Having increasingly tightened geological and mining conditions in which the extraction of copper ore deposits in Poland is conducted, ensuring effective and safe mining is presently becoming a key task and a significant challenge for mine operators, mainly in the field of ground support systems being the equivalent for the new geological/mining conditions. As one may expect, these conditions shall be characterized by higher values of the primary stress tensor elements as well as the lower deformability and higher strength of the rock mass surrounding the copper ore body. T his means that in the near future, the rock bursts problem will become one of the most important issues deciding on the economy and safety within the newly developed mining areas. T herefore developing a novel effective ductile ground support systems which could be able to control the rock mass movement in squeezing and burst-prone rock conditions is recommended. T his type of requirement may fulfil only ductile or, in other words, the kinetic energy-absorbing systems, which permit slowing down a movement of violently ejected rock blocks. T his paper’s objective is to present the idea of the development of a new type of an effective and low cost ductile resin anchored rockbolt system with smooth and of the square cross-section steel rod is formed in coil shape of different pitch. T he developed bolt prototypes have been tested underground in the G-11 section of the Rudna mine. Results of the pull-out tests, involving different bolts’ shapes and different sliding materials set on the rockbolts’ rods, have proved those bolts’ efficiency as an element of the ductile support system.

The mining of hard coal deposits at increasingly greater depth leads to an increase in hazards related to the loss of stability of steel arch supports as a result of excessive static and dynamic loads. Camber beam reinforcement via rockbolting is often utilised in order to improve the stability of the yielding steel arch support.

This article presents the results of comparative bench tests of the ŁP10/V36-type steel arch support, tested with and without reinforcement by means of self-drilling bolts with drunken R25 threads, using short joists formed from V32 and V25 sections. It also presents the results of comparative tests of the ŁPP10/4/V29/I-type steel arch support, tested with and without reinforcement by means of rock bolts with trapezoidal Tr22/13 threads, using short joists formed from V25 sections. The obtained test results, in the form of load courses and work values of the steel arch and mixed (arches and rock bolts) support systems, demonstrate that the utilisation of mixed support may significantly improve the stability of workings, particularly immediately after they are driven. A mixed support system quickly achieves its maximum load capacity together with a significant increase in its work value. It may thus prevent the stratification of the rocks surrounding the working, and therefore better utilise the self-supporting capacity of the rock mass. As evidenced by the test results, the mixed support work may be as much as 3.5 times as great compared to the steel arch support at the beginning of the height reduction process initiated by loading – i.e. until its reduction by a presupposed value of 100 mm.