Tunnelling machine

A machine for tunneling in rock, which machine includes:

• a pilot drill assembly for drilling a series of interfering parallel holes or a pilot hole into and generally perpendicular into a rock face;
• a blast hole drill assembly for drilling a series of blasting holes around the pilot hole or previous blast hole;
• a charge handling and loading assembly for loading the first series of holes with propellant charges;
• an ignitor system for igniting the charges;
• a rock clearing means for removing blast rock from a blast face;
• a rock pick for clearing and picking a floor, roof or walls to provide access for the machine into a tunnel;
• a mobility assembly for moving the machine forward;
• a control console provided with control means for controlling the pilot drill assembly, blast hole drill assembly, charge handling and loading assembly, ignitor system, rock clearing means, and the rock pick;
• a mesh production assembly for producing a wire mesh lining for progressively lining the walls and roof of the tunnel, wherein the mesh production assembly includes a set of longitudinal wire spindles and a set of lateral wire spindles or spindle and wherein the longitudinal wires are fed out and over forming wheels arranged along the shape of the tunnel and the lateral wires are drawn by means of directional guides and feeding wheels transverse and underneath the longitudinal wires and urged and welded to the underside of the longitudinal wires by means of a set of welding rams.