South Africa's Master Drilling had an agreement with the mining company Northam for an on-site trial of an innovative tunnel boring machine. ireceived a bad news from  innovative tunnel borer project has been cancelled. Master Drilling received thbad news after their year-end presentation over the project on March 24. Northam had cancelled the project citing the uncertainties brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The machine was designed and produced in Italy.

As a separate project, together with South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation, Master Drilling is reported to be working on a shaft boring machine which can bore at an impressive 1 meter in an hour "in rock as hard as mild steel".

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/mining/2020-04-02-northam-cancels-master-drillings-innovative-tunnel-borer/