Benchmarking face support practice in seismically active mines

This paper presents the results of a benchmarking study on face support practice in seismically active mines in Australia and Canada. The choice of ground support strategies is based on the anticipated strainburst hazard as well as corporate, legislative, and operational requirements. Although mines appear to employ similar face support standards, using friction rock stabilizers and mesh, the details and the resulting coverage vary from site to site. The variations in design and coverage result in significantly different residual risks. The case is made for documenting strainburst events at the mining face and using this information to formally assess the effectiveness of implemented face support practice at the various mine sites.