Meeting the demands and logistical challenges of supplying Canada’s mining industry

The challenge

Supplying many of Canada’s biggest mining operations across Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, means servicing many of the country’s most complex projects in increasingly remote locations.

In addition to these challenges, shotcrete providers must also ensure year-round production even during the Canadian winter’s severe cold weather conditions.

The solution

For more than two decades Bekaert has supplied the industry with Dramix® ZP 305 steel fibers for prebagged and other shotcrete products.

Steel fibers allow the shotcrete to better follow contours, such as mine openings, resulting in a consistent thickness and reducing shotcrete consumption. At the same time, fibers can provide better control for cracks due to shrinkage and temperature gradients.

Compared to the installation of traditional mesh reinforcement, using steel fibers has proven to considerably increase safety at the work site as well as reduce overall costs.