Fracturing around a preconditioned deep level gold mine stope

Abstract

The mining faces of the highly stressed tabular stopes in South Africa's deep level gold mines are prone to a type of rock burst termed a face-burst. As a means of ameliorating these face-burst conditions, a destressing technique termed preconditioning has been employed. Part of the studies into the quantification of the effects and mechanisms of preconditioning was a detailed investigation of the fracture pattern around unpreconditioned and preconditioned stopes. Techniques included mapping of the fractures exposed in the mined areas of the stope, measurement of profiles of the stope hangingwall and the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). These studies indicate that preconditioning does not produce new sets of fractures and stress redistribution ahead of the face occurs by re-activation of specific pre-existing fractures, thereby reducing the potential for face-bursting.