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Rock Mechanics.pdf - Mining and Blasting

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LONGWALL AND CAVING MINING METHODS<br />

achieve the fill stiffnesses required if backfilling was to be effective in limiting<br />

convergence <strong>and</strong> reducing energy release rates sufficiently (Heunis, 1980). As<br />

the result of a major research <strong>and</strong> development programme undertaken in the<br />

1980s, many of these problems have been overcome. Backfilling is now a well<br />

established method of providing both regional <strong>and</strong> local support in a number of<br />

deep-level South African gold mines (Ryder <strong>and</strong> Jager, 2002).<br />

Computer simulations carried out by Jager et al. (1987) <strong>and</strong> others suggest that<br />

backfill alone can provide the regional support required at depths of less than 3 km.<br />

Below 3 km the major benefits of backfilling are to reduce the stresses acting on stabilising<br />

pillars or to enable the spans between pillars, <strong>and</strong> hence the extraction ratios,<br />

to be increased. Improvements recorded in those mines using backfilling include improved<br />

access <strong>and</strong> hangingwall conditions, reductions in stoping width <strong>and</strong> hence in<br />

dilution, reductions in rockburst damage to stope face areas when the backfill is kept<br />

close to the stope face, decreases in the numbers of accidents caused by rock falls<br />

<strong>and</strong> improved productivity. Backfilling should be used in conjunction with a good<br />

temporary face support system <strong>and</strong> should be incorporated into the st<strong>and</strong>ard mining<br />

cycle (Jager et al., 1987).<br />

15.2.3 Support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement systems<br />

Two different types of support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement system are required in hard rock<br />

longwall mining <strong>and</strong> its variants. First, support is required for the hangingwall of the<br />

mined-out void near <strong>and</strong> behind an advancing face. This support is usually described as<br />

stope support. Second, support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement systems are required for the access<br />

<strong>and</strong> transportation excavations, generally referred to as tunnels in South African<br />

mines. Both types of support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement system may be required to stabilise<br />

the rock mass under static loading conditions, thus reducing the risk of rock falls, <strong>and</strong><br />

to alleviate the rockburst hazard under dynamic loading conditions. The two types of<br />

support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement system will be discussed separately.<br />

Stope support. As illustrated in Figure 15.1, the rock surrounding stopes in the<br />

deep-level gold mines of South Africa is intensely fractured. The mining-induced<br />

extension <strong>and</strong> shear fractures generally strike approximately parallel to the face, may<br />

be steeply dipping, <strong>and</strong> may extend several metres into the hangingwall <strong>and</strong> footwall.<br />

Bedding planes are parallel to the reef <strong>and</strong> are of variable frequency above <strong>and</strong> below<br />

the stope. Jointing, faults <strong>and</strong> dykes may also be present. As the stope face advances<br />

<strong>and</strong> the stope span increases, the hangingwall <strong>and</strong> footwall converge in response to<br />

the elastic <strong>and</strong> inelastic deformations of the rock mass. The support system must be<br />

able to accommodate stope closure, support the fractured hangingwall, <strong>and</strong> ensure<br />

a safe working environment in the vicinity of the face. In the event of a rockburst,<br />

the support system will be subjected to large, rapid deformations. It must be able<br />

to absorb energy rapidly in decelerating <strong>and</strong> limiting the displacements of blocks of<br />

fractured rock (Roberts <strong>and</strong> Brummer, 1988).<br />

Stope support systems typically consist of combinations of hydraulic or timber<br />

props, timber or concrete or composite packs, tendons <strong>and</strong> backfill. The 20 to 40 tonne<br />

capacity rapid yielding hydraulic props typically used under high stress conditions<br />

are installed in rows as close as 1 m from the face. In order to be most effective,<br />

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