Discrete fracture network based drift stability at the Éléonore mine

Abstract

Photogrammetry tools were used to characterise the rock mass structural regime at selected mining drifts at the Éléonore underground mine in Canada. This information was used to provide the input data for generating a series of discrete fracture networks (DFN) models. The generated DFN models were subsequently used to investigate the creation of rock wedges along the drifts that may impact the stability of the excavations. The impact of the choice of employed DFN model on the analysis was investigated with reference to the stability of excavations. A series of parametric analyses demonstrated the sensitivity of the model to variations in the properties of the structural regime. The benefits of using stochastic modelling to capture the inherent variability are reviewed.

Keywords:

• Photogrammetry
• Discrete fracture modelling (DFN)
• Drift stability
• Underground hard rock mining

Acknowledgements

The collaboration of mining personnel at Goldcorp’s Éléonore operation is acknowledged. Parts of this paper have been reproduced with the kind permission of the Australian Centre for Geomechanics at the International Seminar on Design Methods in Underground Mining, Perth, Australia, 2015. www.acg.uwa.edu.au.

Funding

This work was supported by Mitacs, Fonds de recherche Nature et technologie and Goldcorp Éléonore.