Abstract
This paper describes the stability assessment to an underground crushing chamber that presents deformations and cracks due to the proximity of stope extraction by an open stoping mining method.
According to the production plan, several stopes would be mined in sectors close to the crusher chamber. To evaluate the performance of the supports in response to the chamber, a three-dimensional numerical model was generated by finite differences method with sufficient detail to show the effects that such a mining plan could generate, including allowing alerts during stope operation, providing additional support if required and recommending other additional mitigation measurements that could be required.
Through a process of calibration and ground performance validation, this three-dimensional model allowed the study of three predictive scenarios considering different mining strategies for which the criteria of strain rate and the capacity of the supports were complemented by the review of changes in the convergence product of the mining sequence.
