Ground support research at the WA School of Mines

Abstract

Mining in Western Australia in the next two decades will be approaching depths and conditions in which the induced stress regimes will approach the strength of the rock masses surrounding the excavations. In such cases, failure may occur violently due to the energy stored within the rock masses. Furthermore, in those highly stressed regions of a rock mass, sudden slip on major structures in the vicinity of the excavations are more likely to occur with an associated release of energy in the form of compressive and shear waves that excite the rock near the boundaries of excavations. In order to be prepared for such scenarios, and to ensure safe and economical excavations in the future, the WA School of Mines (WASM) and a number of sponsoring companies have conceptualized and undertaken a number of research projects in ground support technology. The projects range from static and dynamic laboratory testing of support and reinforcement elements to in-situ assessment of ground support corrosivity. The project background for each of the stabilization research projects at WASM has been summarized together with details of the methodology, current status, applications and future work.