friction loss at high air velocities