Method of supporting mine walls and installing a mine stopping

A method of supporting opposite first and second walls of a mine passageway, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing an elongate beam having opposite first and second ends and a longitudinal axis, each end of the beam having a bearing member thereon for bearing against a respective wall, the bearing member having a bearing surface area greater than the cross-sectional area of the beam, said beam being configured to have columnar strength for bearing a longitudinal load of at least 800 pounds applied to the beam generally longitudinally of the beam and bending strength for bearing a transverse load caused by an air pressure of at least two inches water gauge and applied to the beam generally transversely of the beam, the beam including a central beam and a slide member slidable longitudinally relative to the central beam,
• selecting first and second locations on the first and second walls, respectively, providing suitable areas for supporting the first and second walls,
• positioning the first end of the beam at said first location and the second end of the beam at said second location by sliding the slide member relative to the central beam to adjust the length of the beam to correspond to the distance between the first and second walls so that the beam extends between the first and second walls of the mine passageway,
• securing the bearing member of the first end of the beam to the first wall at said first location and the bearing member at the second end of the beam to the second wall at said second location so that the beam is positioned for supporting the first and second walls, and
• locking the slide member relative to the central beam after the ends of the beam are secured to respective walls so that the slide member will slide longitudinally relative to the central beam under a longitudinal load greater than about 800 pounds.

A method of installing a mine stopping between the first and second walls of a mine passageway, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing an elongate beam having opposite first and second ends and a longitudinal axis, said beam being configured to have columnar strength for bearing a longitudinal load applied to the beam generally longitudinally of the beam and bending strength for bearing a transverse load applied to the beam generally transversely of the beam,
• positioning the first end of the beam at a first location on the first wall and the second end of the beam at a second location on the second wall so that the beam extends between the first and second walls of the mine passageway,
• securing the first end of the beam to the first wall at said first location and the second end of the beam to the second wall at said second location so that said beam is positioned to take a longitudinal load, and
• erecting a stopping extending between said first and second walls after said beam has been secured to the walls, said erecting step including securing the stopping to the beam so that a load applied to the stopping due to an air pressure differential across the stopping is transferred to said beam as a transverse load.