BAUER Foundations Canada Inc. was contracted by NuBa JV (a partnership between Nuna Group of Companies and Bauer Maschinen GmbH) to con-struct 30 Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM) cofferdams (box) to be used as soil stabili-zation and guide wall. The FalCon Project is located 65 km east of Prince Al-bert, Saskatchewan in the area known as Fort à la Corne.

The project is split between two main sites, Star Site and Orion Site which comprise a total of 30 boxes. BAUER Foundations Canada started the CSM works in 2018 at Star Site.

This project represented a novel approach to mining exploration which in-volved the use of trench cutters (BAUER BC50) to reach the depths required for the recovery of kimberlite bulk samples. A record depth of 250m was reached by the BAUER BC 50 cutter. This was significant in establishing the use of existing deep trench technology in an entirely new application.

Local stratigraphy encountered consisted of two sequences of stratified sand, silt, and clay overlying glacial till. The CSM panels were installed to a depth of about 21m, embedding into the underlying glacial till.  

The construction of the CSM panels was completed by utilizing a BG30 rig with a cutter soil mixing (CSM) attachment.

The remote location of the project site presented unique challenges for the crew to meet the target delivery dates. Supplies and servicing had to be care-fully arranged and planned prior to start each phase of work, due to access to site being available only through dirt roads. Furthermore, the site was undevel-oped prior to BAUER's mobilization, which required camp facilities to be set up.

The first stage of the project, including 10 CSM boxes, located at Star Site, was successfully completed in 2019.