A co-operative project involving the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (Canmet), the province of Ontario and the township of Red Lake offers considerable promise for maintaining the safety of communities situated near inactive underground mines.
Canmet is monitoring ground movement and stability associated with a thin crown pillar within the limits of Red Lake Twp. The 3-year program involves the use of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technology to locate and monitor zones of instability and identify active failure mechanisms within the underlying rock mass.
The technology has the added potential for real-time remote monitoring and data transmission via phone lines and the Internet. TDR can also be applied to a wide range of civil and mining engineering projects, as well as to the hundreds of other inactive mine sites found elsewhere in Canada.
In its commitment to developing new techniques to assess and verify mine stability, Canmet has improved numerical modelling technologies and innovative ground control instrumentation for mine stability analysis.
At the Sigma mine, a sophisticated, 3-dimensional technique is being applied to assess overall ground stability in potential rockburst formations. A recent Canmet advancement in instrument development, the recoverable borehole strain monitor determines mining-induced stress in underground structures.
These data are used to create 3-dimensional simulations of potential rockburst activity. Further computer simulations with the resultant model are then carried out to determine the best mining geometry and sequences, thereby improving productivity and helping protect jobs for hundreds of workers and service personnel.
Numerical modelling enables mining organizations to minimize risks associated with mine excavations, and enhances operators’ confidence in mining sill pillars in highly stressed ground conditions.
Canmet is focusing its efforts on the development of software packages that can be used on site by small and medium-sized operations.
The overall program is intended to increase the safety and effectiveness of recovering ore over a long period of time.
— From “Canmet ’95: New Directions,” a publication of the federal government.
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