Observational rock mass damage model associated to caving advance of Chuquicamata Underground Mine

Authors: Constanzo, HE; Guerra, PC; Barindelli, GA Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

This paper is hosted with the kind permission of the Universidad de Chile, Eighth International Conference & Exhibition on Mass Mining, 2020.

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2063_65

Cite As:
Constanzo, HE, Guerra, PC & Barindelli, GA 2020, 'Observational rock mass damage model associated to caving advance of Chuquicamata Underground Mine', in R Castro, F Báez & K Suzuki (eds), MassMin 2020: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference & Exhibition on Mass Mining, University of Chile, Santiago, pp. 910-921, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2063_65



Abstract:
The Chuquicamata Underground Mine (ChUM) plans to reach a production regime of 140,000 tons per day (tpd). The seven-year ramp-up established to achieve this represents a major challenge. The Chuquicamata Underground Mine uses the block caving method, characterized by a dynamic caving front that constantly modifies the stress condition of the rock mass which reflects damage to the production sector’s drifts. It also uses a combination of preconditioning by hydraulic fracturing and confined blasting, referred to as intensive preconditioning (Catalan et al. 2017). By identifying the variables that impact the behavior of the rock mass damage caused by the mining advance, it is possible to obtain an observational model for use in evaluations that minimize bias because the variables impacting the damage are clearly identified and the model’s application in the mine (undercut and production level drifts) requires low-complexity training. Use of the observational model to assess rock mass damage associated with the caving progression in the Chuquicamata Underground Mine permits evaluation of its behavior prior to mining activity and the application of different exploitation strategies, using unbiased information. This is related to the physical parameters that govern the caving behavior and permits the subsequent calibration of numerical models.

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