Mine developments such as haulage drifts, cross-cuts and intersections are the only access to valuable ore out of mining zones. They link the mine developments with nearest ore access points. Thus, they must remain stable during their service life or production plan. Mine development instability can cause production delay, loss of reserves, as well as damage to equipment and injury to miners. This paper presents a stepwise methodology to assess the stability of mine development intersections with respect to mine production plan. A case study, the #1 Shear East orebody at Vale’s Garson Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, is presented. A three-dimensional, elastoplastic, finite difference model (FLAC 3D) is created to simulate the development of an intersection situated 1.5 km below ground surface. The unsatisfactory performance of the intersection is evaluated in terms of strength-to-stress ratio with respect to mining sequence. A failure criterion is defined by a minimum strength-to-stress ratio of 1.4, is used for mine developments (temporary openings). The intersection stability is evaluated at various mining stages and the modified Point-Estimate of (2n2+1) Method (PEM) is then invoked to study the probability of drift instability at the intersection. The results are presented and categorized with respect to probability, instability, and mining stage.
Research Member
Research Department
Research Year
2013
Research Journal
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2014, 51(2): 184-195, 10.1139/cgj-2013-0123
Research Publisher
Canadian Geotechnical Journal (10.1139/cgj-2013-0123)
Research Vol
51(2)
Research Rank
1
Research_Pages
184-195
Research Website
cgj@nrcresearchpress.com
Research Abstract