Abstract
AbstractThe objective of mining is to supply society with mineral and therefore to extract mineral deposits safely and economically, and as completely as possible. As shallow deposits are becoming more and more depleted and as the mineral demand is rising, mining has to advance to greater depths or more challenging mining environments. Operational and technical challenges arise consequently. The different challenges are discussed briefly, and it is shown that in particular the importance of rock mechanics increases because the resulting stress and energy changes can cause rock pressure phenomena and rock pressure problems. The intensity of rock pressure phenomena and rock pressure problems is a function of several parameters, of which the prevailing stress magnitudes and the rock mass strength are central. Whilst rock pressure phenomena are manageable and do not endanger the objectives of mineral extraction, rock pressure problems threaten the objective of mineral extraction and may in extreme cases prevent the continuation of an operation. As the stress magnitudes rise with depths, but the rock mass strength does generally not increase with depths, the importance of rock pressure control increases with depth. To control the rock pressure, two different strategies, a passive and an active strategy, can be distinguished. The two strategies are discussed. Despite the advantages offered by the active strategy, the passive strategy is still dominantly applied. Reasons for this dominance are identified and discussed. To facilitate the application of the active strategy, a stress management concept is proposed. Finally, the requirements for a wider implementation of an active stress management strategy are briefly discussed.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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