Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy completes the boring of the first two deposition holes at the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository.

The launch process of production drilling in ONKALO progresses with the drilling of test holes. Posiva has completed the drilling of the first two deposition holes using the new boring machine which was operated by Posiva's own personnel. The holes are located at a depth of 430 metres in the deposition tunnel built for the Joint Functional Test (JFT). The first four holes in the tunnel were drilled in the autumn of 2022 as test drilling operations of the boring machine by a crew from the machine's manufacturer Herrenknecht AG.

https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Posiva-crew-gets-to-grips-with-drilling-machineHerrenknecht

describes the Downhole Boring Machine as:

Herrenknecht developed the Downhole Boring Machine DHBM1750 for the fast and safe excavation of vertical holes with a depth of 10m and deeper in stable hard rock in a consecutive manner. The DHBM is designed for the mechanized excavation of highly accurate blind shafts with small diameter (1,765 mm) and for improved work safety conditions in narrow working environments. Its compact dimensions combined with the innovative crawler carrier system enables a highly flexible and precise maneuverability in confined spaces of underground mines. The crawler-based drilling rig and its trailer-based support unit are specially designed for underground use and enable autonomous positioning of the DHBM. The powerful full face cutting technology and its innovative mucking system ensure maximum performance.

https://www.herrenknecht.com/en/products/productdetail/downhole-boring-machine-dhbm/