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Rock Mechanics.pdf - Mining and Blasting

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Figure 14.1 Modes of support of<br />

mine backfill: (a) kinematic constraint<br />

on surface blocks in de-stressed rock;<br />

(b) support forces mobilised locally in<br />

fractured <strong>and</strong> jointed rock; (c) global<br />

support due to compression of the fill<br />

mass by wall closure.<br />

TECHNIQUES OF ARTIFICIAL SUPPORT<br />

mining-induced fractures, or unfavourable structural geology with associated local<br />

instability. The technique of ground control under these conditions is discussed in detail<br />

later. The walls of large open stopes are also c<strong>and</strong>idates for local reinforcement,<br />

when required by the state of stress <strong>and</strong> rock mass strength or the structural geology<br />

of the stope boundary rock. There are now many examples of the use of long cable<br />

reinforcement of the boundaries of large stopes.<br />

Backfill can be used as a support medium in mining practice in two ways. In<br />

conventional cut-<strong>and</strong>-fill stoping (by overh<strong>and</strong> or underh<strong>and</strong> methods), fill is introduced<br />

periodically, during the progressive extension of the stope. The operational<br />

effectiveness of the fill is related to its capacity to produce a stable working surface<br />

soon after its emplacement in the stope. Where backfill is used in an open stoping<br />

operation, fill placement in a particular stope is delayed until production from it<br />

is complete. Successful performance of the fill mass requires that during pillar recovery,<br />

free-st<strong>and</strong>ing walls of fill, capable of withst<strong>and</strong>ing static <strong>and</strong> transient loads<br />

associated with adjacent mining activity, can be sustained by the medium. In both<br />

cases, the function <strong>and</strong> duty of the fill mass can be prescribed quantitatively. It is<br />

necessary to design the backfill to meet prescribed operational functions <strong>and</strong> safety<br />

requirements.<br />

It has already been observed that mine backfill is frequently a granular cohesionless<br />

medium. The height of a fill mass in a stope can exceed several hundred metres. It is<br />

also well known that the shear strength of a granular medium is determined directly<br />

by the pore-water pressure according to the effective stress law. Therefore, great care<br />

must be exercised in fill design <strong>and</strong> in mining practice to ensure that significant pore<br />

pressure cannot develop in a body of backfill. The particular problem is the potential<br />

for catastrophic flow of fill under high hydrostatic head, should high pore pressure lead<br />

to complete loss of shear resistance <strong>and</strong> subsequent liquefaction of the medium. The<br />

practical requirement is to ensure that, as far as possible, any in situ static or dynamic<br />

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