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Normet has launched the HX-Bolt, a new hybrid anchorage system that, it says, offers rapid dynamic support and robust long-term reinforcement in varied ground conditions.
Designed for underground mining applications, the HX-Bolt combines mechanical, frictional and bonded anchorage principles to provide adaptable ground support across a wide range of operating conditions.
As underground operations continue to encounter increasingly complex and varying ground conditions, there is a need for an adaptable support solution that can consistently perform when conditions are inconsistent, Normet states. The HX-Bolt addresses this need by combining mechanical end-anchorage, frictional confinement and a yielding hollow bar within a single and robust system.
The bolt delivers full, high-capacity dynamic support immediately after installation without requiring resin or grout, helping operators rapidly secure excavations as early as possible in the development cycle. A key feature of HX-Bolt is its yielding hollow bar design, which allows injection of resin or grout into the bolt while also enabling the system to absorb rock displacement and dynamic energy while maintaining load-bearing capacity.
Installed as a mechanical hybrid bolt, the HX-Bolt can be rapidly installed using bolters or drill rigs to provide immediate dynamic support. Where additional anchorage or long-term corrosion protection is required, the system can be encapsulated with resin or grout to further enhance reinforcement performance and resistance to block ejection, when compared with conventional hybrid bolts, the company says. The friction anchor acts as a containment mechanism during encapsulation, helping prevent resin or grout from migrating into fractures and voids, reducing unnecessary consumption of injection materials while improving encapsulation effectiveness. This flexibility allows operators to adapt support strategies to changing ground and operational requirements while using the same reinforcement system.
The HX-Bolt is suitable for a broad range of ground conditions, including competent rock, highly fractured ground, squeezing conditions and seismically active environments where both deformation control and long-term stability are critical. By combining primary and secondary support functions in one system, the HX-Bolt reduces installation complexity while supporting productivity objectives, according to Normet. The system allows mines to use one high-capacity dynamic rock bolt across multiple applications and determine where encapsulation is required and where it can be omitted.
Rual Abreu, Global Director, Rock Reinforcement at Normet, said: “Underground operations are under constant pressure to improve safety and productivity while managing increasingly challenging ground conditions. [The] HX-Bolt was developed to combine the best attributes of mechanical and bonded anchorage in a single support system. It delivers dynamic support immediately after installation and can subsequently be encapsulated to establish robust, long-term reinforcement. By integrating primary and secondary support into a single system, [the] HX-Bolt helps customers improve operational efficiency while maintaining high ground control performance.”
The launch of HX-Bolt expands Normet’s rock reinforcement portfolio and reinforces the company’s commitment to developing practical solutions that, it says, improve underground safety, productivity and long-term excavation performance. Together with Normet’s range of dynamic bolts, cable bolts, self-drilling anchors and conventional reinforcement solutions, the HX-Bolt provides customers with an additional option for addressing some of the most demanding ground support challenges in underground mining and tunnelling.
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