A monitoring strategy to assess the effectiveness of pillar wrapping

Authors: Yanagimura, Y; Hadjigeorgiou, J Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2205_34

Cite As:
Yanagimura, Y & Hadjigeorgiou, J 2022, 'A monitoring strategy to assess the effectiveness of pillar wrapping', in Y Potvin (ed.), Caving 2022: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Block and Sublevel Caving, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 501-516, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2205_34



Abstract:
Pillar wrapping using cable slings is an increasingly popular ground support strategy to control large deformations in block cave mines. Although installation can be relatively costly and labour intensive, pillar wrapping is attractive as it is more effective than other ground support options. This is due to the greater elongation capacity of cable slings compared to other ground support elements. At this time, however, the performance of pillar wrapping in block cave mines is mostly anecdotal and based on limited quantified performance data. This paper presents a data-driven monitoring strategy to assess the performance of pillar wrapping at the New Afton Mine. The mine currently employs cable slings to support the junctions between the production drives and drawpoints in the B3 mining area. In a field investigation, as part of the pillar wrapping strategy, instrumented cable bolts have been installed to directly monitor the strain and loads that develop in the pillar wrapping support system during the cave initiation and propagation. The analysis of the cable instrumentation data provides for a data-driven approach for understanding the performance of the cables used for pillar wrapping. An objective of this investigation is to provide quality data to aid the mine to make informed cost-benefit decisions in its ground support decisions.

Keywords: pillar wrapping, instrumented cable slings, ground support, block cave extraction level support

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