An Overview of Opportunities for Machine Learning Methods in Underground Rock Engineering Design

Abstract

Machine learning methods for data processing are gaining momentum in many geoscience industries. This includes the mining industry, where machine learning is primarily being applied to autonomously driven vehicles such as haul trucks, and ore body and resource delineation. However, the development of machine learning applications in rock engineering literature is relatively recent, despite being widely used and generally accepted for decades in other risk assessment-type design areas, such as flood forecasting. Operating mines and underground infrastructure projects collect more instrumentation data than ever before, however, only a small fraction of the useful information is typically extracted for rock engineering design, and there is often insufficient time to investigate complex rock mass phenomena in detail. This paper presents a summary of current practice in rock engineering design, as well as a review of literature and methods at the intersection of machine learning and rock engineering. It identifies gaps, such as standards for architecture, input selection and performance metrics, and areas for future work. These gaps present an opportunity to define a framework for integrating machine learning into conventional rock engineering design methodologies to make them more rigorous and reliable in predicting probable underlying physical mechanics and phenomenon.