Potvin, Y 2009, 'Surface support in extreme ground conditions — HEA Mesh™', in PM Dight (ed.), SRDM 2009: Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Safe and Rapid Development Mining, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 111-119, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/902_10
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/902_10_Potvin/)
Abstract: Development in high stress environments can lead to severe conditions. In particular, when the rock mass is 
brittle, or when mining progresses near seismically active geological structures, rockbursts can become a 
serious hazard. At the other end of the spectrum, when the rock mass is weak and ductile, squeezing ground 
and high convergence become the challenge that must be managed during and after development mining. 
The ground support industry has been very active in developing reinforcement solutions to these challenges, 
in particular in addressing the rockburst problem. However, the options for high energy absorption surface 
support remains very limited. The South African deep level gold and platinum mines are successfully using 
cable lacing, but this option is not practical in mechanised mining. In countries using mechanised mining, 
the solution to the severe ground conditions to date has been to use a combination of fibre reinforced 
shotcrete (FRS), mesh, or mesh straps. 
In this paper, a new high energy absorption mesh is proposed. This mesh can be mechanically installed 
using a jumbo and can sustain high deformation and high strength.