Ground control principles based on retrospective analyses from actual site conditions in open pit mining

Abstract

Ground control is a crucial aspect of open pit mining as it ensures the safety of workers, equipment, and the surrounding environment. Stable ground conditions play a vital role in preventing accidents such as slope failures and rockfalls, which can cause injuries and equipment damage. Moreover, it facilitates consistent operations, optimizing production schedules while reducing maintenance costs. Neglecting ground control can lead to hazardous conditions, which can impact safety, operational efficiency, and overall costs. Hence, it is paramount to implement robust ground control measures in open pit mining. Georadar and InSAR technologies play a crucial role in open pit mining. Georadar helps to create images of the subsurface, identify geological structures, and detect potential hazards beneath the surface. This information is helpful in planning excavations, assessing slope stability, and making important decisions regarding ground stability in open pit environments. InSAR technology provides precise measurements of ground deformation, which is essential for monitoring slope movements and minimizing risks associated with instabilities. Both these technologies contribute significantly to improving safety measures, optimizing mining operations, and enabling proactive decision-making regarding ground stability in open pit mining. In open pit mining operations, the type of failure experienced by different materials is influenced by various factors such as the geological composition, distribution of stress, water content, and mining techniques employed. It is crucial to understand these failure types to implement suitable ground control measures, use appropriate support systems, and design mining plans to mitigate risks associated with specific material failures. In this thesis, actual site conditions from Hanönü open pit copper mine were used to understand the relation between slope stability investigations based on limit equilibrium methods, finite element methods, and deformations from mining operations. Georadar and InSAR data were used to determine deformation areas and magnitudes in the research area. For each area, the FoS (factor of safety), and SRF (strength reduction factor) values were determined using the back analysis method, and their conditions were discussed. Threshold limits were considered while analyzing the values. The thesis aims to investigate the deformation amount in mm. In addition to that, these data are comparison of each other. Discussion of the compared data and determination of the analyses. The thesis aims to investigate ground control principles based on site conditions and analytical investigations. The purpose is to comprehend the effectiveness of slope stability investigation methods using numerical and analytical solutions. The analyzes were prepared according to both LEM (limit equilibrium method) and FEM (finite element method) methods and the results were presented. The thesis aims to reconcile the deformation and stability results (Factor of safety and strength reduction factor) of the discussion results with the threshold limit determined according to the stability results. All these comparisons are shared step by step as output. It is supported with tables, graphs, and figures. According to all graphical, numerical, and visual analysis studies, the results have been revealed and concluded.