(Quoted from Article. Read full article here on the Australasian Mine Safety Journal website here)

An Australian farmer and former underground miner has developed a new product to remove the risk of falling drill rods in underground mines.

The product developed and produced by Bendigo company Rattlejack has launched its innovative product following extensive testing and Fosterville Gold mine in regional Victoria.

Rattlejack’s SafetySpear is a high speed, high impact plugging device for use in underground mining that protects workers and machinery from being hit by falling drill rods abandoned during previous operations and hanging precariously above work areas.

Operating in a similar way to a car airbag, the SafetySpear can resolve a life or death situation in a fraction of a second and has the ability to catch weight thousands of times its own, yet remains light enough to lift with one hand.

Alternative solutions to prevent falling drill rods are more costly, more time consuming, disrupting mining schedules and project timelines, and less effective.