Rapid development mobile canopy for underground mining

A method for advancing a tunnel face in an underground mine, comprising:

• blasting the tunnel face with explosives;
• removing debris generated by the blasting from a heading of the tunnel;
• positioning a mobile canopy at or near the heading;
• drilling holes in the tunnel face and packing the holes with additional explosives;
• and,
• securing the tunnel from inside the mobile canopy;
• wherein the mobile canopy includes:
• first and second opposing and spaced walls;
• a curved roof coupled between the first and second walls;
• first and second skis mounted to respective bottoms of the first and second walls, the skis adapted to slide the mobile canopy about a floor of the tunnel;
• wherein the curved roof slopes downward from a front end of the mobile canopy toward a back end of the mobile canopy, the front end of the mobile canopy for positioning adjacent to the tunnel face;
• wherein the curved roof is movable between a first position proximate a roof of the tunnel and a second position spaced from the roof of the tunnel;
• and, wherein the first and second walls are movable between respective first positions proximate respective walls of the tunnel and respective second positions spaced from the walls of the tunnel.