Estimation of open-pit / underground mining cross-effect in complicated geomechanical conditions

The paper presents the results of prediction model studies of the stress–strain behavior in Gakman field of Yukspor deposit during hybrid open pit/underground mining under conditions of high tectonic stresses. The mountainous relief, rock mass faulting with a series of weak structures, geometry of the ore body, the actual and design parameters of stopes, and mining operation under the uncaved overlying stratum with three-sided support are taken into account. Based on the multivariate threedimensional stress–strain modeling using the finite element method, geomechanical substantiation of simultaneous open-pit and underground mining was carried out. It has been established that the geomechanical determinants in Gakman field are: – gravitational and tectonic stresses with a significant excess of the tectonic component over the gravitational component; – mountainous relief of ground surface with a significant elevation difference in the study area; – location of underground mining under the uncaved overlying stratum with three-sided support; – faulting of rock mass with a series of weak structures (Gakman fault); – formation of the open pit and crown pillar above underground mine; – significant lag of the mining front on the underlying levels of level + 320 m. The dimensions of the cross-effect zone and crown pillar when the underground operations approach the open pit mine are determined.

A Novel Approach for Predicting the Height of the Water-Flow Fracture Zone in Undersea Safety Mining

The height of the water-flow fracture zone (WFZ) is an important reference for designing the size of a waterproof crown pillar. Once the WFZ is connected with the sea, there will be catastrophic consequences, especially for undersea mining. This study suggests using a rotating forest (RoF) model to predict the height of the WFZ for the evaluation of the size of a waterproof crown pillar. To train and test the RoF model, five indicators with major influencing factors on undersea safety mining were determined, 107 field-measured mining datasets were collected, 75 (70%) datasets were used for training, and 32 (30%) datasets were used for model testing. At the same time, the random forest ensemble algorithm (RFR) and support vector machine (SVM) models were introduced for comparison and verification; in the end, the tested results were evaluated by RMSE (root-mean-square error) and R2. The comparison shows that the predicted results from the RoF model are significantly better than those from the RFR and SVM models. An importance analysis of the impact indicators shows that the mining height and depth have significant impacts on the prediction results. The development height of the WFZ in undersea safety mining was predicted via the RoF model. The predicted results via the RoF model were verified by field observations using panoramic borehole televiewers. The RoF prediction results are consistent with the observation results at all depths. Compared with the other two models, the RoF model has the smallest average absolute error at 2.87%. The results show that the RoF model can be applied to predict the height of the WFZ in undersea mining, which could be an effective way of minimizing the mineral resource waste in the study area and in other similar areas in the world under the premise of mine safety.

Study on Application of Goaf Management and Residual Mining Technology in Niujuan Deposit

For goaf group and high grade embedded residual ore in NO.I ore body, the overall technical idea of pre-filling the key goaf, the residual mining and the non-key goaf filling is used. The goaf management was mainly based on waste rock filling and supplemented with cemented filling, which formed safe mining environment in the upper, lower isolation belts and efficient management in hidden danger goaf. For rib pillars with cemented rock filling and waste stone filling on both sides of goaf, the method of upward horizontal common layered and small layered filling with pointed pillars were employed respectivly. For the crown pillar overlying high strength of filling body and waste rock, the united method of upward horizontal layered filling with entrance filling and caving are separately employed. Regional and local multidimensional integrated monitoring system were built subsequently. Then, relevant technical safety measures were taken. This study is to achieve the goal of safe, efficient and economical goaf management and residual mining.